MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 3 IN TEXAS

Date:  Monday, September 28.

Batting stars:  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and four RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring twice.  Tom Brunansky was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Joe Niekro pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer retired all five men he faced.  Jeff Reardon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit while striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Tom O'Malley was 3-for-3 with a double.  Scott Fletcher was 2-for-4 with a run.  Jose Guzman struck out nine in 7.2 innings but allowed four runs on seven hits and four walks.

The game:  This was the clincher, but it wasn't easy.  After retiring the first Texas batter, Niekro gave up a pair of singles, a wild pitch, a walk, another wild pitch, a sacrifice fly, and a single to give Texas a 3-0 lead.  He got it going after that, though, as those were the only runs Niekro would give up this night.  In the fourth, Lombardozzi hit a three-run homer to tie the game.  Both teams had threats, but there was no more scoring until the eighth.  Two singles and a walk resulted in the bases being loaded with one out.  Lombardozzi came through again, lining a single to right to bring home the go-ahead run.  Mitch Williams then balked to make it 5-3.  The Rangers got one more base runner, on a one-out single in the ninth by Oddibe McDowell, but Geno Petralli lined into a double play to end the game.  There was much rejoicing in Jeff A's apartment on Poplar Avenue in Pierre, SD, and presumably there was much rejoicing in the homes of others reading this as well.  The Twins had won the division for the first time since 1970.

Notes:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-5, making his average .329...The save was Reardon's thirty-first...The four RBIs were the most Lombardozzi had in a game all season.  He did not get his fourth RBI of the year until May 1.  The only other time in his career he had four RBIs in a game was August 5, 1988...Dan Gladden had two assists in this game, and they came on consecutive plays.  Petralli singled to short left and Gladden threw him out trying to stretch it into a double.  O'Malley followed with a single to left-center and Gladden threw hit out trying to stretch it into a double, too.  The next batter, Jerry Browne, hit a ground ball single to left and was content to stay on first base.

Record:  The Twins were 85-72, in first place by seven games over Kansas City.