MINNESOTA TWINS 5, BALTIMORE ORIOLES 1 IN BALTIMORE
Date: Saturday, May 23, 1964.
Batting stars: Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4.
Pitching stars: Lee Stange pitched a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks and striking out five.
Opposition star: Boog Powell was 2-for-3 with a home run (his eighth), a double, and a walk. Luis Aparicio was 2-for-4.
The game: Baltimore opened the first with singles by Jackie Brandt and Aparicio, but a line drive double play took them out of the inning. It cost them, because the Twins scored three in the second. Killebrew drew a one-out walk, went to third on Hall’s single, and scored on an Earl Battey sacrifice fly. Walks to Bernie Allen and Stange loaded the bases, and Zoilo Versalles delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0 Twins.
There were various threats in the next few innings. In the third Killebrew hit a two-out double but was thrown out trying to score on a Hall single. Allen hit a one-out double in the fourth but was stranded at second. In the bottom of the fourth Bob Johnson singled, and one-out walks to Brooks Robinson and Powell loaded the bases, but a double play again took the Orioles out of the inning.
Then things calmed down until the eighth. Vic Power led off the inning with a single-plus-error. With one out, Bob Allison came through with an RBI single. Killebrew singled, a ground out moved runners to second and third, and Battey was intentionally walked to fill the bases. Allen then reached on an error to make the score 5-0. Baltimore managed to spoil the shutout with two out in the ninth, when Powell homered, but the Twins took a 5-1 victory.
WP: Stange (1-2).
LP: Dave McNally (3-2).
S: None.
Notes: Power was at first base. Allison was actually the main first baseman, but he was in right field in this game in place of Tony Oliva. This was the only game in 1964 in which Oliva did not play. Killebrew was primarily a left fielder.
Nobody who played in this game for the Twins was batting .300, and none of them would finish over. 300. Oliva did bat over .300, at .323.
Vic Power would play only six more games for the Twins before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels in mid-June. He would play only one more season after this year.
Similarly, Lee Stange would play only six more games for the Twins before being traded to Cleveland in mid-June. That was the trade that brought Mudcat Grant to the Twins.
Dave McNally was in his second full season and was not yet the star pitcher he would become, although he was not bad at all. He went 9-11 in 1964 with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. He would go on to win twenty games each year from 1968-1971, making three all-star teams, finishing in the top four in Cy Young voting three times, and finishing as high as fifth in MVP voting.
Harvey Haddix pitched the ninth for Baltimore. He had been a fine starting pitcher for many years, but in the last three years of his career he was an excellent reliever. In 1964 he went 5-5 with nine saves, posting an ERA of 2.31 and a WHIP of 1.02. He struck out 90 in 89.2 innings (49 games).
Record: Baltimore was 21-13 in second place in the AL, a half game behind the White Sox. They would finish 97-65, in third place, two games behind the Yankees.
Minnesota was 19-15, in fifth place in the AL, 2.5 games behind the White Sox. They would finish 79-83, tied for sixth, 20 games behind the Yankees.
Random Record: The Random Twins are 15-12 (.556).