MINNESOTA 6, KANSAS CITY 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 10.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fifth) and two RBIs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double, driving in two.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his ninth.  Mike Fiore was 1-for-3 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk, scoring twice.  Chuck Harrison was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, his third.  Don O'Riley pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Pat Kelly led off the game with a double and stole third, but Boswell struck out Joe Foy, Fiore, and Piniella to keep the Royals off the board.  The Twins got on that board in the bottom of the first.  Ted Uhlaender walked and scored on a Carew triple.  Killebrew later hit a one-out single to put the Twins ahead 2-0.

The Twins scored single runs in each of the next four innings.  In the second, Cesar Tovar got an infield single, was bunted to second, and scored on Carew's double.  In the third, Killebrew hit a home run.  In the fourth, Tovar reached on a two-base error, was bunted to third, and scored on a pickoff error.  In the fifth, Tony Oliva singled, went to third on a Rich Reese single, and scored on Johnny Roseboro's squeeze bunt.  After that, the score was 6-0 Twins through five innings.

Apart from the first-inning threat, Kansas City really didn't do much in the first five innings.  The best they could do was get a couple of guys on base with two out in the fourth.  In the sixth, however, Fiore homered.  Piniella reached on an error, Bob Oliver got an infield single, and Boswell was surprisingly removed from the game.  Dick Woodson came in and got the Twins out of the sixth, but could not get the job done in the seventh.  Ex-Twin Jackie Hernandez led off the inning with a single and Harrison hit a pinch-hit two-run homer.  The next two batters were retired but Fiore walked, leading to Woodson coming out in favor of Ron Perranoski.  He immediately gave up a two-run homer to Piniella, and suddenly the Twins lead was just 6-5.

Perranoski shut the door after that, though.  He struck out Oliver to end the seventh and did not allow a hit the rest of the way.  The only baserunner the Royals got was on a Paul Schaal walk in the eighth.  The Twins held on for the 6-5 win.

WP:  Boswell (11-8).  LP:  Dick Drago (4-8).  S:  Perranoski (17).

Notes:  Uhlaender was again in left, with Tovar in center.

Carew raised his average to .356.  Oliva was batting .331.  Reese raised his average to .312.  Perranoski's ERA went to 2.14.

The removal of Boswell in the sixth inning seems really out of character with the way Billy Martin had been handling his pitching staff this season.  It's possible, of course, that Boswell wasn't feeling well or something and that led to him coming out early.  But after Kelly's leadoff double he had given up just two more hits, both singles, through five innings.  Granted that he gave up the home run to Fiore, but then came an error and an infield hit, so it's not like Kansas City was cuffing him around.  It seems like an odd thing for Martin to have done.

Bringing in Woodson also seems like an odd decision.  He had just pitched an inning and a third the day before and had not done all that well, giving up the losing run.  And Woodson was apparently battling an injury--this would be the last game he would pitch until August 2.  Now, second-guessing a manager fifty years after the fact is a tricky thing.  There could have been all kinds of factors going into Martin's decision that we know nothing about.  But from what we do know, this seems like a strange thing for him to have done.  And while it didn't cost the Twins the game, you can't really say it worked, either.

Speaking of odd, first baseman Mike Fiore had kind of an odd career.  1969 was his rookie season, and as a twenty-four-year old he hit .274/.420/.428.  He never got a chance to be a regular again.  The Royals had a new manager in 1970, Charlie Metro, and according to Fiore Metro took an immediate dislike to him.  Bob Oliver became the regular first baseman and Fiore was traded to the Red Sox in late May.  The Red Sox had George Scott at first base, and also used Carl Yastrzemski there, and Fiore wasn't about to beat out either of them.  He was traded to St. Louis in March of 1972, but they had Matty Alou and Donn Clendenon at first base.  He spent 1973-1978 in AAA, most of those years for Baltimore.  He had an OPS of over. 800 three times, one of them over .900, but never got so much as a September call-up.  The Orioles had people like Boog Powell, Lee May, and then Eddie Murray at first base, and again there was no room for Fiore.   For the teams with veterans, it's understandable why Fiore didn't get a chance.  it's hard to understand, though, why the Royals wouldn't try to make something of a twenty-four-year-old with an OPS of .848.  We'll never know what would've happened if they had, but given that they didn't have a first baseman do that well again until John Mayberry came along in 1972, it seems like it would have been worth their while to find out.

Record:  The Twins were 49-35, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, July 9.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-fourth) and a walk, driving in two.

Pitching star:  Al Worthington pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Roger Nelson pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on nine hits and five walks and striking out two.  Joe Foy was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifth) and a walk, scoring tiwce.  Mike Fiore was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Bob Oliver was 2-for-4.

The game:  It looked good for the Twins early.  With one out in the first, Rod Carew and Oliva got back-to-back singles and an RBI ground out put them up 1-0.  In the second, Jim Perry hit a two-out double that scored Johnny Roseboro to make it 2-0.  Killebrew hit a two-out home run in the third to make it 3-0.

