MINNESOTA 9, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 7.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-sixth) and three runs.  Greg Gagne was 3-for-5 with a triple and a run.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.

Pitching stars:  Joe Niekro pitched eight innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  Dan Schatzeder pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Carney Lansford was 1-for-4 with a stolen base (his twenty-second), scoring once and driving in one.  Mike Davis was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Terry Steinbach was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Oakland starter Dennis Lamp for four runs in the first inning, helped by a two-run error on what might have been a double play grounder.  Hrbek homered leading off the third to make it 5-0.  Oakland got on the board with two in the fifth, getting an RBI single by Lansford and a sacrifice fly by Mark McGwire, but the Twins put the game out of reach with three in the eighth, scoring on a run-scoring double by Brunansky and RBI singles by Steve Lombardozzi and Sal Butera.

Of note:  Randy Bush was again in the leadoff spot in right field, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup...Gagne batted second...Gene Larkin was again the DH...Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run, dropping his average to .316...Lamp lasted only a third of an inning, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk...I don't know if Niekro was appealing his suspension or if it hadn't been announced yet, but it clearly had not yet taken effect...In the matchup of two teams tied for first, the Twins took the first two games, each by the score of 9-4.

Record:  The Twins were 59-52, in first place by two games over Oakland.

We will try to get back to player profiles next week.