MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 1 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Wednesday, July 20.
Batting stars: Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4. Frank Quilici was 1-for-2 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Jim Perry pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks and striking out three. Ron Perranoski retired all four men he faced, striking out one.
Opposition stars: Don Wert was 2-for-3 with a double. Mickey Lolich pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.
The game: The Twins put two on with none out in the first, but a double play took them out of the inning. Neither team threatened again until the fifth, when Quilici walked, singles by Perry and Tovar loaded the bases, and Harmon Killebrew delivered a two-out two-run single, putting the Twins up 2-0.
The Tigers did not get a hit, or even a baserunner, until the sixth, when Wert led off with a single. They did not get another hit until the eighth. At that time Bill Freehan was hit by a pitch with one out, Wert doubled, and Elliot Maddox hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1. The tying run was on third with two out, but Perranoski came in to retire Jim Price on a ground out to end the inning. Detroit went down in order in the ninth.
WP: Perry (15-7).
LP: Lolich (9-11).
S: Perranoski (24).
Notes: Rick Renick was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea. Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew. Jim Holt replaced Renick in left in the seventh. Danny Thompson replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.
Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .320. Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .319. Tovar was batting .318. Perry was 1-for-2 and was batting .316. Perranoski had an ERA of 1.43.
Quilici was 1-for-2 and was batting .197.
Lolich was having an off year, although he wasn't that bad. He was 9-11 at this point, but with an ERA of .356. He would finish the season 14-19, with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. He still pitched 272.2 innings and had 13 complete games, he clearly didn't have a lot of short starts. He would come back in 1971 to win 25 games and lead the league in complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts. He would finish second in Cy Young voting to Vida Blue.
Record: The Twins were 58-31, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.