MINNESOTA TWINS 2, CALIFORNIA ANGELS 0 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Monday, August 11, 1986.

Batting stars:  Billy Beane was 2-for-4.  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4.  Gary Gaetti hit a home run, his twenty-fourth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out six.

Opposition star:  Don Sutton pitched seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and a walk and striking out four.

The game:  The Twins threatened in the first inning.  Kirby Puckett led off with a single and stole second with one out.  Gaetti walked.  With two out, Brunansky had an infield single to load the bases, but Tim Laudner flied to center to end the inning.  The Twins again threatened in the third when Puckett reached on an error and Roy Smalley singled, but Gaetti hit into a double play and Kent Hrbek struck out.  Beane hit a two-out single in the fourth and stole second, but Steve Lombardozzi struck out to end the inning.  California had its first threat in the fourth.  Wallly Joyner singled with one out and Ruppert Jones drew a two-out walk, but Blyleven picked Joyner off second for the third out.  

Gaetti got the Twins on the board in the sixth, leading off the inning with a home run.  The Twins would do no more in the sixth, but that was all Blyleven needed.  The Angels would only put one more man into scoring position.  Ex-Twin Rob Wilfong led off the eighth with a bunt single and was bunted to second, but Jack Howell and Rick Burleson flied out.  The Twins added an insurance run in the ninth when Brunansky led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Beane single.

WP:  Blyleven (12-10).

LP:  Sutton (10-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Laudner shared catching duties with Mark Salas and Jeff Reed, with the three all getting pretty equal playing time.  Alvaro Espinoza was at short, replacing Greg Gagne.  Beane was in left, replacing Randy Bush.  Mickey Hatcher also saw substantial playing time in left that season.  

Gaetti’s home run was the only extra-base hit for either team.

In addition to Wilfong, ex-Twin Doug Corbett was used by the Angels, giving up the ninth-inning run.

Puckett was batting .338  He would finish the season at .328.

Record:  California was 61-51, in first place in the AL West, two games ahead of Texas.  They would finish 91-71, winning the AL West, but losing in the ALCS to Boston.

The Twins were 49-63, in fifth place in the AL West, twelve games behind California.  They would finish 71-91, in sixth place, twenty-one games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 1-2 (333).