OAKLAND 8, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Tuesday, April 15.
Batting star: Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBIs.
Pitching star: Pete Filson pitched 3.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on six hits and no walks and striking out three.
Opposition stars: Moose Haas pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out five. Alfredo Griffin was 4-for-5 with a stolen base and two runs. Dwayne Murphy was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch and two RBIs. Tony Phillips was 2-for-4 with a walk. Bill Bathe was 2-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs. Dusty Baker was 2-for-5. Carney Lansford was 2-for-5.
The game: Jose Canseco doubled leading off the second. An error and a double play put the Athletics up 1-0. With one out in the bottom of the second Mark Salas and Gary Gaetti singled and the two of them pulled off a double steal, putting men on second and third. Lombardozzi then delivered a two-out ground-rule double to put the Twins up 2-1.
That was as good as it got for the Twins. With one out in the fifth Griffin singled and scored from first on Bathe's double to tie it. Phillips then singled and a sacrifice fly gave the Athletics a 3-2 lead. Oakland took control in the sixth. Canseco walked and Griffin hit a two-out single, putting men on first and second. The Athletics then had four consecutive RBI singles, by Bathe, Phillips, Murphy, and Baker, to take a 7-2 advantage.
The Twins did not get a man past first base after the second inning. Oakland added a run in the ninth on singles by Bruce Bochte and Lansford and an infield out.
WP: Haas (2-0). LP: Bill Latham (0-1). S: None.
Notes: Mickey Hatcher was in left field. Randy Bush was the primary left fielder, playing ninety games there. Billy Beane had sixty-four, Hatcher had forty-five, and Mark Davidson had twenty.
Jeff Reed pinch-hit for Lombardozzi in the eighth. Ron Washington pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the eighth. In the ninth Reed went behind the plate, Washington went to second base, Chris Pittaro came in to play shortstop, and Salas came out of the game.
This early in the season there were extreme batting averages on both ends. Roy Smalley led the team at .379--he finished at .246. Gary Gaetti was batting .357--he finished at .287. Kent Hrbek was at .345--he finished at .267.
On the other end of the scale, Gagne was batting .045--he would finish at .250. Hatcher was batting .050--he would finish at .278. Lombardozzi was batting .125--he would finish at .227. Salas was batting .138--he would finish at .233.
Latham started the game for the Twins. He pitched 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk and striking out two.
The Twins pitchers on this day were Latham, Dennis Burtt, and Filson. If anyone has memories of any of those pitchers, please contribute them, because I don't. I remembered that Filson came over in a trade with the Yankees, but that's it.
This was the last game of a four-game losing streak for the Twins.
Record: The Twins were 3-5, in sixth place in the American League West, two games behind Seattle. They would finish 71-91, in sixth place, twenty-one games behind California.
The Athletics were 4-4, tied for fourth place in the American League West, one game behind Seattle. They would finish 76-86, tied for third, sixteen games behind California.