CLEVELAND 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN CLEVELAND
Date: Tuesday, August 27.
Batting star: Scott Leius was 2-for-3.
Pitching star: Jack Morris pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on eleven hits and one walk and striking out two.
Opposition stars: Greg Swindell pitched 8.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out six. Albert Belle was 2-for-4 with a double. Carlos Martinez was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Glenallen Hill was 2-for-4.
The game: The Indians put men on first and second in the first inning but did not score. The Twins got the scoring started in the third. With one out, Leius singled, Greg Gagne doubled, and a sacrifice fly put Minnesota up 1-0. Cleveland tied it in the fourth. Mark Whiten and Mike Aldrete opened the inning with singles, putting men on first and third. Martinez then hit into a force out to tie the score at 1-1.
The Indians put men on first and third with one out in the seventh but did not score. In the eighth, however, Belle hit a one-out double and Whiten walked. With two out, Martinez delivered an RBI single to give Cleveland a 2-1 lead.
The Twins threatened in the ninth. With two out, Chili Davis and Kent Hrbek singled, putting men on first and second. Randy Bush then grounded out to end the game.
WP: Swindell (8-12). LP: Morris (15-10). S: Steve Olin (8).
Notes: Gene Larkin was again at first base in place of Hrbek. Hrbek pinch-hit for Brian Harper in the ninth. Al Newman pinch-ran for Davis in the ninth. Bush pinch-hit for Shane Mack in the ninth.
Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 and was batting .327. Harper was 1-for-3 and was batting .313. Mack was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.
The Indians stranded nine men and were 1-for-11 with men in scoring position.
Olin had started the season with Cleveland, but got off to a poor start and was sent back to AAA in mid-May. He came back to the majors in mid-July and almost immediately took over the closer role. He was the Indians closer for all of the 1992 season and had a fine year. He probably would've remained in that role for some time to come, but as many of you know, he was killed that off-season in a boating accident.
Morris threw 122 pitches. He pitched well, but unfortunately was not able to sufficiently pitch to the score.
The White Sox again lost, falling to Kansas City 3-2. Oakland lost again as well, falling to Boston 6-4.
Record: The Twins were 76-52, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago and Oakland.