Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: Game Eighty-seven

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BALTIMORE 13, MINNESOTA 12 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Friday, July 10.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-3 with a home run (his eighteenth), a double, and two walks, scoring twice and driving in four.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-6, scoring twice and driving in two.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Murray was 4-for-4 with a home run (his nineteenth) and a walk, scoring four times and driving in three.  Fred Lynn was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his thirteenth and fourteenth) and walk, driving in six.  Alan Wiggins was 1-for-2 with three walks and two stolen bases (his sixteenth and seventeenth), scoring once and driving in two.

The game:  This one got wild early, as each team scored four runs in the first inning.  The Twins got five hits in the first inning, four of them for extra bases, to hand Bert Blyleven a 4-0 lead.  He handed it right back, as Murray singled home one run and Lynn hit a pitch that was left up for three-run homer to tie it 4-4.  The Twins went ahead 5-4 in the second, but a pitch was left up to Murray in the third to tie it again, 5-5.  Brunansky hit a three-run homer in the fifth to give the Twins an 8-5 lead, but Blyleven again instantly gave it back, leaving a pitch up to Lynn for his second three-run homer of the game to again tie the score at 8-8.  The Twins took a 10-8 lead in the top of the sixth, but Dan Schatzeder and George Frazier could not hold down the Orioles, who got five hits and four runs in the bottom of the sixth to go ahead 12-10.  It stayed there until the ninth.  A walk, a single, and a walk loaded the bases with none out.  A pair of ground outs tied the score at 12-12.  Frazier, who had pitched two scoreless innings after giving up the lead in the sixth, remained in the game to start the ninth and gave up a single and a walk.  Jeff Reardon had pitched 1.2 innings the previous day and one inning the day before that, so one assumes Tom Kelly may have deemed him unavailable.  At any rate, Juan Berenguer came into the game at this point and got a force out, putting men on first and third.  An intentional walk loaded the bases and Larry Sheets hit a sacrifice fly to right to bring home the winning run.

Of note:  Puckett's average was now .340...There were obviously lots of others who had a good day at the plate...Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-5 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one...Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs...Roy Smalley was 2-for-5 with two RBIs, raising his average to .319...Blyleven pitched five innings, surrendering eight runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts...Baltimore starter Dave Schmidt lasted only a third of an innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits and no walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 48-39, in first place by two games over Kansas City and Oakland.

Notes:  As the Twins continued their search for a second place hitter, Lombardozzi was put in that spot in this game...Schatzeder came into the game with the Twins leading 8-5.  He gave up two singles, got one out on a popped up bunt, and gave up an RBI single, leaving the game with the score 8-6.  Both runners he left on base came around to score, so he was charged with three runs in a third of an inning.  He got a hold for his efforts.

5 thoughts on “1987 Rewind: Game Eighty-seven”

    1. The thing is, Blyleven always talks about how important it is to put a zero up when your team has tied the score or given you the lead. He's right, it is important, but he acts like it's some sort of moral failure or lack of toughness on the part of the pitcher when he doesn't do it. Here, the Twins gave Blyleven a lead three times and he gave it right back each time. Of course you want to put a zero up in these situations (I assume you want to put a zero up in every situation, actually), but sometimes wanting to isn't enough.

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