BALTIMORE ORIOLES 3, MINNESOTA TWINS 2, MINNESOTA (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Monday, July 18, 2005.

Batting star:  Matthew LeCroy was 2-for-3.  Joe Mauer was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Carlos Silva pitched nine innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out two.  He threw 85 pitches.

Opposition stars:  Rafael Palmeiro was 3-for-5 with a double.  Melvin Mora was 2-for-5.  Sammy Sosa hit a two-run homer, his tenth.  Miguel Tejada hit a home run, his twentieth.  Erik Bedard struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and two walks.  Jorge Julio struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Twins got a walk and a single with two out in the first.  Rafael Palmeiro led off the second with a double.  Nick Punto led off the fifth with a double.  Still, it was 0-0 until the seventh, when Palmeiro hit a one-out single and Sammy Sosa followed with a two-run homer, giving Baltimore a 2-0 lead.

The Twins got one back in the bottom of the seventh when Michael Cuddyer hit a one-out double and scored on a two-out single by Luis Rodriguez.  In the ninth, Torii Hunter led off with a double and Bret Boone followed with a single to tie it 2-2.

In the tenth Joe Mauer got a one-out single and went to second on a ground out, but that was as far as he would go.  With two out in the eleventh, Miguel Tejada hit a home run to put the Orioles up 3-2.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the eleventh.

WP:  Jorge Julio (3-2).

LP:  Juan Rincon (4-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Michael Cuddyer was at first base in place of Justin Morneau.  Bret Boone was at second base.  Nick Punto played the most games there with 73, followed by Luis Rivas at 53 and Luis Rodriguez with 40.  Punto was at third base.  Cuddyer played the most games there with 95.  Lew Ford was in right in place of Jacque Jones.

Luis Rodriguez was batting .307.  He would finish at .269.  Joe Mauer was batting .307.  He would finish at .294.

Juan Rincon had an ERA of 2.51.  He would finish at 2.45.

This was one of fourteen games Bret Boone would play for the Twins.  His RBI was one-third of his total with the club.  He would be released at the end of July and would not play in the majors again.  He did attempt a comeback in 2008 with Washington, but did not get past AAA.

Carlos Silva issued one of his nine walks all season in this game.  Two of the walks were intentional.

From 2005-2011, Erik Bedard was 50-40, 3.54, 1.27 WHIP.  He had trouble staying healthy, but when he could pitch he was really good.

Record:  Baltimore was 50-42, tied for second place with Boston in the AL East, a half game behind New York.  They would finish 74-88, in fourth place, twenty-one games behind New York.  They went 24-46 after this game.

The Twins were 49-42, in second place in the AL Central, thirteen games behind Chicago.  They would finish 83-79, in third place, sixteen games behind Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 36-41 (.468).

MINNESOTA TWINS 10, KANSAS CITY ATHLETICS 6 IN KANSAS CITY (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Monday, April 24, 1961.

Batting stars:  Reno Bertoia was 3-for-4 with two walks and three runs.  Earl Battey was 3-for-6 with a double, three runs, and three RBIs.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-6.  Bob Allison was 2-for-6.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched five innings, giving up two runs on two hits and five walks and striking out one.  Ray Moore struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Marv Throneberry hit a three-run homer, his second.  Don Larsen pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and six walks and striking out five.

The game:  The Twins had two men on in four of the first five innings, getting four hits, three walks, and a hit batsman, but the game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Kansas City broke through for two runs.  With two out, Marv Throneberry and Joe Pignatano walked, and RBI singles by Don Larsen and Dick Howser made it 2-0.

The Twins took the lead in the sixth, getting three runs on just two hits.  With one out, Earl Battey and Reno Bertoia singled and Billy Gardner walked.  Elmer Valo then reached on an error, scoring a run.  With two out, Lenny Green and Don Mincher drew bases-loaded walks, putting the Twins up 3-2.

The Athletics came back in the eighth.  Jerry Lumpe reached on an error and was bunted to second.  Norm Siebern reached on an error, putting men on first and third, and a ground out tied the score.  Andy Carey singled, and Marv Throneberry hit a three-run homer, giving Kansas City a 6-3 lead.

But the Twins staged their own comeback in the ninth.  With one out, Earl Battey and Reno Bertoia singled and Billy Gardner walked, just like in the sixth inning.  A ground out scored a run, Zoilo Versalles delivered an RBI single, and an error brough home the tying run.  The Athletics had two on with two out in the ninth, but did not score, and the game went to an extra inning.

