KANSAS CITY 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN KANSAS CITY (5 INNINGS--RAIN)

Date:  Monday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Al Newman was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-2 with a stolen base (his fourth) and a run.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Bo Jackson was 1-for-2 with a home run, his sixteenth.  Frank White was 2-for-2 with a run.  Jim Eisenreich was 1-for-2 with a double and a run.

The game:  With two out in the third and Gagne on second, Newman delivered a run-scoring double followed by a Mark Davidson RBI single to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  It held until the fifth, when White led off with a single and Eisenreich doubled to put men on second and third.  A balk brought home one run, a passed ball tied the score, and Jackson homered to give the Royals a 3-2 lead.  The next batter, Angel Salazar, flied out and the game was called at that point.

Of note:  Puckett raised his average to .349...Roy Smalley was 0-for-4 to make his average .324...Gene Larkin played but did not bat, so he was still at .300..Twins starter Les Straker pitched a 4.1 inning complete game, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk with no strikeouts...Kansas City starter Danny Jackson pitched a five inning complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Record:  It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Twins, who fell to 42-34.  They remained in first place, leading Oakland by one game.

Notes:  Newman once again led off and played second base.  Steve Lombardozzi, who had not played since the first game of the June 27 doubleheader, would not play again until July 1.  Dan Gladden was in the lineup but batted sixth...Davidson was in right field, with Tom Brunansky at DH, Roy Smalley at third base, and Gary Gaetti out of the lineup.  Gaetti would be back at third base the next day...Kent Hrbek was picked off second base in the fourth inning and was apparently injured in the process, as Larkin came in to play first in the bottom of the inning.  He would miss one day, but be back in the lineup July 1.