CHICAGO 10, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 20.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and a double, scoring twice.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Randy Niemann pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Daryl Boston was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth) and four RBIs.  Ozzie Guillen was 2-for-5 with a stolen base (his third), scoring twice and driving in one.  Greg Walker was 2-for-5 with a double and a run.

The game:  The White Sox led 2-0 after six, then had an eight-run inning that put the game out of reach.  The Twins made two errors with two out in the inning, so all but one of the runs were unearned.  The Twins got two in the seventh and three in the ninth but did not threaten to get back into the game.

Of note:  Puckett raised his average to .332.  Roy Smalley was 1-for-4 with a run and was batting .314.  Gene Larkin was 1-for-1 with an RBI as a pinch-hitter and was batting .324.  Bert Blyleven pitched 6.2 innings and gave up eight runs (three earned) on seven hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  Chicago starter Jose DeLeon pitched eight innings and gave up four runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 38-29, in first place, two games ahead of Kansas City.

Notes:  Roy Smalley was again at third base in place of Gary Gaetti, although Gaetti was used as a pinch-hitter and singled.  Randy Bush was the DH.  Bush batted second, with Steve Lombardozzi dropping to the seventh spot...This was Randy Niemann's last appearance in the major leagues.  He spent the rest of the year at AAA Portland and became a free agent after the season.  He signed with the Mets, but made only nine appearances with AAA Tidewater before ending his playing career.