CLEVELAND INDIANS 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Monday, July 20, 1992.
Batting stars: Shane Mack was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double. Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Willie Banks pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks and striking out five.
Opposition stars: Sandy Alomar was 2-for-4. Thomas Howard was 2-for-5 with two RBIs. Dennis Cook pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on eight hits and striking out four. Steve Olin struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up three hits.
The game: The first two Cleveland batters went out, but then Carlos Baerga walked, Albert Belle singled, and Paul Sorrento doubled to give the Indians a 2-0 lead. The Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the first, but could do nothing with them. Shane Mack hit a two-out triple in the third, but was also stranded. The Twins finally got on the board in the fifth, with everything again happening with two out. Chuck Knoblauch singled and scored on Mack’s double to cut the lead to 2-1.
It stayed 2-1 until the ninth. Sorrento walked and Mark Whiten singled. A bunt moved men to second and third and Felix Fermin was intentionally walked to load the bases. Sandy Alomar singled home one and Thomas Howard singled home two, making the score 5-1. The Twins got a couple of infield singles in the bottom of the ninth, but could not bring the tying run to the plate.
WP: Dennis Cook (3-5).
LP: Willie Banks (3-3).
S: Steve Olin (17).
Notes: Kirby Puckett was batting .335. He would finish at .329. Chuck Knoblauch was batting .309. He would finish at .297. Brian Harper was batting .305. He would finish at.307. Shane Mack was batting .302. He would finish at .315.
Paul Sorrento played for the Twins from 1989-1991. He was traded shortly before the 1992 season for Curtis Leskanic and Oscar Munoz.
By game scores, this was tied for the best start of the season for Willie Banks. It equalled a start on June 21 against Seattle in which he pitched six shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out five. Seven of his game scores were over fifty, but the other five were below forty, adding up to an ERA of 5.70.
The Twins had a very good rotation in 1992, lacking only a fifth starter. John Smiley (3.21), Kevin Tapani (3.97), Scott Erickson (3.40), and Bill Krueger (4.30) all got the job done. Fifth starters, other than Banks, were Pat Mahomes (5.04), David West (6.99) and Mike Trombley (3.30). It was Trombley’s rookie year, and they did not turn to him until September.
Sadly, this was Steve Olin’s last season. He appeared to be on the verge of becoming a star reliever when he and fellow reliever Tim Crews died in a boating accident during 1993 spring training.
Record: Cleveland was 38-55, in seventh (last) place in the AL East, 18.5 games behind Toronto. They would finish 76-86, tied for fourth with New York, 20 games behind Toronto.
The Twins were 56-36, in first place, 3 games ahead of Oakland. They would finish 90-72., in second place, 6 games behind Oakland.
Random Record: The Random Twins are 23-20 (.535).