BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 15.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-4.  This was the Twins' only hit.

Pitching star:  He barely qualifies, but Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Dave McNally pitched a complete game shutout, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out six.  Andy Etchebarren was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, driving in two.  Boog Powell was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.  Merv Rettenmund was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.

The game:  With two on and two out in the second, Etchebarren delivered a two-run triple to put the Orioles up 2-0.  In the third, Paul Blair was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on Powell's single to make it 3-0.

Meanwhile, the Twins could do nothing against McNally.  Their first baserunner came in the fifth, when Leo Cardenas drew a two-out walk.  In the top of the seventh, Mark Belanger singled, was sacrificed to second, and scored on a Rettenmund single to make the score 4-0.

The Twins got another baserunner in the seventh on another two-out walk, this time by Tony Oliva.  He again did not advance past first base.  Baltimore scored another run in the eighth when Frank Robinson tripled and scored on Powell's sacrifice fly.

The Twins' lone hit came with one out in the ninth, when Tovar singled.  He was erased when Rod Carew hit into a game-ending double play.

WP:  McNally (6-0).  LP:  Kaat (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar was in center field, replacing Ted Uhlaender.  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese out of the lineup.  Tom Tischinski was given the start behind the plate.  It was his first major league start, and he got to face McNally in his prime.  Billy Martin didn't exactly do him a favor there.

Carew went 0-for-4 and was batting .383.  Oliva was 0-for-2 with a walk and was batting .317.  Cardenas was 0-for-2 with a walk and was batting .304.

I don't remember Rettenmund as a base stealer, but he stole sixty-eight of them in his career.  He would have six in 1969.  His career high was fifteen, in 1971.  He was 68-for-96, a percentage of .708.

Had things happened differently, Dave McNally could've had a Hall of Fame career.  From 1965-1973 (except for 1967, when he was injured), McNally was as good a pitcher as anyone, but he didn't always have the gaudy win totals to show for it.  He won twenty or more games for four straight years (1968-1971), going 87-31 over that span.  But here are some of his other years:  11-6, 2.85; 13-6, 3.17; 13-17, 2.95; 17-17, 3.21.  With better luck and/or run support, he could easily have won twenty games eight times.  In 1974 he was still pretty good, going 16-10, 3.58.  His WHIP, however, was 1.32, the first time it had been over 1.30 since 1964.  The Orioles traded him to Montreal after the 1974 season.  He did not do well for the Expos and retired after making just twelve starts in 1975.  He was only thirty-two, but he had a chain of successful automobile dealerships and decided it was time to devote himself to them.  McNally was, however, a part of a legal action (along with Andy Messersmith) after that season which resulted in an arbitrator ruling that the reserve clause was illegal, opening the way for players to become free agents.  For his career, Dave McNally was 184-119, 3.24, 1.21 WHIP in parts of fourteen seasons.  He was an all-star three times, was in the top four in Cy Young voting three times, and received MVP votes four times.  He passed away on December 1, 2002 in his home town of Billings, Montana.

It's the middle of May, and the Twins have played just thirty games.  I have a feeling some doubleheaders are coming up.

Record:  The Twins were 19-11 and dropped to second place in the American League West, a half game behind Oakland.

BALTIMORE 9, MINNESOTA 8 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 14.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer (his sixth) and a walk, scoring twice.  Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Joe Grzenda pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Paul Blair was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his seventh and eighth) and five RBIs.  Tom Phoebus was 2-for-4 with a double.  Brooks Robinson was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Boog Powell was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Orioles scored five runs on just three hits in the second inning.  A walk and an error opened the inning and Robinson followed with a two-run double.  With one out, Phoebus delivered an RBI double to make it 3-0.  Then, with two down, Blair hit a two-run homer.  All the damage came off starter Dick Woodson.

The lead went to 6-0 in the fourth, as Blair hit another home run, this time off Charlie Walters.  The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Uhlaender singled and Oliva hit a two-run homer, making the score 6-2.

Baltimore appeared to put the game out of reach in the fifth.  A walk, a single, and a walk loaded the bases with one out.  Bob Miller relieved Walters and struck out Phoebus, but Belanger had an RBI single and Blair came through again, this time with a two-run single.  The Orioles led 9-2.  The Twins got one back in the bottom of the fifth when Rich Reese doubled and eventually scored on a ground out, but it was still 9-3 going to the eighth.

In the eighth, though, the Twins got back into the game.  With one out Uhlaender singled, Rod Carew doubled, and Oliva walked to load the bases.  Harmon Killebrew struck out, but Charlie Manuel singled home two runs, Graig Nettles doubled home one, and Leo Cardenas delivered a two-run single, cutting the margin to 9-8.  Pinch-hitter Tom Tischinski singled to put men on first and third, but Cesar Tovar grounded out to end the inning.

The Twins threatened again in the ninth.  Uhlaender led off the inning with a single and Oliva had a one-out single, putting men on first and third.  Ed Watt came in and got Killebrew to pop up to first base, however, and Manuel flied to center to end the game.

WP:  Phoebus (4-0).  LP:  Woodson (1-1).  S:  Watt (3).

