CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Monday, July 1.

Batting star:  Kirby Puckett was 4-for-5 with a home run (his eleventh) and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Paul Abbott pitched six innings, giving up one run on three hits and four walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Carlton Fisk was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth), a double, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Lance Johnson was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Bobby Thigpen pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  The White Sox got a man to second in each of the first two innings, but there was no score until the fourth.  Dan Pasqua led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on Johnson's single.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the fourth when Puckett homered to  make it 1-1.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth.  Greg Gagne walked, went to third on Knoblauch's single, and scored on a Pedro Munoz sacrifice fly.  A wild pitch moved Knoblauch to second and he scored on Puckett's single, making the score 3-1 Twins.

Chicago came back in the eighth.  With two out, Frank Thomas and Dan Pasqua walked.  Rick Aguilera came in and gave up back-to-back doubles to Fisk and Johnson, giving the White Sox a 4-3 lead.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the eighth when Pedro Munoz drew a one-out walk, Puckett had a bunt single, and Kent Hrbek singled.

The Twins came close in the ninth.  Brian Harper reached on an error, was bunted to second, and went to third on a ground out.  Randy Bush was intentionally walked, but Knoblauch grounded out to end the inning.

Fisk hit a two-out homer in the tenth to give Chicago a 5-4 lead.  The Twins threatened in the bottom of the tenth.  Puckett and Paul Sorrento had one-out singles, putting men on first and third.  But Puckett was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to the pitcher (presumably the contact play) and Scott Leius flied out to end the game.

WP:  Bobby Thigpen (5-2).  LP:  Carl Willis (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Shane Mack was again in left field in place of Dan Gladden.  Gene Larkin was in right.

Tom Kelly again made liberal use of his bench.  Munoz replaced Larkin in right field after the first inning, presumably due to injury.  Larkin would not play again until July 18.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the seventh and stayed in the game at third base.  Pitcher Mark Guthrie pinch-ran for Kent Hrbek in the eighth, with Sorrento coming into the game to play first.  Leius pinch-ran for Harper in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base, with Newman moving to shortstop and Junior Ortiz going behind the plate.  Bush pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the ninth.

Puckett raised his average to .332.  Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .324.  Abbott lowered his ERA to 2.88.  Aguilera gave up a run in 1.1 innings, making his ERA 2.92.  Willis gave up a run in one inning, making his ERA 3.21.

This was Sorrento's first game with the Twins this season.  He would be with the Twins for about two weeks, then come back as a September call-up.  He'd had two really good years in AAA Portland and was clearly ready to play in the majors, but with Hrbek at first and Chili Davis at DH there was just no spot for him.  The Twins would trade him to Cleveland at the end of 1992 spring training for Curtis Leskanic and Oscar Munoz, and Sorrento would go on to have a solid career for the Indians and Seattle.

If I ran a ball club, especially with thirteen-man pitching staffs, I would put a couple of my pitchers through baserunning drills on a regular basis, so I could use them as pinch-runners when needed.

The Twins had now lost five out of six.  Would they be able to hold on to first place?

Record:  The Twins were 45-32, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.