MINNESOTA 6, NEW YORK 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, June 20 (Game 1 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twelfth), a triple, a walk, and a stolen base (his fourth), scoring once and driving in two.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Camilo Pascual pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout.  Jim Kaat pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Opposition stars:  Roger Maris was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk, driving in three.  Tom Tresh was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Joe Pepitone was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  The Yankees again scored in the first inning, getting RBI singles from Maris and Elston Howard to go up 2-0.  The Twins scored single runs in the second and third to tie it at two.  Hall homered in the sixth to give the Twins a 3-2 lead, but Maris hit a two-run homer in the seventh to make it 4-3 Yankees.  Killebrew homered in the eighth to tie it up 4-4.  In the ninth, a walk and a single put men on first and third and a passed ball put the Twins up 5-4.  A pair of walks and a wild pitch gave the Twins an insurance run.  Kaat came in to take care of things in the ninth.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-5 with a stolen base (his second), scoring once and driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.  Don Mincher was 0-for-3.  Hall boosted his average to .322.

Record:  The win moved the Twins to 37-23.  They remained in first place by a half game over Chicago.

Notes:  Valdespino replaced Bob Allison in the lineup.  Mincher replaced Rich Rollins, with Killebrew moving to third.  Jerry Zimmerman replaced Earl Battey.  Kaat made the first of three relief appearances on the season and got the first of two saves.  He had pitched a complete game three days earlier and would make his regular start two days later.

NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Joe Nossek was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Johnny Klippstein pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits and three walks.  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Joe Pepitone was 1-for-2 with a home run (his seventh) and two walks.  Whitey Ford pitched 7.2 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts.  Tom Tresh was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

The game:  The first three Yankee batters got hits, a double and two singles, leading to a 2-0 lead.  Pepitone homered leading off the second and Elston Howard delivered an RBI single in the third to make it 4-0.  It was 5-1 after seven.  In the eighth, Killebrew hit a two-run triple to center to cut the lead to 5-3.  That was as close as the Twins would come, however, as Don Mincher flied out to end the inning and the Twins could only come up with a lone single in the ninth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4 with a run.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  The Twins again got a short start, as Mudcat Grant pitched only two innings, giving up three runs on five hitsand no walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins dropped to 36-23 but remained in first place by a half game, as Chicago lost to Boston.

Notes:  Jerry Kindall was back in the lineup at second base, but was replaced by Frank Kostro in the third inning.  Killebrew hit twenty-four triples in his career.  He hit seven in 1961 but never hit more than two in any other season.  I remember, when I was a kid, watching a game on TV in which Killebrew hit a triple into the monuments in Yankee Stadium's center field, which were in play back then.  I can't prove that this was the game, but this triple was hit to center field.  There were very few Twins games televised where I was at that time, and with this being a Saturday game in Yankee Stadium it seems like there's a good chance it would have been a Game of the Week, so it seems likely to me.

NEW YORK 10, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, June 18.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching star:  Jerry Fosnow struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Bill Stafford pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Mickey Mantle was 1-for-3 with a grand slam, his tenth homer.  Elston Howard was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.

The game:  Hall doubled in a run in the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead, but it was all downhill after that.  Twins starter Mel Nelson didn't make it through the first inning, giving up a single, two walks, a hit batsman, and the Mantle grand slam.  The Yankees scored six in the first inning, as Phil Linz also homered.  The Twins did not get back into the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Nelson pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up five runs on two hits and two walks.

Record:  The Twins record dropped to 36-22.  They remained in first place, but only by a half game over Chicago.

Notes:  Rollins once again played second, with Killebrew at third and Don Mincher at first.  The Twins continued to search for a number two hitter, this time moving Oliva into the two spot with Hall batting third.

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Thursday, June 17.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, his third and fourth.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Joel Horlen pitched eight innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Danny Cater was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and a walk.  Ron Hansen was 1-for-4 with a double.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fifth, when Mincher hit a one-out homer.  Versalles homered with one out in the sixth to make it 2-0.  Kaat doubled and scored on a Versalles single in the eighth to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  Cater homered in the eighth and Floyd Robinson followed with a one-out single, but a double play ended the inning and the White Sox went down in order in the ninth.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .318.