It would not hold up, though.  With two out and none on in the fifth, Pat Kelly walked and Foy hit a two-run homer to make the score 3-2.  It did not kill the rally, as Fiore doubled and Lou Piniella hit an RBI single to tie it 3-3.

The Twins missed chances in the fifth and sixth.  In the fifth, Oliva had a two-out single and Killebrew walked, but Rich Reese grounded out to end the inning.  In the sixth, Cardenas singled and went to second and third on two wild pitches, but was caught trying to steal home.  The missed chances cost the Twins, as the Royals tooke the lead in the seventh.  Foy walked with one out, Fiore doubled, and Piniella hit into a fielder's choice that brought home the go-ahead run.  The Twins did not get a hit after the sixth inning, nor did they get a man past first base.

WP:  Nelson (6-7).  LP:  Dick Woodson (6-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-4, dropping his average to .354.  He was batting .382 on June 28, but had gone 10-for-47 since.  Oliva raised his average to .332.  Reese went 0-for-4 and was batting .306.

Twins starter Perry pitched five innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.

Cesar Tovar was once again in center field with Uhlaender in left.

In addition to leading the league in home runs and RBIs in 1969, Killebrew also led the league in walks and on-base percentage.  It was the third time he led the league in walks.  I wonder if any of the writers ever criticized him for taking too many pitches and not being aggressive enough at the plate.

This was Roger Nelson's only full season as a rotation starter.  He did pretty well, going 7-13, 3.31, 1.22 WHIP.  He had gotten a September call-up with the White Sox in 1967 and had done well in about half a season with Baltimore in 1968 before being taken by the Royals with the first pick in the expansion draft after the sesaon.  He missed much of the next two seasons with injuries, but came back strong in 1972.  He started that season in the bullpen, possibly because of the injury concerns, but was in the Royals rotation by the end of June and stayed there the rest of the season.  He went 11-6, 2.08 in 173.1 innings, with ten complete games and six shutouts.  He led the league in WHIP with 0.87 and in K/W ration at 3.87.  He was traded to Cincinnati after the season and injuries struck again.  He did all right for the Reds when he could pitch, but in two seasons he could work only 140 innings (28 games, 20 starts), going 7-6, 3.42, 1.25 WHIP.  He had a poor year in AAA for Oakland in 1975 and then tried to come back as a reliever, but could make only three more big league appearances, for Kansas City in 1976.  He stayed in the minors through 1979, then was done.  His career numbers are 29-32, 3.06, 1.11 WHIP in 636.1 innings.  He appeared in 135 games, 77 of them starts.  If he'd been able to stay healthy, he might have had a heck of a career.  It seems like you never hear of kids being named "Roger" any more.

Record:  The Twins were 48-35, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-3 with a home run (his thirteenth) and a walk.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a home run and a stolen base (his fourteenth), scoring twice.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Bob Miller pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Wally Bunker pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on ten hits and a walk and striking out six.  Eliseo Rodriguez was 3-for-4.  Pat Kelly was 2-for-5.

The game:  Both teams had missed opportunities, as they combined to strand seventeen runners.  The Royals had men on first and second with one out in the first inning, but Bob Oliver hit into a double play.  The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the first when Oliva hit a two-out solo home run.  Kansas City evened the score in the second when Rodriguez singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on two wild pitches.  The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the bottom of the second, but did not score.

Kansas City went into the lead again in the fourth.  Oliver walked and went to third on Lou Piniella's single with one out.  Then, Rodriguez hit what b-r.com describes as a "Single to P (Pop Fly)", which scored Oliver and put the Royals up 2-1.  The Twins put men on first and third with none out in the bottom of the fourth, but the rally fizzled when Rich Reese was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third.

Kansas City had three singles in the seventh, but a double play killed their rally.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the seventh when Tovar singled, stole second, and scored on Uhlaender's single.  They finally took their first lead in the eighth when Cardenas hit a one-out double and scored on Tovar's two-run homer.

The Royals didn't go away quietly.  With two out and none on, consecutive singles by Hawk Taylor, Ed Kirkpatrick, and Pat Kelly made the score 4-3 with men on first and third.  Paul Schaal then grounded to short to end the game.

WP:  Al Worthington (2-0).  LP:  Moe Drabowsky (6-6).  S:  Ron Perranoski (16).

Notes:  It was again Tovar in center and Uhlaender in left.

Rod Carew was 1-for-4 with a double and was batting .356.  Oliva raised his average to .330.  Reese was 1-for-4 and was batting .313.

Miller's ERA was now 2.87.  Perranoski's ERA was 2.08.

Miller, who had only once pitched as many as three innings before being put into the rotation on June 30, pitched 7.1, 9, and 7 innings in his three starts.

The Twins stranded nine runners, the Royals eight.  The Twins were 2-for-10 with men in scoring position, the Royals 2-for-7.

The Twins were 4-0 against Kansas City in Minnesota.  They were 1-5 against them in Kansas City.

Record:  The Twins were 48-34, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.  They had won five in a row and nine of their last ten.