MINNESOTA 8, BOSTON 5 IN BOSTON

Date:  Friday, September 10.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base (his twenty-first), scoring once and driving in three.  Jerry Kindall was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base, his eighteenth.

Pitching star:  Jim Merritt struck out eight in 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Tony Conigliaro was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-eighth) and three RBIs.  Lee Thomas was 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs.  Jay Ritchie struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  Versalles hit a two-out three-run double in the second to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  The Red Sox got an unearned run in the bottom of the second, but doubles by Oliva and Don Mincher produced a two-run Minnesota third that made it 5-1.  It was 5-2 going to the sixth, when Kindall had an RBI double and Jimmie Hall came up with a two-run single to make it 8-2.  Conigliaro hit a two-run homer and Frank Malzone had an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 8-5.  That was as good as it got, however, as the last nine Red Sox batters went out.

Of note:  Hall was 1-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Bob Allison was back in the lineup, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his tenth.  Jim Perry pitched 5.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 90-54.  Chicago lost to New York, dropping them into a tie for second with Baltimore, eight games back.

Notes:  Oliva raised his average to .316...Jay Ritchie pitched for the Red Sox from 1964-65, for Atlanta from 1966-67, and for Cincinnati in 1968.  He made only two starts in his career, both for the Reds.  He was a decent reliever, going 8-13, 8 saves, 3.49, 1.36 WHIP in 291.1 innings (167 appearances).  He later became a scout for the Braves.  He passed away in January of 2016.  Of interest to no one but myself, he has the same name as my nephew.

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, September 8.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his nineteenth.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with a run.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  John Buzhardt pitched seven innings, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Hoyt Wilhelm struck out two in two shutout innings, allowing one hit.  John Romano was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, driving in one.

The game:  A pair of Twins errors and an RBI single by Pete Ward put the White Sox up 2-0 in the first inning.  The Twins got a run back in the third on two singles and a sacrifice fly by Zoilo Versalles.  The score stayed 2-1, with neither team getting much going on offense, until the seventh, when Battey got a one-out single and Hall followed with a two-run homer to give the Twins a 3-2 advantage.  The White Sox did not get a hit after that.

Of note:  Versalles was 0-for-3 with an RBI.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Don Mincher was 1-for-4.

Record:  The Twins improved to 88-54 and took a six game lead over the White Sox.

Notes:  The game was a big one in the pennant race.  The White Sox entered the two-game home series trailing by five games.  A sweep would have brought them within three with nineteen games remaining.  After this game, the best Chicago could hope for was a split, leaving them five games back...Oliva's average fell to .315...Valdespino was again in left field in place of Bob Allison.