MINNESOTA 8, CALIFORNIA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Jim Perry was 3-for-3 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixteenth) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.

Pitching star:  Perry struck out nine in a complete game, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Aurelio Rodriguez was 2-for-3.  Eddie Fisher pitched a perfect inning.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Angels' starter Tom Murphy for three runs in the first inning.  A walk and an error put two men on with none out.  Tony Oliva singled home the first run, leaving men on first and second.  With Harmon Killebrew up to bat, the Twins pulled off a double steal, with Rod Carew swiping third and Oliva taking second.  Then, with Killebrew still at the plate, they pulled off another double steal, with Carew stealing home and Oliva taking third.  Killebrew then singled to bring Oliva home with the third run of the inning.

California put two men on in the second, but did not score.  In the third, walks to Carew and Killebrew put men on first and second with one out.  Rich Reese singled home a run, a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and Graig Nettles delivered a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-0.

The Angels again put two men on in the fifth but did not score.  They finally got on the board in the sixth, as Jim Fregosi doubled, Rick Reichardt singled him to third, and Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the sixth, although they should have gotten more.  Nettles walked, Leo Cardenas singled, and Johnny Roseboro walked to fill the bases with none out.  Jim Perry then hit into a strange double play.  He hit a fly ball to center, which Jay Johnstone dropped for an error.  Cesar Tovar scored, so Perry got credit for a sacrifice fly, but Cardenas was forced out at third and Roseboro was forced at second.  Anyway, at this point the score was 6-1.

The Twins finished their scoring in the seventh.  With two out and none on, Killebrew homered, followed by back-to-back doubles by Frank Quilici and Tovar to make the score 8-1.  California added one in the ninth when Rodriguez and Jim Spencer singled and Joe Azcue hit a sacrifice fly.

WP:  Perry (5-3).  LP:  Tom Murphy (4-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was again Nettles in left, Killebrew at third, and Reese at first.  The standard defensive change, with Tovar going to left, Quilici to third, and Killebrew to first, came in the seventh inning.

Carew was 0-for-4 with a walk and was now batting .382.

Perry falls into the "good hitter for a pitcher" category, rather than really being a good hitter.  His lifetime numbers were .199/.228/.247.  He'd had three not-so-good starts before this one.

I don't know that it was good percentage ball, but this Twins team was sure exciting to watch.  A double steal of second and third, followed by a double steal of third and home, both with Harmon Killebrew at the plate.  It seems to me that this falls into the category of "it looks really good when it works", but it sure had to be fun to see.

I don't know that I've ever heard of a sacrifice fly/error/double play before.  I don't know how often that's happened, but it sure seems unusual 🙂

Teams usually want a fair amount of offense at third base, but Aurelio Rodriguez had a long career as primarily a glove man at the position.  He had the misfortune to have most of his career overlap that of Brooks Robinson, so he only won one Gold Glove, but he was known as a really good defender.  His highest batting average (when he had a significant number of at-bats) was .265, in 1978.  His highest OPS (same qualification) was .721, in 1970.  His career numbers are .237/.275/.351.  Still he played for seventeen seasons.  He was with the Angels from 1967 through early 1970, when he was traded to Washington.  He was traded to Detroit after the season and played there from 1971-1979.  1980 was split between San Diego and the Yankees and was his last season as a regular.  He was still with the Yankees in 1981 but was apparently injured, as he played only twenty-seven games.  He was with the White Sox in 1982 and split the 1983 season between the White Sox and Baltimore.  Again, not much of a batter, but a good enough defender that teams kept playing him for a long time.  He also has all the vowels in his first name.

Record:  The Twins were 32-26, in first place in the American League West, leading Oakland by a half game.

MINNESOTA 3, CLEVELAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 15.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a triple, two walks, and two RBIs.  Rod Carew was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Tony Horton was 2-for-4.  Steve Hargan pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and seven (!) walks, striking out four.

The game:  Ted Uhlaender opened the bottom of the first with an infield single and Rod Carew walked.  With one out, Killebrew tripled, bringing them both home and giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Twins threatened to lengthen their lead in the third, but failed to do so.  Tony Oliva singled with one out and Killebrew walked.  A ground out moved the runners up and Graig Nettles was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Leo Cardenas popped up to end the threat.  It cost them, because the Indians tied it in the fourth.  Larry Brown singled, Ken Harrelson reached on an error, Horton singled home a run, and an error brought home the tying run.

