TEXAS RANGERS 10, MINNESOTA TWINS 7 IN TEXAS

Date:  Thursday, June 1, 1978.

Batting stars:  Rich Chiles was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Glenn Adams was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third), a double, and two RBIs.  Mike Cubbage was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Dan Ford was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Juan Beniquez was 3-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Richie Zisk was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Mike Hargrove was 2-for-5 with a double.  Toby Harrah hit a three-run homer, his second.  Steve Comer pitched three innings, giving up one run on five hits and striking out two.

The game:  Hosken Powell led off the game with a walk, and Roy Smalley reached on an error.  A productive ground out and a sacrifice fly followed, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Jim Mason led off the inning with an error and Bobby Bonds and Mike Hargrove followed with singles to tie it up.  A ground out scored another run, and Texas took a 2-1 lead.

Jim Sundberg led off the fourth with a single, Juan Beniquez doubled, and a ground out made it 3-1.  In the fifth, Mike Hargrove led off with a double.  He was still one second with two out, but then Richie Zisk singled to make it 4-1.  Jim Sundberg walked, Juan Beniquez singled in a run, and a wild pitch brought home another run, giving the Rangers a 6-1 lead.

Meanwhile, the Twins were missing chances all over the place.  Roy Smalley and Dan Ford singled with one out in the third.  Rich Chiles singled and Rob Wilfong doubled with two out in the fourth.  Mike Cubbage hit a two-out triple in the fifth.  But none of it led to anything.

Finally, in the sixth, the Twins broke through.  Glenn Adams led off with a home run.  Craig Kusick walked and Rich Chiles singled.  Jose Morales then singled in a run to make it 6-3.  The next two batters went out, but Dan Ford delivered a three-run homer to tie it 6-6.  In the seventh, Butch Wynegar and Adams led off with consecutive doubles, giving the Twins a 7-6 lead.

It didn’t last long.  In the bottom of the seventh, Bump Wills led off with a walk and stole second.  With one out, Richie Zisk doubled to tie the score.  With two out Juan Beniquez walked and Toby Harrah hit a three-run homer to put Texas back in front 10-7.

And that was it.  The Twins got a single in the eighth and another in the ninth, but never brought the tying run up to bat and the game was gone.

WP:  Steve Comer (1-1).

LP:  Mike Marshall (1-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Craig Kusick was at first base in place of Rod Carew.  Rob Wilfong was at second base.  He shared the position with Bobby Randall, with Randall playing in more games (115 to 80).  Rich Chiles was in left in place of Willie Norwood.

Mike Cubbage was batting .326.  He would finish at .282.  Bombo Rivera was batting .323.  He would finish at .271.  Dan Ford was batting .314.  He would finish at .274.  Jose Morales was batting .314.  He would finish at .314.

The Twins stranded eleven men and were 3-for-14 with men in scoring position.

Mike Cubbage set his career high in triples with seven in 1978.  He hit twenty for his career.

The Twins brought Mike Marshall, their closer, in to start the seventh inning.  They allowed him to finish the game even after he gave up four runs in the seventh.  Marshall was unusual even for his time, but one cannot imagine that happening today.

Juan Beniquez was not as good as I remembered, even though he played for a long time.  In seventeen seasons, he batted .274/.327/.379.  He only had an OPS of over .800 once, in 1984 with California.  He had an OPS of under .700 nine times.  He won one gold glove, but he wasn’t generally considered an awesome defender.  He came to the majors early, at age twenty-one, but he had his best years late in his career.  He batted .300 or better four times, 1983-1986, when he was age thirty-three through thirty-six.  Even in his last year, at age thirty-eight, he batted .293.

We have a restaurant in Pierre called Richie Z’s.  I don’t suppose Richie Zisk has anything to do with it.

Record:  Texas was 24-22, in fourth place in the AL West, 2.5 games behind Kansas City.  They would finish 87-75, tied for second with California, five games behind Kansas City.

The Twins were 19-29, in fifth place in the AL West, 8.5 games behind Kansas City.  They would finish 73-89, in fourth place, nineteen games behind Kansas City.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 42-46 (.477).