In the tenth, Don Mincher reached on an error, Bob Allison singled, and Dan Dobbek reached on an error, loading the bases.  Earl Battey then delivered a bases-clearing double and Reno Bertoia followed with an RBI double, putting the Twins up 10-6.  Kansas City went down in order in the bottom of the tenth and the victory went to the visitors.

WP:  Ray Moore (1-1).

LP:  Bud Daley (1-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Don Mincher was at first base in place of Harmon Killebrew.  Billy Gardner was at second base in place of Billy Martin.  Reno Bertoia was at third.  Bill Tuttle played the most games there with 85.  Killebrew was second with 45, followed by Ted Lepcio with 35.

Earl Battey was batting .333.  He would finish at .302.  Zoilo Versalles was batting .319.  He would finish at .280.  Paul Giel was batting 1.000 (1-for-1).  He would finish at .500 (1-for-2).

Jim Kaat had an ERA of 2.19.  He would finish at 3.90.  Paul Giel had an ERA of 3.00.  He would finish at 9.78.

Bill Tuttle would be traded to the Twins, along with a player to be named later, on June 1 and would play for them through 1963.  Paul Giel and Reno Bertoia were sent to Kansas City in that trade.  The player to be named later would be Giel, who was sent back to the Twins on June 10.

Paul Giel is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame and was runner-up for the Heisman Trophy in 1953, losing out to Johnny Lattner.  He would go on to be the athletic director for the University of Minnesota.

The Don Larsen who played in this game is the Don Larsen who threw a perfect game in the 1956 World Series.  He had been traded to Kansas City after the 1959 season and would be traded to the White Sox on June 10 of 1961.

Marv Throneberry would be traded to Baltimore on June 8.  Baltimore would trade him to the Mets on May 9, 1962.  He would go on to fame as “Marvelous Marv”, emblematic of the futility of the 1962 Mets team.  He really wasn’t a terrible player–in parts of seven seasons he batted .237/.311/.416.  Not great numbers, but there are certainly plenty of people who’ve done worse.

As you know, both Billy Martin and Billy Gardner would go on to manage the Twins.  Jim Lemon, who played left for the Twins, would manage Washington in 1968.  Dick Howser, who played short for Kansas City, managed the Yankees in 1980 and the Kansas City Royals from 1981-1986.  Billy Gardner would succeed him as manager.  Haywood Sullivan, who came in to catch later in the game for Kansas City, managed the Athletics in 1965.  Joe Pignatano, who started at catcher for Kansas City, was a long-time coach for several teams.  

The two teams combined for seventeen walks and seven errors in this game.  Neither team was very good in 1961, but one suspects weather may have been a factor as well.

Record:  Kansas City was 2-5, in ninth place in the American League, five games behind Detroit.  They would finish 61-100, tied for ninth with Washington, 47.5 games behind New York.

The Twins were 8-2, in second place in the American League, a half game behind Detroit.  They would finish 70-90, in seventh place, thirty-eight games behind New York.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 36-40 (.474).

SEATTLE MARINERS 5, MINNESOTA TWINS 1 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Sunday, April 14, 1985.

Batting star:  Mickey Hatcher was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Tom Klawitter pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Al Cowens was 3-for-4.  Mike Moore pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks and striking out five.

The game:  The Twins put two on in the first but did not score.  They got a pair of one-out singles in the third, but the game remained scoreless.  Seattle got a pair of two-out singles in the fourth, but similarly were held off the scoreboard.  The Twins got two two-out singles in the seventh, but it was still 0-0.

Seattle finally broke through in the seventh.  With one out, Al Cowens doubled and Jim Presley was intentionally walked.  With two out, Spike Owen singled home the game’s first run and Harold Reynolds walked to load the bases.  Rick Lysander then came in to replace starter Frank Viola and gave up a three-run triple to Phil Bradley.  Alvin Davis followed with an RBI single and the Mariners led 5-0.

The Twins got one back in the eighth when Tom Brunansky doubled with two out and scored on a Mike Stenhouse single.  But the last four Twins went out and the Mariners won it, 5-1.

WP:  Mike Moore (2-0).

LP:  Frank Viola (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Mike Stenhouse was the DH.  Roy Smalley had the most games in that spot with 56, followed by Dave Engle (38) and Randy Bush (28).

Mickey Hatcher was batting .407.  He would finish at .282.  Tom Brunansky was batting .368.  He would finish at .242.  Mike Stenhouse was batting .333.  He would finish at .223.  Kirby Puckett was batting .333.  He would finish at .288.