Record:  The win boosted the Twins' record to 36-21 and increased their lead over Chicago to 1.5 games.

Notes:  Mincher played first base, with Killebrew moving to third and Rich Rollins to second.  Earl Battey was removed from the game in the fourth inning, but would play the next day.  Hoyt Wilhelm pitched the ninth for the White Sox.  In his age forty-two season, he would appear in sixty-six games, seven fewer than the previous year and six fewer than he would appear in three years later.  Wilhelm would pitch until 1972, when he was forty-nine.

CHICAGO 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with an RBI.  Frank Kostro was 1-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Dick Stigman pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits with one strikeout.  Johnny Klippstein struck out two in two perfect innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  John Buzhardt pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Pete Ward was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  J. C. Martin was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The game:  Versalles got a two-out RBI single in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Camilo Pascual had sailed through the first three innings, giving up only one hit, but four of the first five White Sox batters got hits to start the fourth, and the other batter reached on a fielder's choice on which no out was recorded.  RBI singles by Martin and Ron Hansen gave the White Sox a 2-1 lead and a bases-loaded walk to Smoky Burgess made it 3-1 and led to Pascual's exit from the game.  Jerry Fosnow got the Twins out of the inning with no further damage, but they could not catch up.  In fact, they did not threaten again until the ninth, when a single and a walk put men on first and second with none out.  Three consecutive fly outs ended the game.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 0-for-2 and was hit by a pitch.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4, dropping his average to .325.  Pascual pitched 3.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 35-21, still in first place, but only by a half game over Chicago.

Notes:  Kostro replaced Jerry Kindall at second base.  The Twins were looking for a second baseman all season.  Kindall got the majority of starts there, but other who played second in 1965 were Kostro, Bernie Allen, Frank Quilici, Rollins, and Cesar Tovar.  Burgess was nominally a catcher, but at this point in his career was almost exclusively a pinch-hitter.  He would appear in eighty games in 1965 but catch in only five of them.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 0 AT CHICAGO

Date:  Tuesday, June 15.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Eddie Fisher struck out two in two perfect innings.  Bob Locker pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, allowing one walk with one strikeout.  Pete Ward was 2-for-4.

The game:  Oliva homered in the first and Allison homered in the second to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  Jerry Kindall drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the fourth.  Meanwhile, Grant pitched four perfect innings before giving up a single to Ward leading off the fifth.  Moose Skowron followed with a single, but a strikeout/throw out double play ended the threat.  The White Sox again put two on in the sixth but did not threaten after that.  Rollins hit a home run in the ninth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Joe Nossek, again replacing Jimmie Hall, was 1-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a run.

Record:  The win made the Twins 35-20 and kept them in first place, 1.5 games ahead of Chicago.

DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, June 13.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his tenth.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a home run (his eleventh) and two walks.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Bill Pleis pitched 1.2 innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Willie Horton was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his thirteenth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice.  Al Kaline was 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.  Dick McAuliffe was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.

The game:  Kaline doubled in a run in the first and Horton hit a two-run homer in the third to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.  The Twins chipped away, getting a solo homer by Killebrew in the fourth and another from Nossek in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Tigers scored single runs in the sixth and seventh to again take a three-run lead at 5-2.  Allison hit a two-run homer in the eighth to again cut the lead to one at 5-4, but the Twins did not get another baserunner after that.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run.  Jim Kaat pitched only three innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 34-20.  They remained in first place, but their lead over Chicago dropped to a half-game.

Notes:  Nossek played in place of Jimmie Hall, who was rested.  As we've seen, the notion that the Glorious Guardians of the Game have put forward, that in the old days everyone played every game unless they had a broken leg and even then they'd try to hop around if they could, is not true.  Players got days off for rest back in the 1960s, too.  Pitchers were handled a lot differently then, though.  Mickey Lolich came in to pitch the ninth of this game and got a save.  He had just pitched seven innings on two days earlier and would pitch 6.2 innings three days later.  Lolich made six relief appearances in 1965 and got three saves.  He also pitched three shutouts that year.  I wonder what the record is for "as many shutouts as saves" or, looking at it the other way, "as many saves as shutouts".

