MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Sunday, May 17.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.  Paul Ratliff was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Phil Roof was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Bobby Bolin struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  Steve Hovley led off the second with a single.  The next two batters went out, but Roof singled and pitcher Lew Krausse delivered an RBI single to put the Brewers up 1-0.

It looked like the 1-0 lead might hold up.  The Twins got a man to third in the third inning, but did not otherwise threaten through five.  In the sixth, however, Perry led off with a single.  Cesar Tovar hit into a force out, but Carew singled and Tony Oliva hit an RBI double to tie the score.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Rich Reese hit into a force out to give the Twins the lead, and error scored two runs, and Leo Cardenas singled home one more running, putting the Twins up 5-1.  In the seventh, Tovar reached on an error and scored on a Carew single to make it 6-1.

Perry remained in control, allowing no hits in innings three through eight.  He allowed a pair of two-out singles in the ninth, but Ted Savage flied out to end the game.

WP:  Perry (6-2).

LP:  Krausse (3-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Paul Ratliff remained at catcher in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the sixth and remained in the game in left field.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew's 2-for-5 lowered his average to .407.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .331.  Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .321.  Alyea was 1-for-3 and was batting .303.  Perry had an ERA of 2.54.

Holt was 0-for-1 and was batting .147.

Carew was 14-for-23 over his last five games and 18-for-38 over his last nine games.  He had two or more hits in five games in a row and seven of the nine.  In one of the games in which he did not get two hits, he was a pinch-hitter and only batted once.

Bobby Bolin had been a fine pitcher for the Giants throughout the '60s.  He struggled in 1970 and 1971, but had a couple of fine seasons working out of the Boston bullpen before retiring after the 1963 campaign.  He both started and relieved throughout his career, which kept his counting numbers down.  In thirteen seasons he was 88-75, 3.40, 1.24 WHIP in 1576 innings (495 games, 164 starts).  He never led the league in anything and he never got any Cy Young support, but he was someone you'd be very happy to have on your pitching staff for several years.

The Twins had won their fourth consecutive game and twelve out of sixteen.

Record:  The Twins were 22-10, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.