CHICAGO 5,  MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 4.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his twentieth), scoring once and driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Earl Battey was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  "Stars" isn't really the right term today, but Mudcat Grant pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Bill Pleis pitched two innings, giving up an unearned run on two hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ken Berry was 1-for-3 with a home run (his tenth) and a walk, driving in two.  Don Buford was 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base (his fourteenth), scoring once and driving in one.  Ron Hansen was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.

The game:  Pete Ward doubled in a run in the first to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the first with two runs on no hits, as Hansen opened the game with two errors, a double steal put men on second and third, and a pair of RBI groundouts (Twins Baseball!) made it 2-1 Minnesota.  Battey had an RBI double in the fourth to make it 3-1, but doubles by Tom McCraw and Buford keyed a two-run fifth to tie it 3-3.  Berry homered in the fourth to make it 4-3 and in the eight Buford singled, went to second on a ground out, took third on a passed ball, and stole home to give the White Sox a 5-3 advantage.  The Twins put men on second and third with one out in the ninth, but could only manage a sacrifice fly.

Record:  The Twins went to 86-52 and their lead over Chicago dropped back to 6.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva's average remained .320...Sandy Valdespino again replaced Bob Allison in left field...Ted Uhlaender made his major league debut in this game, pinch-hitting for Jerry Kindall in the seventh inning.  He struck out...Hoyt Wilhelm pitched the last two innings of this game.  He was forty-two in 1965 and would pitch seven more seasons.  He made the all-star team in 1970 at age forty-seven... I always think of Don Buford as a Baltimore Oriole, but he actually played just as many seasons for the White Sox (five each).

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 3.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his sixteenth), driving in four.  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his nineteenth) and a walk.  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base (his ninteenth), scoring twice.

Pitching stars:  Johnny Klippstein pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits with one strikeout.  Al Worthington pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  John Romano was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixteenth) and a walk, scoring twice.  Ron Hansen was 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Ken Berry was 1-for-3 with a home run, his ninth.

The game:  The first three Twins reached base, with Oliva delivering a two-run single to give them a 2-0 lead.  Romano homered in the second to make it 2-1, but Mincher hit a two-out two-run homer in the third to make it 4-1.  Berry homered in the fifth to make it 4-2, but Oliva delivered another two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to make it 6-2.  Klippstein came in with the bases loaded and one out in the sixth and promptly gave up a two-run double to Hansen, but then settled down to retire the next five batters he faced.  The White Sox put two on with two out in the ninth off Worthington, but Danny Cater grounded out to end the game.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Jim Kaat struck out six in 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks.

Record:  The Twins went to 86-51 and stretched their lead over Chicago to 7.5 games.

Notes:  This was a big series, at least from the White Sox' point of view.  They entered the series 6.5 games back; had they swept it, they'd have been only 3.5 games out with still over twenty games to play.  It was the last chance they were likely to have to get back into the pennant race...Oliva raised his average to .320.  He was now 8-for-11 in his first three games back after missing five games...Valdespino played left in place of Bob Allison.  It is surprising, given that the Twins had an outfield of Oliva, Jimmie Hall, and Allison, how much Valdespino played.  Yes, sometimes it was due to injuries, but quite often it was not.  He played in 108 games for the Twins, often as a pinch-hitter but often not.  It was by far the most playing time he would get in a season and by far his best season, other than the sixty-three at-bats he got for Kansas City in 1971.  He batted .261/.319/.322 in 245 at-bats.

DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, September 2.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a triple and a stolen base (his fifteenth), scoring once and driving in one.  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a home run (his eighteenth) and two walks.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-5 with a walk and two runs.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up three walks.

Opposition stars:  Don Wert was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth) and two walks, driving in four.  George Thomas was 4-for-5 with a double and a stolen base (his second), scoring three times.  Joe Sparma struck out nine in seven innings, allowing three unearned runs on six hits and eight walks.

The game:  It was a game of missed opportunities for the Twins as they stranded sixteen runners and went an incredible 1-for-17 with men in scoring position.  They took the lead 1-0 in the first, scoring on an error, but Wert's two-run single in the third put the Tigers on top 2-1.  Oliva singled in a run in the bottom of the third to tie it 2-2, but Wert struck again in the fifth, hitting a two-run homer to give Detroit a 4-2 advantage.  The Twins got one back in the fifth on a walk, an error, and two more walks, but left the bases loaded.  The Tigers got an insurance run in the top of the ninth and needed it, as Mincher homered in the bottom of the ninth to cut the lead to 5-4.  Fittingly, the Twins stranded two runners in that inning.  They had six innings in which they stranded two baserunners in addition to leaving the bases loaded in the fifth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his eighteenth.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his eighth.  Jim Merritt pitched five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 85-51.  Chicago swept a doubleheader from Baltimore, making the Twins' lead 6.5 games.