The Twins put two on in the bottom of the fourth, but again did not score.  Neither team threatened after that until the seventh.  Carew walked leading off the inning and Killebrew walked with one out.  A force out put men on first and third with two down and Nettles got an infield hit to put the Twins ahead 3-2.  Cleveland did not have a hit after the fifth and did not get a baserunner after the seventh, so the lead held and the Twins won.

WP:  Boswell (8-7).  LP:  Hargan (1-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Billy Martin went back to the defensive arrangement he had used so often at the start of the season, with Nettles in left, Killebrew at third, and Rich Reese at first.  It was Reese's first start at first base since May 14.  The standard defensive switches were also made, with Cesar Tovar coming in to play left, Frank Quilici going to third, and Killebrew moving to first, in the ninth inning.

Carew raised his average to .391, Boswell lowered his ERA to 2.93.

Boswell bounced back well after his previous start, in which he had allowed five runs (four earned) in just 3.1 innings.

Steve Hargan had a few years when he was very good, and a few more when he was fairly decent, but this was not one of them.  At the close of this game, his ERA was 8.20.  He would end the season at 5-14, 5.70 with a WHIP of 1.57.  Walks were a major reason for the swings in his career.  He had five seasons in which his walks per nine innings were under three and one in which it was just slightly over, and those were his five good years.  He had five years in which his walks per nine innings were over four, and those were his bad years.  His good seasons were 1966-1967, 1970, and 1974-1976.  A hard thrower, it appears that he had arm problems which hampered his control.  His mid-70s resurgence appears to have come from a conversion from a flamethrower to a junkballer.  We use that term with no disrespect--any legal way you can get major league batters out is a good way.  For his career, he was 87-107, 3.92, 1.35 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 31-26, tied for first place with Oakland in the American League West.  They were actually slightly behind based on winning percentage, .545 to .544.

CLEVELAND 12, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 14.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had six hits, all singles, and no player had more than one.  They did not draw any walks.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.  Bob Miller pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Dick Ellsworth pitched a complete game shutout, giving up six hits and no walks and striking out two.  He was also 2-for-5.  Tony Horton was 2-for-4 with a double and two walks.  Ken Suarez was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Ex-Twin Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs.  Vern Fuller was 1-for-1 with a three-run homer, his second.

The game:  The Indians started the scoring in the third.  With two out and none on, Versalles singled and Larry Brown reached on an error.  Ken Harrelson then singled home a run, Horton walked, and Cap Peterson delivered a two-run single, making the scored 3-0.  Cleveland added a run in the fourth, as Max Alvis doubled, went to third on an Ellsworth single, and scored on a ground out.

Meanwhile, the Twins weren't doing much of anything on offense.  They had a mild threat in the third, when Frank Quilici singled and Rick Renick reached on a two-out error, but Leo Cardenas flied out to end the inning.

Cleveland put the game out of reach in the seventh.  Harrelson and Horton opened the inning with back-to-back walks.  A bunt moved them to second and third, and Jose Cardenal was intentionally walked.  Chuck Hinton grounded out, but Suarez delivered a three-run double to make the score 7-0.  They added five in the eighth, including Fuller's three-run homer, to make it 12-0.

The Twins did manage to put two men on in the eighth, when Cesar Tovar and Tom Tischinski had one-out singles.  Renick hit into a double play to end the threat.

WP:  Ellsworth (3-2).  LP:  Kaat (6-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Renick was at third base and was also leading off, despite the fact that he was sporting a .161 batting average and an OBP of .257.  The Twins had four men in the starting lineup with averages lower than .210.  In addition to Renick, there was Quilici (.145), Bob Allison (.203), and Tovar (.209).  And that does not include Kaat (.143).  In addition, George Mitterwald (.233) was behind the plate rather than Johnny Roseboro.

With only one of the runs he gave up earned, Kaat's ERA fell to 2.42.  Miller's ERA fell to 2.70.

Jerry Crider's scoreless string came to an end with a thud.  He pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on two hits and two walks.  His ERA went from zero to 5.14.

This game featured the season debut of Danny Morris.  He had appeared in three games as a September call-up in 1968.  He came on in the seventh inning and faced two batters.  Russ Synder laid down a sacrifice bunt and Cardenal was intentionally walked.  So, in a sense, he really didn't face anybody.

The Twins used a total of seven pitchers in this game.  Five of them pitched less than one inning.

Ken Suarez had nine RBIs for the season.  He had five of them in this series.

Record:  The Twins were 30-26, tied for first place with Oakland in the American League West.  They actually were one percentage point behind, .537 to .536.  They were 12-18 since May 11.