WASHINGTON 11, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Sunday, August 23.
Batting star: Charlie Manuel was 1-for-1.
Pitching star: Dick Woodson pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Aurelio Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base (his tenth), and two runs. Del Unser was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer (his fifth), a walk, and two runs. Ed Brinkman was 2-for-5. Ed Stroud was 2-for-6 with two runs. Frank Howard was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his thirty-sixth. Dick Bosman pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and no walks and striking out three.
The game: Stroud and Unser opened the game with singles and Howard followed with a three-run homer, putting the Senators up 3-0 three batters into the game. Washington then loaded the bases with two out, but did not score any more in the first. In the third, however, Mike Epstein walked, Rodriguez singled, and Jim French hit a two-run triple. A ground out scored French to make it 6-0 Senators through three. In the sixth Bosman and Stroud singled and Unser hit a three-run homer to increase the lead to 9-0.
Meanwhile, the Twins managed just three hits, all singles, through those six innings. They finally got on the board in the seventh. With two out Jim Holt doubled and Leo Cardenas singled him in. That was as good as it got, though. With two out in the eighth Epstein walked, Rodriguez hit an RBI triple, and Brinkman had a run-scoring single to bring the final score to 11-1.
WP: Bosman (13-9).
LP: Jim Perry (18-11).
S: None.
Notes: Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew. Holt was in center, with Cesar Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.
Paul Ratliff came in to catch in the sixth as part of a double switch, with George Mitterwald going to the bench. Bob Allison went to left field in the seventh in place of Tovar. Manuel went to right in the seventh in place of Tony Oliva. Rick Renick pinch-hit for Woodson in the seventh. Frank Quilici went to third base in place of Harmon Killebrew in the eighth.
Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .319.
Pete Hamm allowed three runs in three innings and had an ERA of 6.08.
Perry started but lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two. By game scores this was his worst game of the season, and it was his second-shortest start. He would bounce back to throw complete games in his next two starts.
Hamm would go back to AAA after this game, and would not pitch in the majors again until September 26.
Luis Tiant made his only relief appearance of the season, allowing two runs in two innings.
The Twins lost two out of three in the series and had lost five of their last six games against the last-place Senators. They would now host Boston for three games.
Record: The Twins were 73-50, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.