MINNESOTA TWINS 1, OAKLAND ATHLETICS 0 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Friday, July 7, 1978 (Game 2).

Batting star:  Glenn Adams was 2-for-3.  Rich Chiles was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Darrell Jackson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Rick Langford pitched a complete game, giving up an unearned run on five hits and a walk and striking out four.

The game:  Neither team advanced a man past first base for the first four innings.  In the fifth, Glenn Adams hit a two-out single.  Rob Wilfong then singled to center, and an error allowed Adams to score, with Wilfong taking second.

And that was the extent of the scoring.  The Twins got a man to second in the eighth, when Glenn Adams led off with a single and was bunted to second, but he never advanced farther.  With two out in the ninth Mike Cubbage was hit by a pitch and Rich Chiles followed with a single, but that was the extent of it.  Oakland never did advance a man past first base, as Darrell Jackson was in complete control throughout the game.

WP:  Darrell Jackson (2-1).

LP:  Rick Langford (1-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Glenn Borgmann was behind the plate in place of Butch Wynegar.  Rob Wilfong shared second base with Bobby Randall, with Randall appearing in more games, 115 to 80.  Obviously, there were games when both played, usually due to platoon switches.  Rich Chiles was in left in place of Willie Norwood.

Rod Carew was batting 343.  He would finish at a league-leading .333.  He also led the league in OBP at .411.  Mike Cubbage was batting .321.  He would finish at .282.

Darrell Jackson had an ERA of 2.73.  He would finish at 4.48.

The lone substitute of the game was Mike Adams, who pinch-hit for Mike Edwards in the ninth.  He had played for the Twins in 1972-1973.

This was the fourth start of Darrell Jackson’s career, and it would be his only shutout.  It was his only complete game of 1978, although he would have one more in 1979 and another in 1980.  Through his first seven starts he had an ERA of 3.28.  The rest of the season, it was 6.11.  He had a pretty good season in 1980, going 9-9, 3.87.  I remember Twins’ broadcaster Joe McConnell calling him “the little left-hander”, and it was true–he’s listed as 5’10”, 150 lbs.

Don’t let Rick Langford’s 1-7 record fool you–he was pitching well.  His ERA after this game was 2.61.  In his seven losses, his team had scored a grand total of eight runs.  They were shut out three times, and two of the losses (including this one) were 1-0.  He would finish the season 7-13, 3.43, 1.28 WHIP.  

Record:  Oakland was 43-42, in fourth place in the AL West, two games behind California.  They would finish 69-93, in sixth place, twenty-three games behind Kansas City.  Oakland had the worst record in baseball after this game, 26-51.

The Twins were 37-42, in fifth place in the AL West, five games behind California.  They would finish 73-89, in fourth place, nineteen games behind California.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 42-45 (.483).

MINNESOTA TWINS 5, ANAHEIM ANGELS 1 IN ANAHEIM

Date:  Friday, May 24, 2002.

Batting stars:  Jacque Jones was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two runs.  A. J. Pierzynski was 2-for-4 with a home run, his first.  Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Brad Fullmer hit a home run, his fourth.

The game:  Jacque Jones led off the game with a home run to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the third, Jones and Cristian Guzman led off with singles and Torii Hunter hit a two-out three-run homer to put the Twins up 4-0.  A. J. Pierzynski homered with one out in the fifth to make it 5-0.

The Twins did not get a hit after the fifth inning, but they didn’t need one.  Anaheim had only one hit through the first four innings.  Brad Fullmer hit a home run leading off the fifth, to cut the lead to 5-1, but that was the only threat the Angels had.  They had only one hit after that, a two-out single in the eighth.

WP:  Rick Reed (5-2).

LP:  Ramon Ortiz (4-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Denny Hocking was at second base.  Luis Rivas played the most games there with 93, followed by Hocking with 56.

Torii Hunter was batting .333.  He would finish at .289.  Dustan Mohr was batting .311.  He would finish at .269.  Corey Koskie was batting .303.  He would finish at .267.  A. J. Pierzynski was batting .300.  He would finish at .300.

Ramon Ortiz would play for the Twins in 2007.

