DETROIT 15, MINNESOTA 7 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, May 29.

Batting stars:  Mark Salas was 2-for-2 with two home runs and five RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-3 with a home run, his ninth.  Gene Larkin was 1-for-1 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Pat Sheridan was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a double, scoring three times and driving in four.  Matt Nokes was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two walks, scoring twice and driving in four.  Alan Trammell was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk, scoring twice.

The game:  Detroit scored three in the first, three in the third, and five in the fifth to take an 11-1 lead.  The Twins scored two in the eighth and four in the ninth to make the final score look somewhat competitive.

Of note:  Les Straker started and lasted just three innings, allowing six runs on five hits and three walks with one strikeout...Joe Klink pitched four innings and allowing nine runs (eight earned) on eleven hits and three walks with one strikeout...Detroit starter Walt Terrell pitched eight innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out four.

Record:  The Twins were 24-23, tied for second with Seattle, 3.5 games behind Kansas City.

Notes:  Klink took one for the team and didn't get rewarded for it.  His ERA went from 3.93 to 6.45.  He would make only one more appearance and then be sent down, not returning to the majors until 1990.  Of Klink's twelve appearances for the Twins, he gave up eight earned runs here and three in an appearance in April.  In his other ten appearances, his ERA was 3.18...Salas and Larkin each entered the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, replacing Tim Laudner and Hrbek, respectively.

Plater profile:  Pat Sheridan has been largely forgotten, but he had a decent major league career.  He was drafted in the third round by Kansas City in 1979.  He had a fine year in Omaha in 1981, earning a September call-up in 1981, was injured part of 1982 then came to the majors to stay in 1983.  He was pretty much a utility outfielder in 1983, spending significant time at all three positions, but became the mostly regular right fielder in 1984.  He had a poor year in 1985, however, lost his starting job, and was released in spring training in 1986.  The Tigers signed him and he stayed through 1989.  He never had a full-time job but always saw significant playing time.  He never was really good (his best year was probably 1984, when he hit .283/.338/.399), but he was never utterly terrible, either.  Basically, he was a decent fourth outfielder who wouldn't hurt you too badly if he had to play more than that.  The Tigers traded him to San Francisco in mid-June of 1989, he signed with Kansas City for 1990, was again released in spring training, spent 1990 in AAA with the Cubs, signed with the Yankees for 1991, was a reserve outfielder for most of the season, and then his playing career came to an end.  Not a bad career, though:  he played in the big leagues for part of nine seasons, got 2419 at-bats, and hit .253/.319/.371 with 51 homers and 86 stolen bases.  At last report, Pat Sheridan was a property insurance salesman in Michigan.