MINNESOTA 13, OAKLAND 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 5.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 4-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-6 with two home runs (his twenty-first and twenty-second) and a walk, driving in six.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-4 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, scoring three times.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Phil Roof was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Reggie Jackson was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirty-fourth) and a walk.  George Lauzerique pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.

The game:  Jackson homered with two out in the first inning to give the Athletics a 1-0 lead.  It didn't last long.  in the bottom of the first, Uhlaender was hit by a pitch, Rod Carew tripled, Oliva singled, and Killebrew hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-1 before anyone was retired.

The Twins didn't let up.  In the second, Uhlaender walked, Oliva singled, and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to make the score 7-1.  In the third, Leo Cardenas singled, Cesar Tovar was hit by a pitch, Perry had a two-run single-plus-error, Uhlaender had an infield single, and Carew had a run-scoring ground out, leaving the Twins ahead 10-1 after three.

The Twins added some more.  Killebrew singled home a run in the fifth.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the sixth, but only scored on when Perry hit into a double play.  They again loaded the bases with none out in the seventh and only scored one, this time on a Johnny Roseboro ground out.  Not to complain about a 13-1 victory, but the Twins certainly could have scored more.

WP:  Perry (7-4).  LP:  Chuck Dobson (9-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-5 with a walk, making his average .363.  Oliva raised his average to .326.  Rich Reese was 0-for-5 to make his average .317.

Tovar was in left field in this game.

Dobson, like Catfish Hunter, was a fine pitcher in 1969 except against the Twins.  For the season he was 15-13, 3.86, 1.38 WHIP.  Against the Twins, in four starts, he was 1-2, 10.69, 2.000 WHIP.  He pitched a total of sixteen innings in those four starts.  The Twins had a slash line of .373/.413/.587 against him, for an OPS of .999.  No one else had an OPS of .800 or better against him.  In this game, he lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs on six hits and a walk.  He struck out one.

As noted above, Jackson hit his thirty-fourth home run in this game.  He would hit just thirteen more the rest of the season.

Record:  The Twins were 45-34, in first place in the American League West, a game ahead of Oakland.  Since dropping the first three games of the Kansas City series, the Twins had won six of seven.