BOSTON 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN BOSTON (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Saturday, August 15.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Reggie Smith was 3-for-3.  Rico Petrocelli was 3-for-4 with a home run (his twentieth) and two RBIs.  Mike Andrews was 2-for-4.  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-4.  Sonny Siebert pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.

The game:  With one out in the first Rich Reese singled and scored on an Oliva double to put the Twins up 1-0.  They had a chance for more, loading the bases with one out, but did not add to their lead.  In the bottom of the first singles by Andrews and Smith put men on first and third with none out and a double play tied the score.

The Twins went back in front in the second.  Danny Thompson singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single.  Tovar took second on the throw home and scored on an Oliva single to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.  The Red Sox got one back in the bottom of the inning when Petrocelli led off with a homer, making the score 3-2.

The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the third but failed to score.  From there, neither team threatened until the sixth.  With one out, Smith singled and an error put men on first and second.  With two out, RBI singles by Petrocelli and Conigliaro gave Boston its first lead at 4-3.  They got an insurance run in the seventh when Tom Satriano singled, went to third on Andrews' single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Twins did not threaten after the third inning, getting only two singles and not advancing a man past first base.

WP:  Siebert (13-6).

LP;  Jim Perry (17-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Harmon Killebrew given a rare game off.  Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .318.  Williams gave up a run in 2.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.11.

Perry pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out three.

Bill Rigney had, for several games, started Holt in center field and moved Tovar to left.  In recent games, he put Alyea back in left and moved Tovar back to center, presumably trying to get more offense into a slumping lineup.  But here, when he used Holt as a defensive substitute, he put him in left and left Tovar in center.  Interesting.

The Twins had now lost eight in a row.  They had scored fifteen runs in those eight games and had been scored 38-15.  In their last eleven games they had scored twenty-two runs.

Record:  The Twins were 69-46, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of Oakland.