Notes:  Manuel was the starting left fielder.  Nettles made a rare appearance at third base, coming in to start the seventh.  Killebrew, who had been at third, moved to first, with Reese coming out of the game.  Reese may have been injured somehow--he would not play again until May 21.

Carew was 1-for-5 to "drop" his average to .398.  Manuel was 1-for-5 and was batting .355.  Oliva raised his average to .322.  Nettles was 1-for-2 and was batting .316.  Cardenas was 1-for-4 and was batting .309.  Uhlaender raised his average to .308.

Miller, despite giving up hits that produced three runs, was not charged with any himself, so his ERA went down to 2.70.  Grzenda's ERA was 2.45.  Perranoski had his ERA sink to 0.34.

Tischinski's pinch-hit in the eighth was his first major league hit.  He had not hit much in the minors, so using him as a pinch-hitter for Johnny Roseboro seems really strange.  It's even stranger when you realize that, as a right-handed batter, he was sent up rather than the lefty-batting Roseboro to face right-hander Dick Hall.  All you can say in defense of the move is that it worked.  This was one of just twenty-one hits Tischinski had in the majors.

Woodson had just pitched an inning of relief on May 11.  We'll never know whether that contributed to his poor performance, but it probably didn't help.

I don't really think of Paul Blair as a home run hitter, but he hit 134 of them in a career that included parts of seventeen seasons.  1969 was his most prolific home run season, as he swatted twenty-six of them.  His next highest total was eighteen in 1970.  He made the all-star team for the only time of his career in 1969.  He won eight Gold Gloves, however, and was well-known as an excellent defensive center fielder.  Oddly, given the twenty-six home runs, and given that he played for Earl Weaver, he led the league in sacrifice hits in 1969 with thirteen.

Record:  The Twins were 19-10, tied for first in the American League West with Oakland, although they led in winning percentage .655 to .645.

MINNESOTA 4, BALTIMORE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 13.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer (his third) and two runs.  Bob Allison was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell struck out thirteen in 8.2 innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Dave Johnson was 2-for-4.  Mike Cuellar pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out five.

The game:  The Orioles played small ball in the first inning, with Don Buford drawing a walk, Paul Blair getting a bunt single, and Boog Powell delivering a one-out RBI single to give Baltimore a 1-0 lead.  The Twins put men on first and third with one out in the bottom of the first, but Tony Oliva grounded into a double play to end the inning.  The Twins got two-out singles from Oliva and Allison in the fourth, but George Mitterwald hit into a force out to end that threat.

The Twins got on the board in the sixth.  Carew got a bunt single, his second bunt single of the game.  Harmon Killebrew walked.  With two out, Allison singled to tie the score 1-1.

The Orioles threatened in the seventh.  Elrod Hendricks and Johnson singled to open the inning, and Mark Belanger bunted them to second and third.  Boswell struck out Cuellar and Buford, however, and the inning ended.  Baltimore did get the lead in the eighth, though.  Frank Robinson was hit by a pitch, went to second on a wild pitch, and advanced to third on a ground out.  With two down, it appears that Boswell missed a return throw from Mitterwald, and that his error allowed Robinson to score and give the Orioles a 2-1 lead.

The Twins went into the lead to stay in the bottom of the eighth.  Cesar Tovar led off with a single and Carew followed with an inside-the-park home run to center field that gave Minnesota a 3-2 lead.  With two out, Allison walked and his pinch-runner, Ted Uhlaender, stole second.  Leo Cardenas then singled him home for an insurance run.

Boswell nearly got the complete game, but with two out in the ninth he walked Mark Belanger.  Dave May was announced as a pinch-hitter, prompting Billy Martin to bring in Ron Perranoski.  Merv Rettenmund then pinch-hit for May and flied out to center to end the game.

WP:  Boswell (4-3).  LP:  Cuellar (3-4).  S:  Perranoski (7).

Notes:  Tovar was in center field, replacing Uhlaender.  Rick Renick played third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Rees sitting out.  Mitterwald caught in place of Johnny Roseboro.

Carew raised his average to .408.  Cardenas was 1-for-4 and was batting .311.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .307.

Boswell's ERA was 2.68.  Perranoski had an ERA of 0.36.

The Twins had a lot of guys on the roster who could play third base.  Killebrew was the primary third baseman, of course.  But there was also Frank Quilici, who was used as Killebrew's defensive replacement in games in which the Twins had a late lead.  Graig Nettles, who was usually used in left field in 1969, was really a third baseman, and there was also Renick.  In addition, Tovar could also play third base.    The Twins also used Ron Clark at third base for two games.

Back when teams had deep benches, using a pinch-hitter for pinch-hitter was a common strategy.  A pinch-hitter would be announced, the defense would change pitchers to gain a platoon advantage, and the offense would pinch-hit for the pinch-hitter to get the platoon advantage back.  The pitcher, of course, had to stay in the game at that point.  As I said, this was common back in the day.  I don't remember the last time I've seen it, though.  Teams just don't have enough guys on the bench to do it any more.

Record:  The Twins were 19-9, tied with Oakland for first place in the American League, although ahead on winning percentage.