KANSAS CITY 6, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Saturday, May 22.
Batting stars: Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and a walk, scoring once. Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with an RBI. Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Pitching star: Dick Stigman struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Fred Talbot struck out seven in 7.1 innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and two walks. Ken Harrelson was 3-for-5 with a triple and a double, scoring twice and driving in one. Mike Hershberger was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.
The game: In the first inning, Harrelson had an RBI triple and scored on a wild pitch to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead. Valdespino delivered a two-out RBI single in the third to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Athletics got two more in the fourth on two singles, an error, and a sacrifice fly. The Twins never got closer than three runs after that.
Of note: Tony Oliva was 0-for-5 with a run, dropping his average to .227. Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4. Earl Battey was 1-for-4.
Record: The loss dropped the Twins to 21-13, still in second, still two games behind Chicago.
Notes: The Twins used two pitchers as pinch-runners, Dave Boswell and Mudcat Grant.