Notes:  Oliva raised his average to .316...The Twins drew ten walks in the game...Jerry Zimmerman caught in place of Earl Battey.  Nossek played third base in place of Rich Rollins...George Thomas played for the Twins for part of 1971 and was the head coach of the University of Minnesota from 1979-81.

MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 1.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in one.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base (his seventh), scoring twice.  Don Mincher was 0-for-1 with three walks and a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on ten hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Ray Oyler was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.  Don Wert was 3-for-5 with a double.  Norm Cash was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

The game:  Oliva made a successful return to the starting lineup, delivering an RBI double in a three-run first inning.  Earl Battey also singled in a run in that inning.  Oyler's two-run homer in the second made it 3-2, but a run-scoring double play gave the Twins an insurance run in the third.  The Tigers threatened in the third and fourth, putting two men on in both innings, but Perry settled down after that, allowing only three hits in innings five through eight.  The Twins made it 5-2 with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.  Mickey Stanley doubled to lead off the ninth, but Worthington came in to retire the next three batters.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Bob Allison was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Record:  The Twins went to 85-50.  Chicago did not play, so the Twins lead went to eight games.

Notes:  Oliva hit like he had never left the lineup, raising his average to .314...In a low-hitting era, Ray Oyler was the ultimate good field-no hit shortstop.  In six major league seasons, he hit over .200 only once (.207 in 1967).  His career high in OPS was .559 in 1965, which he achieved by hitting five home runs in 194 at-bats.  In 1968 he hit just .135, prompting the Tigers to move Mickey Stanley from the outfield to shortstop for the World Series.  1967 was the only year in which he was truly a regular, but he appeared in over half of his team's games in four of his six seasons and in 71 games in a fifth season.  He was with the Tigers from 1965-68, went to Seattle in the expansion draft in 1969, and finished his major league career with California in 1970, although he played in AAA for two more seasons.  His career numbers are ,175/.258/.251 in 1,265 at-bats.  His .175 average is the lowest of any player with over 1000 at-bats since the dead ball era.  He was, however, considered an excellent defender.

DETROIT 7, MINNESOTA 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 31.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with three doubles and a walk, scoring twice.  Bob Allison was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and three RBIs.  Don Mincher was 2-for-4 with a triple and a walk, driving in two.

Pitching star:  Johnny Klippstein pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Bill Freehan was 4-for-5 with a home run (his ninth) and a stolen base (his second), driving in three.  Norm Cash was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer (his twentieth) and two runs.  Jerry Lumpe was 4-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

The game:  The Twins again let one get away at the end.  Allison had an RBI single in a two-run first that put the Twins ahead 2-0.  It was 2-1 after four, but Cash hit a three-run homer in the fifth to give the Tigers a 4-2 lead.  The Twins responded in the bottom of the fifth, as Mincher hit a two-run triple in a three-run inning that gave the Twins a 5-4 advantage.  It was tied 5-5 when Allison hit a home run in the seventh that put the Twins up 6-5.  In the ninth, however, an error and Freehan's two-run homer off Mel Nelson put the Tigers in the lead for good at 7-6.  The Twins got a one-out single in the ninth from Earl Battey but could do nothing with it.

Of note:  Joe Nossek was 0-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-5 with a run.  Battey was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Mudcat Grant started and pitched well for four innings, but his line was 4.1 innings and four runs on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins dropped to 84-50.  The White Sox dropped a doubleheader to Baltimore, so the Twins lead moved to 7.5 games.

Notes:  Nossek played center field in place of Jimmie Hall...The Twins used six pitchers in the game, a high number for this era.  Grant, Dave Boswell, Dick Stigman, Klippstein, Bill Pleis, and Nelson all pitched...Klippstein had a tremendous year for the Twins, going 9-3, 2.24, 1.18 WHIP in 76.1 innings (56 appearances).  He was near the end of a long career, one which started with the Cubs in 1950.  He never pitched well as a starter, despite which he was allowed to make 161 career starts.  In that role, he was 42-77, 4.85, 1.55 WHIP.  As a reliever he was 59-41, 65 saves, 3.69, 1.40 WHIP, which isn't awesome but is significantly better.  He turned a corner when he went to Philadelphia in 1963 at age 35:  from 1963-66, he was 17-15, 2.37, 1.28.  One thing that helped was that he improved his control:  his walks per nine innings had consistently been in fours and fives, but dropped to the threes after that.