MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Monday, June 8.
Batting stars: Gene Larkin was 1-for-1 with a triple and three RBIs. Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh. Roy Smalley was 2-for-2 with a walk.
Pitching stars: Mike Smithson pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout. Jeff Reardon struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Frank White was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in one. Willie Wilson was 2-for-5. Bo Jackson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.
The game: Puckett's homer in the sixth tied the score 2-2. The Twins opened the seventh with singles by Smalley and Tom Brunansky. Steve Lombardozzi bunted, but the Royals failed to get an out at third base, loading the bases. Dan Gladden hit into a force out at home, but Larkin pinch-hit for Al Newman and lined a triple down the right field line to give the Twins a 5-2 lead. The Royals threatened in the ninth. They opened the inning with a walk and a single off George Frazier, bringing Reardon into the game. He struck out the first two men he faced, but Hal McRae singled in a run and Wilson got an infield single to load the bases. Kevin Seitzer then struck out to end the game.
Of note: Randy Bush was 2-for-4...Mark Gubicza started for Kansas City and pitched well for six innings, but was charged with five runs in six innings, giving up six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
Record: The Twins were 30-26, in second place, one game behind Kansas City.
Notes: As you can see, this was a big series for early June, with the second place Twins playing the first place Royals...Newman was again at shortstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Gladden on the bench...Sal Butera was again the catcher, replacing Tim Laudner...Larkin raised his average to .372...Puckett went down to .316...Smalley raised his average to .318...The Twins pinch-ran for Smalley, the DH, in the seventh inning, meaning that Frazier and Reardon were in the lineup. Their spot did not come up.
Player profile: Bo Jackson, of course, was a star football player and was injured in football in 1990. He tried to come back in baseball, and did play for the White Sox in 1991 and 1993 and actually was pretty decent as a part-time player for California in 1994. He was never the same player he had been, though. He got a September call-up with the Royals in 1986 and was a starting outfielder for them from 1987-1990. He struck out a lot, but he also hit for power and stole a good number of bases. In addition, he made some spectacular plays in the outfield. In his four-plus seasons before getting hurt, he hit .250/.309/.474 with 142 home runs and 82 stolen bases. He made one all-star team, in 1989, famously hitting a home run in the first inning. He might have come back after the 1994 season--he hit .274/.344/.507 in 201 at-bats that season--but after the players' strike he decided he was enjoying spending the time with his family and elected not to play any more. He has kept a relatively low profile since then, so much so that many people have forgotten what an incredibly talented and popular athlete he once was. Still, there's something refreshing in this day and age about an athlete gracefully stepping out of the spotlight.
Technically, I don't think the pitchers entered the lineup because of the pinch runner for Smalley. I suspect that what caused the pitchers to enter the lineup was Gagne, who had pinch-run for Smalley, moving to short to replace Newman after Larkin pinch-hit for Newmie later in that inning. Any pinch-runner for the DH should become the new DH (as in Jarvis Brown becoming the DH after pinch-running for Chili Davis in Game Seven, which set up Larkin as the pinch-hitter with the bases loaded). If the DH moves to play a defensive position, then the pitchers enter the lineup in the spot of the replaced defensive player unless multiple substitutions are made. Since Laudner came in for Butera (in Newman/Larkin's leadoff spot) & Gladden replaced Bush in left at the same time Gagne moved to short, TK was able to pick where the pitchers would hit in the new lineup.
Yep. You can replace the DH an infinite amount of times as long as you don't move thr DH into the field
Yes, that was half-baked on my part.
I was 7 or 8 years old when Bo Jackson became incredibly popular and had the "Bo Knows" commercials. I was so delighted. Up until that point people only made fun of my name. "Hey Beau, suck your toe, all the way to Mexico..." as well as "Boner" and "Bozo" and "Hey Beau, you don't know diddley!" All of the sudden people liked my name. "Beau knows multiplication tables!" "Beau knows spelling!" "Beau knows kickball!" In fact, people still do that to his day. "Beau knows social work!" It's great. I'm forever grateful for Bo Jackson.
as well as "Boner" and "Bozo"
*files away in mental rolodex*
also, one of my favorites: