BOSTON 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN BOSTON
Date: Thursday, June 4.
Batting star: Rod Carew was 2-for-4.
Pitching star: Steve Barber pitched two shutout innings, giving up two walks.
Opposition stars: Carl Yastrzemski was 3-for-3 with a walk. Mike Andrews was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fifth), two walks, and two runs. Reggie Smith was 2-for-4. Billy Conigliaro was 1-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and two runs. Sonny Siebert pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and one walk and striking out four.
The game: The Twins had two on in the first and the Red Sox had two in both the first and second, but it was scoreless until the third, when singles by Andrews, Yastrzemski, and Rico Petrocelli gave Boston a 1-0 lead. The Twins tied it 1-1 in the fifth when Paul Ratliff singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Carew single.
But that was as good as it got for the Twins. The Red Sox got the lead back in the bottom of the fifth when Andrews walked and Yastrzemski and Smith singled. They took control in the sixth. Tom Satriano was hit by a pitch, and with one out Andrews and Conigliaro hit back-to-back homers, giving Boston a 5-1 lead. The Twins did not get a baserunner in the final three innings.
WP: Siebert (5-2).
LP: Jim Kaat (5-2).
S: None.
Notes: Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea. Ratliff was once again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald. Alyea pinch-hit for Bill Zepp in the seventh.
Carew was batting .393. Renick was 1-for-4 and was batting .324. Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .321. Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .318.
Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out four.
Presumably a game on Wednesday, June 3 was rained out.
Killebrew drew a walk in his sixth consecutive game. He had ten walks in those games. For his career, he led the league in walks four times, drew over a hundred walks seven times, and drew ninety or more walks ten times.
Record: The Twins were 31-15, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California. They had the best winning percentage in the league at .674, bested only by the Big Red Machine in the National League (.712).