MINNESOTA 7, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, September 13.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Jeff Reardon struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Mel Hall was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixteenth), a double, and a stolen base (his fourth), driving in two.  Brook Jacoby was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-eighth) and a walk.  Tom Candiotti pitched 9.1 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the first on two singles and a wild pitch.  Steve Lombardozzi drove in a run with a single in the second to make it 2-0.  Blyleven left a pitch up to Jacoby in the bottom of the second, cutting the lead to 2-1.  The Twins made it 3-1 in the fifth, but a pitch left up to Hall made it a one-run game again in the sixth.  Hall struck again in the eighth, delivering an RBI double to tie the score at three.  The Twins took over in the tenth.  Puckett singled in the go-ahead run, Gaetti doubled home a pair of insurance runs, and Randy Bush's sacrifice fly rounded out the scoring.  Reardon, who came in with one out in the eighth, retired the side in order in the bottom of the tenth without a ball leaving the infield.

Of note:  Dan Gladden was back in the leadoff spot and in left field, going 0-for-4 with a walk...Gene Larkin was once again at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Hrbek was used as a pinch-hitter for DH Don Baylor in the eighth, going 0-for-1 with a walk...Bush played right field in place of Tom Brunansky...Puckett raised his average to. 327.

Record:  The Twins were 77-67, in first place by 4.5 games over both Oakland and Kansas City.