MINNESOTA 8, OAKLAND 6 IN OAKLAND (18 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, September 6.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 4-for-8 with a home run (his ninth), scoring three times and driving in three.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-8 with two home runs (his twentieth and twenty-first) and four RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bob Miller pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Jim Kaat struck out ten in 9.1 innings of relief (!), giving up one run on eight hits and five walks.

Opposition stars:  Jose Tartabull was 3-for-9 with a triple and two runs.  Bert Campaneris was 3-for-9 with two stolen bases (his fiftieth and fifty-first) and two runs.  Reggie Jackson was 2-for-7 with a home run (his forty-sixth) and four RBIs.  Danny Cater was 2-for-7 with two walks.  Sal Bando was 2-for-7 with two walks.  Marcel Lachemann pitched six shutout innings of relief, giving up two hits and no walks and striking out one.

The game:  In the third, Rick Renick singled and was still on first with two out.  Then came a walk to Ted Uhlaender, Tovar hit an RBI single, and Oliva hit a three-run homer to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.  The Twins then loaded the bases with two singles and a walk, but Johnny Roseboro fanned to end the inning.

Oakland got on the board in the fourth when Tartabull tripled and Jackson singled.  The Twins got the run back in the fifth when Tovar singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Bob Allison single.  The score was 5-1 Twins, and it looked good for the visitors.  In the bottom of the fifth, however, Tommie Reynolds reached base on an error.  He was on third with two out when Campaneris singled to make the score 5-2.  Tartabull then singled and Jackson followed with a three-run homer, making the score 5-5 through five.

There was no more scoring for a long time.  The Athletics put men on first and second with one out in the sixth, but a double play ended the inning.  They again had men on first and second with one out in the ninth, but a strikeout and a fly out closed out the threat.  They loaded the bases with two out in the thirteenth, but Gene Tenace struck out.  The again loaded the bases with two out in the fourteenth, but Sal Bando struck out.  They had men on first and second with two out in the fifteenth, but Tony LaRussa grounded out.

Meanwhile, the Twins were doing pretty much nothing.  They had only three hits from the sixth through the fifteenth.  With one out in the sixteenth, however, Oliva hit his second home run of the game to put the Twins up 6-5.  It was not enough, however, as in the bottom of the sixteenth the Athletics finally cashed in a threat.  Campaneris led off with a single and stole second and third.  Tartabull got an infield single, but Campaneris remained at third base.  With one out, Bando walked to fill the bases.  Oakland didn't make maximum use of the runners, but Dick Green hit a sacrifice fly to tie the score 6-6.

The game continued.  Neither team threatened in the seventeenth.  In the eighteenth, Holt led off with a single and Tovar hit a two-run homer to put Minnesota in the lead 8-6.  This time they would keep the lead.  Bando drew a one-out walk, but that was as much as the Athletics could do.

WP:  Kaat (12-11).  LP:  George Lauzerique (3-4).  S:  Ron Perranoski (27).

Notes:  Carew was still out of the lineup, so it was again Tovar at second and Uhlaender in center.  This time it was Graig Nettles in left, but Allison pinch-hit for him in the fifth and remained in the game.  Renick was at shortstop to give Leo Cardenas a day off, but after Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Renick in the ninth Cardenas came in and essentially played a full game.

Rich Reese went 1-for-7 and was batting .328.  Oliva was batting .316.  Perranoski retired the last two batters of the game to make his ERA 2.15.

Tom Hall started for the Twins and pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out one.  Chuck Dobson started for Oakland and pitched 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and a walk.

I wonder when the last time is someone pitched over nine innings of relief in a game.

It's also pretty amazing that Kaat allowed thirteen baserunners but gave up just one run.  For the game, the Athletics stranded eighteen and went 4-for-19 with men in scoring position.  On the other hand, the Twins stranded just seven and went 3-for-7 with men in scoring position.

This had to be a particularly disheartening loss for Oakland in what was almost a must-win game.  They had so many chances to win and just could not push the deciding run across.  And then, not only to lose in extra innings for the second time in three games, but to have both losses come as the result of home runs by Cesar Tovar, of all people.  I'm sure they didn't give up and quit, but I suspect that deep down they knew the pennant race was over.

Record:  The Twins were 84-53, in first place in the American League West, leading Oakland by 7.5 games.