OAKLAND 3, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1)
Date: Sunday, August 9.
Batting star: Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Tom Hall struck out seven in five shutout innings of relief, giving up only a walk. Ron Perranoski struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.
Opposition stars: Chuck Dobson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out six. Don Mincher was 3-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his fourth) and two RBIs.
The game: With two out in the first Tommy Davis singled and scored on Mincher's double. Sal Bando followed with a single to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead. The Twins drew a pair of walks in the bottom of the first but did not score. In the third, Bert Campaneris doubled and scored on Mincher's single to make it 3-0.
And that was it for the scoring. The Twins did not get a hit until the fifth. The first inning was the only time they had more than one man on base. The only other time they got a man past first was in the ninth. Killebrew led off with a single, and pinch-runner Frank Quilici got to third on a pair of ground outs. But a third ground out ended the game.
WP: Dobson (14-10).
LP: Bert Blyleven (3-3).
S: None.
Notes: Jim Holt was back in center, with Cesar Tovar moving to left. Danny Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew. Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Blyleven in the third. Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the eighth. Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.
Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .326. Blyleven had an ERA of 2.99. Hall had an ERA of 2.49. Perranoski had an ERA of 2.19.
In their last four games, the Twins had scored seven runs and given up six.
Blyleven pitched just three innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks and striking out three. It seems like a really quick hook. The Twins did have a rested bullpen, though.
The Twins had only four hits, all singles.
Record: The Twins were 69-40, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of California.