MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 11, 2015

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and a double, scoring twice.  Jerry Kindall was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell struck out nine in 7.1 innings of relief, giving up an unearned run on four hits and two walks.  Johnny Klippstein struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Dean Chance pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts.  Jose Cardenal was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and a stolen base.  Willie Smith was 2-for-5 with a triple and a stolen base, scoring once.

The game:  Cardenal led off the game with a home run, but Kindall homered in the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  Smith hit a two-out triple in the fifth and scored on an error to give the Angels a 2-1 advantage, but Oliva hit a tow-out homer in the sixth to tie it 2-2.  Kindall opened the bottom of the ninth with a walk.  Oliva followed with a double, but pinch-runner Cesar Tovar was thrown out trying to score on the hit.  No problem, as Harmon Killebrew followed with a single to center that scored Oliva with the winning run.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-2 with a walk.  Dick Stigman started and pitched only two-thirds of an inning, giving up one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 15-7 and put them back into first place, a game ahead of the White Sox.

Notes:  Stigman got what today would be an incredibly quick hook.  He gave up a home run to Cardenal, followed by a single.  He struck out the next two batters, but then walked the next two and was gone.  He does not appear to have been injured, as he started again on May 16.  Boswell pitched 7.1 innings of relief, which is also pretty much unheard of today.  Also, in a 2-2 tie, not only was Chance allowed to pitch the ninth, he was left in after starting the inning with a walk and a double.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Jerry Zimmerman was 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.  Mel Nelson pitched a perfect inning of relief.

Opposition stars:  Joel Horlen pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Dave Nicholson was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Danny Cater was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The game:  Harmon Killebrew singled in a run in the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Nicholson led off the third with a homer to tie it 1-1.  Two singles and a ground out gave the Twins a 2-1 lead in the fourth.  In the sixth, Rollins had an RBI double and Zimmerman delivered a run-scoring single to make it 4-1.  The White Sox scored one in the eighth.  In the ninth, Moose Skowron singled and Pete Ward doubled to cut the lead to 4-3 with none out.  A walk put men on first and second.  Nelson then came in and retired the next three batters to save the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4.

Record:  The win moved the Twins back into first place, a half game ahead of Chicago and California.

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Camilo Pascual was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second.

Pitching star:  Pascual pitched a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ron Hansen was 2-for-3.  Ken Berry was 2-for-3.  Greg Bollo pitched two perfect innings.

The game:  Versalles led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Hall singled in a run later in the inning to make it 2-0 after one.  Hall singled in another run in the third and Pascual homered in the fourth to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.  Rich Rollins contributed a two-run single in the fifth.  Meanwhile, the White Sox did not even put together a threat until the seventh, when they opened the inning with two singles and Moose Skowron later singled in their lone tally.  It was the last hit they would get, as the last seven White Sox were retired.

Of note:  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 with a run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base, his fourth.

Record:  The win gave the Twins a record of 13-7 and left them tied for second with California (though ahead based on winning percentage), a half game behind Chicago.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Bob Allison was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Floyd Robinson was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Don Buford was 2-for-4.  Gary Peters pitched 6.1 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with one strikeout.

The game:  There was no score through five.  In the top of the sixth, the first two Sox were retired, but then came a walk and two singles to put Chicago up 1-0.  Tony Oliva's sacrifice fly tied it in the bottom of the sixth.  Zoilo Versalles contributed a sacrifice fly in the seventh to put the Twins ahead 2-1 and Hall hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Hoyt Wilhelm to make it 4-1.  The White Sox did not seriously threaten after the sixth inning.

Of note:  Versalles was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a double.  Oliva was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Record:  The win made the Twins 12-7 and kept them tied for second with California (though ahead based on winning percentage), 1.5 games behind Chicago.

Note:  Jerry Zimmerman came in as a defensive replacement for Earl Battey and caught the last three innings.

CHICAGO 13, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 7.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his third.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Earl Battey was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Pete Ward was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer and a double, scoring three times.  Ron Hansen was 3-for-5 with a home run (his third), scoring three times and driving in two.  Al Weis was 2-for-2 with a home run and a double, driving in three.

The game:  Killebrew hit a three-run homer in the first to put the Twins up 3-0.  Weis' two-run double in the second immediately cut the lead to 3-2.  The White Sox took a 4-3 lead in the fourth on solo home runs by Hansen and Weis.  The Twins got the lead back in the sixth, taking a 5-4 advantage on two walks and RBI singles by Battey and Jerry Kindall.  It went downhill from there, though, as the White Sox scored three runs in each of the last three innings.  Danny Cater hit a three-run homer in the seventh, a pair of errors led to three runs in the eighth, and Ward hit a two-run homer in a three-run ninth.  Eddie Fisher made sure the Twins did not come back, pitching the three final innings perfectly.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4 with a run.  Bob Allison was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Dick Stigman started but pitched only 3.2 innings, giving up four runs on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 11-7, tied for second with California (although in second based on winning percentage), 2.5 games behind the White Sox.