Keeping Track

1987 Rewind: ALCS Game Two

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MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, October 8.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer retired all five men he faced, striking out four of them.

Opposition stars:  Lou Whitaker was 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and a stolen base.  Chet Lemon was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Jack Morris pitched an eight-inning complete game, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

The game:  Matt Nokes led off the second with a single and Blyleven then left a pitch up to Lemon, who gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.  The Twins came right back in the bottom of the second.  Gary Gaetti doubled with one out and scored on a two-out double by Brunansky.  Greg Gagne walked and Laudner followed with a two-run double to give the Twins a 3-2 advantage.  It stayed 3-2 until the fourth, when Randy Bush hit a one-out single and stole second and third.  Walks to Brunansky and Gagne followed.  Laudner struck out, but Dan Gladden delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 5-2.  Hrbek hit a one-out homer in the fifth to make it 6-2.  Meanwhile, Blyleven was in control, facing only one batter over the minimum from innings three through seven.  In the eighth, however, he left a pitch up to Whitaker, who hit a home run to cut the lead to 6-3.  Darrell Evans followed with a single, chasing Blyleven from the game and bringing in Berenguer.  He struck out Kirk Gibson and got Alan Trammell to hit into a force out to end the eighth, then struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the victory.

Notes:  Bush had stolen only ten bases during the season (his career high), but stole two in this game, both during the same at-bat.  For his career, he had 33 stolen bases in 62 attempts.  He was 10-for-13 in 1987, however...Jack Morris was a workhorse for the Tigers, but it still seems odd to have him pitch a complete game in which he gave up six runs in the playoffs.  It must be admitted, though, that he pitched very well after the fourth inning...Reardon had pitched two innings the day before.  That, and the fact that Berenguer was pitching well, explains why Berenguer remained in the game in the ninth and got the save...I don't remember for sure, but I suspect it was after this game that Sparky Anderson and some of the Tiger players whined about Berenguer "showing them up" and being "disrespectful" simply because he showed a little emotion on the mound after a strikeout.  Tom Kelly, not wanting a controversy, made some conciliatory statements, but it was really just childish pouting on the part of the Tigers.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 2-0.

7 thoughts on “1987 Rewind: ALCS Game Two”

  2. You have a pretty good memory, Chaps. From the Chicago Tribune on 12 October 1987, "Sparky Pulls Off Juan Big Con Job":

    "I've always loved Juan," Anderson insisted prior to Sunday night's fourth game. "I just didn't think he should have done what he did."

    What Berenguer did was pump his fist and glove in joy following each strikeout. After the game, Anderson complained and said Berenguer's conduct was unprofessional because he, in effect, was gloating in triumph and hence embarrassing an opponent.

    Berenguer, a gullible sort who pitched for Anderson and the Tigers for three seasons, took the bait. He apologized to Anderson before Saturday's game and apparently promised that in the future he would concentrate on controlling his emotions.

    "I thanked him for the apology," Anderson revealed. "And I told him,

    'Bandito, I'm not mad at you. I know you weren't showboating. But I wish you wouldn't embarrass us like that again.'"

    Berenguer, who has a swarthy and fierce mien, was summoned in relief four hours after he and Anderson had smoked the peace pipe. As he said he would, Berenguer kept his emotions in check. More important, he didn't have much zip on his fastball.

    "I liked Juan a lot better the last time," Anderson conceded.

    And why not? Berenguer wasn`t the same pitcher. Obviously, he is considerably more effective when his emotions are sky-high.

    1. I remember once in Little League when I was nine, I struck out the side in a close game and did an exaggerated celebration on the mound (somewhere between Berenguer and Fernando Rodney) and I remember being scolded by my dad (also the coach) for celebrating. He was worried about embarrassing the other team, but also embarrassing myself if they scored 5 runs off of me the next inning.

      Definitely a baseball thing. If we scored a goal in soccer, everyone went nuts celebrating. Totally okay. I suppose basketball it's too fast-paced to do much celebrating barring the end of a quarter/game.

    2. 'Spoiler' SelectShow

        1. Right. The game prior to the fourth game would be...the third game. It also says the apology came "before Saturday's game". Saturday's game was the third game.

          'Spoiler' SelectShow

          1. I remember the hub-bub around this, and pretty much anyone reporting on the ballgames understood what Anderson was really doing. I don't think TK was happy either.

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