Tom Klawitter had an ERA of 0.00.  He would finish at 6.75.

This was the only full season Mike Stenhouse had in the major leagues.  He played in 81 games, got 179 at-bats, and batted .223/.330/.335.  He also played for Montreal from 1982-1984 and for Boston in 1986.

This was Tom Klawitter’s first major league game.  He would appear in six more, never to return.  Speculation at the time was that the main reason he made the team was that Billy Gardner enjoyed making the “claw” gesture when he wanted him to come into a game.  Given the Twins’ pitching staff in 1985, it was probably as good a reason as any.

This was Rick Lysander’s last season in the majors. He’d pitched decently in relief for the Twins in 1983-1984, but it fell apart for him this season.

Mike Moore made thirty-two starts or more every season from 1984-1993.  He pitched over 200 innings in each of those seasons except 1990, when he pitched 199.1.  He finished in the top ten in Cy Young voting twice, finishing third in 1989 (behind Bret Saberhagen and teammate Dave Stewart).  He made 440 starts over a fourteen year career, an average of 31.4 per season.  His career numbers aren’t spectacular by any means:  161-176, 4.39, 1.42 WHIP.  He’s doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame, or even in the Hall of Very Good.  But he was a guy you were happy to have in your rotation for fourteen seasons.

Record:  Seattle was 6-0, in first place in the AL West, three games ahead of Chicago.  They would finish 74-88, in fifth place, seventeen games behind Kansas City.

The Twins were 2-4, tied for third place in the AL West with California and Oakland, four games behind Seattle.  They would finish 77-85, tied for fourth with Oakland, fourteen games behind Kansas City.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 34-40 (.459).

MINNESOTA TWINS 11, KANSAS CITY ROYALS 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, June 21, 1970.

Batting star:  Bob Allison was 2-for-3 with a walk and three runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a double.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew hit a home run, his seventeenth.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Joe Keough was 2-for-4 with a double.  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4.  Al Fitzmorris pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Bob Allison created a run in the second, getting an infield hit, going to second on an error, and scoring on a stolen base-plus-error.  The Twins took control of the game in the fourth.  Allison reached on an error, Rick Renick walked, and Leo Cardenas brought home two runs on a single-plus-error.  Rich Reese then singled and George Mitterwald hit an RBI single.  A bunt moved runners to second and third and a sacrifice fly brought home the fourth run of the inning, giving the Twins a 5-0 lead.  It went to 6-0 in the fifth when Harmon Killebrew led off the inning with a home run.

Kansas City did not do much in the first six innings, but got on the board in the seventh.  With two out, consecutive singles by Bob Oliver, Joe Keough, Lou Piniella, and Ed Kirkpatrick plated two runs to make the score 6-2.

The Twins added five runs in the ninth.  Cesar Tovar doubled and scored on a Rod Carew single.  Harmon Killebrew walked and Bob Allison was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  An error brough home one run and Leo Cardenas delivered a bases-clearing double, bringing the final score to 11-2.

WP:  Jim Perry (10-5).

LP:  Bill Butler (2-6).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rod Carew was the regular second baseman until the day after this game, when he was injured and missed most of the rest of the season.  He was replaced by Danny Thompson, who, while a nice person who met a sad end, was not exactly Rod Carew at the plate.  Rick Renick was in left field.  Jim Holt played the most games there (76), followed by Brant Alyea at 73 and Cesar Tovar at 45.  Bob Allison was in right field, one of only four games he played there in 1970, in place of Tony Oliva. 

Rod Carew was batting .378.  He would finish at .366.  Jim Perry was batting .368.  He would finish at .247.  Harmon Killebrew was batting .305.  He would finish at .271.

Jim Perry had an ERA of 2.82.  He would finish at 3.04.  Ron Perranoski had an ERA of 1.82.  He would finish at 2.43.

Joe Keough did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1974.  Jackie Hernandez came in for defense in the ninth.  He played for the Twins from 1967-1968.

The Bill Butler who played in this game is the second-best Bill Butler in Royals history.

Record:  Kansas City was 23-40, in fourth place in the AL West, 17.5 games behind Minnesota.  They would finish 65-97, tied for fourth with Milwaukee, thirty-three games behind Minnesota.

The Twins were 39-21, in first place in the AL West, four games ahead of California.  They would finish 98-64, in first place, nine games ahead of Oakland.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 34-39 (.466).