Rick Reed had a fine year for the Twins in 2002.  He went 15-7, 3.78, 1.16 WHIP and led the league in fewest walks per nine innings.  It was the last good year he would have.  In 2003 he went 6-12, 5.07, and that was his last year in the majors.

The AL West was a tough division in 2002.  Anaheim won 99 games, and it wasn’t enough to win, although they were a wild card.  Seattle won 93 games and really wasn’t even in the race at the end.

Record:  Anaheim was 27-18, in second place in the AL West, three games behind Seattle.  They would finish 99-63, in second place, four games behind Oakland.

The Twins were 27-21, tied for first place with Chicago in the AL Central.  They would finish 94-67, in first place, 13.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 41-45 (.477).

MINNESOTA TWINS 6, LOS ANGELES ANGELS 0, IN LOS ANGELES

Date:  Wednesday, July 19, 1961 (Game 1).

Batting star:  Bob Allison was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his eighteenth and nineteenth) and four RBIs.  Earl Battey was 3-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew hit a home run, his twenty-eighth.

Pitching star:  Camilo Pascual struck out fifteen in a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and one walk.

Opposition star:  Tom Morgan pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

The game:  Bill Tuttle hit a one-out single in the first and Harmon Killebrew followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins then loaded the bases with two out, but a force out ended the inning and it remained 2-0.

Los Angeles got their first two men on in the second on an error and an infield single, but the next three batters also struck out looking.  In the fifth, Harmon Killebrew walked, Jim Lemon doubled, and Bob Allison hit a three-run homer to make it 5-0.  Allison homered again leading off the seventh to make it 6-0.

The Angels had only one other threat, when Earl Averill and Billy Moran singled with two out.  A fly to center ended the inning, and they never got a man past first base after that.

WP:  Camilo Pascual (8-12).

LP:  Eli Grba (5-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Ted Lepcio was at second base in place of Billy Martin.  Jose Valdivielso was at shortstop in place of Zoilo Versalles.  

Rich Rollins was batting .364.  He would finish at .294.  Harmon Killebrew was batting .329.  He would finish at .288.  Earl Battey was batting .306.  He would finish at .302.

Ron Kline pitched two innings of relief for Los Angeles.  He would pitch for the Twins in 1967.

Camilo Pascual had a stretch from 1958-1964 when he was really, really good.  He went 108-78, 3.05, 1.20 WHIP.  He led the league in WAR twice, in complete games three times, in shutouts three times, in strikeouts three times, and in FIP once.  He made seven all-star teams and received MVP votes three times.  He is a member of both the Twins Hall of Fame and the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame.

This was Rich Rolllins’ rookie year and the eighth game of his career.  He would be sent back to AAA after this day, coming back as a September callup.  The next year he would be the Twins’ starting third baseman and make the all-star team.

Ted Lepcio was in the last year of his major league career.  He played for ten seasons, but only played in 100 or more games once, in 1954 with Boston.  A utility infielder, he played 388 games at second, 224 games at third, and 90 games at short.  He was a better batter than many utility players, batting .245/.318/.398.  He hit 69 home runs, with a career high of 15 in 1956.  

Jose Valdivielso was also in the last year of his major league career.  He playd for just five season, and also played in 100 or more games only once, in 1960.  His entire major league career was with the Washington/Minnesota organization.  He made his debut in 1955, when he somehow got a tenth-place vote for MVP despite batting .221 with an OPS of .594 in just 294 at-bats.  He was part of the only all-Cuban triple play in major league baseball–a line drive to Camilo Pascual, who threw to Julio Becquer to double off one runner, who threw to Valdivielso to triple off another runner.  He was a long-time Spanish-language sports broadcaster in New York after his playing career ended.  

Record:  Los Angeles was 38-54, in ninth place in the American League, twenty-one games behind New York.  They would finish 70-91, in eighth place, 38.5 games behind New York.

The Twins were 38-53, in eighth place in the American League, 20.5 games behind New York.  They would finish 70-90, in seventh place, thirty-eight games behind New York.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 40-45 (.471).

