MINNESOTA 6, BALTIMORE 5 IN MINNESOTA (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, July 3.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-6 with a triple and a stolen base (his twelfth), scoring once.  Tim Laudner was 2-for-4 with a home run, his tenth.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Jeff Reardon struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Fred Lynn was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in one.  Eddie Murray was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Cal Ripken was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.

The game:  Hrbek singled in two in the first to take a 2-1 lead.  In the fifth, Laudner homered and Al Newman delivered an RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch, giving the Twins a 5-1 advantage.  The Orioles came back with two in the sixth to make it 5-3.  Juan Berenguer, who had come on to relieve starter Mike Smithson in the sixth, was still in to start the ninth and walked Eddie Murray.  That brought in, not closer Reardon, but Dan Schatzeder, who allowed a double to Lynn that put men on second and third.  Reardon then came in and retired the next two batters, but Larry Sheets singled to tie the game at 5-5.  It remained tied until the eleventh.  Tom Brunansky led off with a double and Laudner walked.  Greg Gagne popped up a bunt and Gladden struck out, but Steve Lombardozzi singled off Tom Niedenfuer, who had been in since the start of the ninth, to win it for the Twins.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-5 with a run and was batting .349...Roy Smalley was 0-for-4 with a walk and was batting .323...Smithson pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and a walk with six strikeouts...The three shutout innings lowered Reardon's ERA below six for good, as it stood at 5.66...Mike Boddicker pitched eight innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and four walks with five strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 44-36, tied for first place with Kansas City, which swept a doubleheader from Toronto.

Notes:  Newman played second base and batted second, with Lombardozzi out of the lineup.  Lombardozzi entered the game in the tenth inning after Randy Bush pinch-hit for Newman.

Player profile:  Tom Niedenfuer had a longer career than I remembered.  Born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, he was signed as an amateur free agent by the Dodgers in 1980 and made his big league debut in mid-August of 1981.  He pitched well then and continued to pitch well for several years.  A relief pitcher his entire career, he was never "the closer" for the Dodgers, always sharing the job with someone like Steve Howe or Jay Howell.  Still, he got nine saves in 1982 and was in double digits every year from 1983-86.  He started to slip in 1986 and in 1987 was traded to Baltimore in May for Brad Havens and John Shelby.  He did okay for the Orioles, but was nothing particularly special.  A free agent after the 1988 season, he pitched for Seattle in 1989 and St. Louis in 1990, ending his playing career after that season.  For an undrafted free agent, he did pretty well:  10 years in the big leagues, 484 games, 36-46, 97 saves, 3.29 ERA, 1.27 WHIP.  He was in the World Series as a rookie in 1981 and his team made the LCS two other times.  He is the brother-in-law of actress Audrey Landers.  At last report, he was living in Sarasota, Florida.