KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Saturday, September 26.
Batting stars: Greg Gagne was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs. Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a run. Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
Pitching star: Keith Atherton pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.
Opposition stars: Danny Tartabull was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer (his thirty-first) and two runs. Steve Balboni was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fifth) and a walk. Kevin Seitzer was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.
The game: Kirby Puckett had a two-run single in the first inning to put the Twins ahead 2-0. Balboni homered in the second to make it 2-1. The Twins threatened in the third and fourth and finally scored again in the fifth on Hrbek's RBI single to give the Twins a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, Jim Eisenreich's pinch-hit two-run double to tie it 3-3. The Twins got the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on a Randy Bush single, but the Royals tied it 4-4 in the seventh. It stayed tied until the ninth. Jeff Reardon came in to pitch and struck out Willie Wilson, but then Seitzer singled, George Brett doubled, and Tartabull hit a three-run homer to put Kansas City ahead 7-4. The Twins did not threaten in the bottom of the ninth.
Notes: Bush was used as the designated hitter in this game...Puckett was 1-for-5 with two RBIs, making his average .329...The expanded rosters were again felt, as the teams combined to use four pinch-hitters (Eisenreich, Jamie Quirk, Thad Bosley, and Roy Smalley) and three pinch-runners (Lonnie Smith, Chris Pittaro, and Billy Beane)...Steve Carlton started and pitched 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts...Bret Saberhagen started for Kansas City and pitched six innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and six walks with six strikeouts...The win went to John Davis, who was in his rookie season. It was also the only good season he had, going 5-2, 2.27, 1.26 WHIP in 27 appearances (43.2 innings). He was traded to the White Sox after the season in a deal that brought Floyd Bannister to Kansas City. He flopped with the White Sox, going 2-6, 6.46, 1.92 WHIP in 38 appearances (69.2 innings). Unsurprisingly, he spent part of those seasons in the minors as well. He was released at the end of spring training of 1990, signed with Milwaukee, was released again, and signed with San Diego. He made six appearances with the Padres, became a free agent, made five AAA appearances with Atlanta in 1991, and then his playing career was almost over. I say almost because he tried to make a comeback in 1995, making four AAA appearances with the White Sox. After that, his playing career was really over. At last report, he was living in Colorado Springs and owned a franchise of American Leak Detection which, as you might guess, finds water leaks in pools, plumbing, sewers, drains, and under slab foundations.
Record: The Twins were 83-72, in first place by five games over Kansas City.