MINNESOTA TWINS 8, CHICAGO WHITE SOX 6 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, September 23, 2009.

Batting stars:  Delmon Young was 3-for-5 with a double.  Brendan Harris was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Nick Punto was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Orlando Cabrera was 2-for-5.  Michael Cuddyer was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Joe Nathan pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jermaine Dye was 3-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs.  Alexei Ramirez was 3-for-5 with a double and three runs.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second inning when Michael Cuddyer got to second on a single-plus-error and scored on a Brendan Harris double.  In the third, Nick Punto led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on an Orlando Cabrera single.  Singles by Joe Mauer and Michael Cuddyer followed, scoring Cabrera and making the score 3-0.  In the fourth, doubles by Harris, Punto, and Carlos Gomez made it 5-0.

Chicago got on the board in the fourth when Alexei Ramirez hit a two-out double followed by singles by Jermaine Dye and Carlos Quentin to cut the lead to 5-1.  It went to 5-2 in the fifth, as Tyler Flowers led off with a double and scored on a single by Jayson Nix.  It then went to 5-4 in the sixth, when Ramirez reached on an error and Dye followed with a two-run homer.

The Twins re-asserted themselves in the seventh.  Jason Kubel walked and Delmon Young hit a one-out double.  Jose Morales was intentionally walked to load the bases.  It looked like it might work, as a foul popup followed, but then Nick Punto foiled the strategy with a two-run single.  Punto then stole second, and there was an error on the throw that allowed Morales to score, making it 8-4 Twins.

The White Sox didn’t go away.  In the eighth Alexei Ramirez singled and Jermaine Dye hit his second two-run homer, cutting the lead to 8-6.  In the ninth Gordon Beckham was hit by a pitch with one out and Paul Konerko drew a two-out walk, putting the tying run on base.  But Alexei Ramirez popped to first, and the victory was preserved.

WP:  Brian Duensing (5-1).

LP:  Mark Buehrle (12-10).

S:  Joe Nathan (44).

Notes:  Michael Cuddyer, who usually played right field, was at first base in place of Justin Morneau.  Nick Punto was at second base.  Alexi Casilla played the most games there with 72, followed by Punto at 63.  Matt Tolbert was at third base.  Joe Crede played the most games there with 84, followed by Brendan Harris with 44 and Tolbert with 27.  Jason Kubel was in right field in place of Cuddyer.  Harris was the DH, one of just nine games he played there that year.  Kubel had the most games there with 82, followed by Joe Mauer with 28.

Joe Mauer was batting .371.  He would finish at a league-leading .365.  Jose Morales was batting .354.  He would finish at .311.  Jason Kubel was batting .300.  He would finish at .300.

Jose Mijares had an ERA of 2.10.  He would finish at 2.34.  Joe Nathan had an ERA of 2.14.  He would finish at 2.10. 

A. J. Pierzynski was the Chicago catcher.  He had played for the Twins from 1998-2003.  Carlos Quentin was the left fielder.  He would go to spring training with the Twins in 2016.

Jose Morales and Jose Mijares were guys we had such high hopes for.  They both played well in 2009.  Morales would not have another good year.  Mijares pitched well in 2010, but that was it.  They both looked good at first, but it turned out to be no way, Jose.

The Jose Morales who played in this game was the second Jose Morales to play for the Twins.

This was Brian Duensing’s rookie year.  He had played in one game in April, then came up to stay in early July.  2011 was his only year in the starting rotation.  He did make some starts in other years, but was mostly used out of the bullpen.

Bobby Keppel pitched 1.2 innings in this game.  He was with the Twins for the second half of 2009, making 37 appearances.  He had appeared in eight games for Kansas City in 2006 and four for Colorado in 2007.  This was his next-to-last major league game.

Record:  Chicago was 73-80, in third place in the AL Central, nine games behind Detroit.  They would finish 79-83, in third place, 7.5 games behind Minnesota.

The Twins were 79-73, in second place in the AL Central, 2.5 games behind Detroit.  They would finish 87-76, in first place, one game ahead of Detroit by winning game 163.

Random Record:  The Random Twins are 39-45 (.464).