DETROIT 8, MINNESOTA 5 IN DETROIT

Date:  Saturday, June 12.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eleventh) and a double, driving in four.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring twice.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching star:  Johnny Klippstein pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Don Wert was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times and driving in one.  Jerry Lumpe was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, scoring twice and driving in one.  Willie Horton was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and four RBIs.

The game:  Hall hit a two-run double-plus-error in the top of the first, but the Tigers got the runs right back in the bottom half, aided by three walks and an error.  In the second, Horton hit a three-run homer to give the Tigers a 5-2 lead.  The Twins got those runs back in the third on Hall's three-run homer.  It stayed 5-5 until the sixth.  The Tigers put two on with a single and an error, Wert had an RBI single, Lumpe drove in one with a double, and a sacrifice fly plated a third.  The runs came off reliever Jerry Fosnow, who was in his fourth inning of relief.  The Twins got only two hits after Hall's homer in the third.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5.  Frank Kostro, filling in at third for Rich Rollins, was 0-for-5.  Camilo Pascual lasted only 1.2 innings, giving up five runs on three hits, three walks, and a hit batsman, striking out two.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 34-19, but they remained in first  place by 1.5 games over Chicago.

Notes:  Rollins was simply being rested and was used as a pinch-hitter.  Hall raised his average to .328.

MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, June 11 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-5 with a home run (his tenth), scoring twice and driving in two.  Bob Allison was 2-for-5 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base (his seventh).  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-2 with a triple and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Mel Nelson pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mickey Lolich struck out seven in seven innings, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks.  Fred Gladding struck out five in three perfect innings.  Don Demeter was 2-for-5 with a home run (his third) and a double.

The game:  Killebrew homered in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  It stayed 1-0 until the sixth, when Killebrew's RBI single doubled the Twins lead.  George Thomas led off the bottom of the seventh with a home run to cut the lead in half and Demeter homered in the eighth to tie it 2-2.  There was no more scoring until the twelfth, when the Twins started the inning with three singles (one an RBI hit by Allison) a sacrifice fly, and a Hall RBI triple to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.  The Tigers came back in the bottom of the twelfth, as Jim Northrup hit a two-run homer to make it 5-4.  Detroit did not get the tying run on base, however, and the Twins swept a doubleheader, with both games going extra innings and ending 5-4.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-5.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a run.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep improved the Twins' record to 34-18, still in first place by 1.5 games over Chicago.

Notes:  Earl Battey and Hall were rested, with Jerry Zimmerman and Joe Nossek taking their places.  Hall was used as a pinch-hitter in the tenth inning and played the rest of the game.  Nelson was usually a reliever--this was one of only three starts he made in 1965 and only eleven in his career.  He had only once pitched more than two innings in a game in 1965 prior to this and in that case he pitched three.  He would never be allowed to pitch into the eighth inning in that situation today.

MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, June 10 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Don Mincher was 1-for-2 with three walks and a run.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bill Pleis pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.  Dick Stigman pitched two perfect innings with four strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Norm Cash was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Jim Northrup was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.  Don Wert was 1-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two.

The game:  The Twins got one in the second and the Tigers matched it in the fourth to tie it 1-1.  Hall's two-run single in the top of the sixth gave the Twins a 3-1 lead, but Detroit got a two-run triple by Wert and an RBI double from Bill Freehan in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-3 Tigers.  That lead held up until the ninth, when two walks and a pickoff error (Twins Baseball!) tied the score.  In the tenth, Valdespino and Frank Kostro opened the inning with singles, advanced on a bunt, and Valdespino scored on a Hall sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 5-4 advantage.  The Tigers did not get a baserunner after the sixth inning.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-2.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Mudcat Grant pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The win snapped a brief two-game losing streak, gave the Twins a record of 33-18, and kept them in first place by 1.5 games over Chicago.

Notes:  Harmon Killebrew and Bob Allison were both rested, though each was used as a pinch-hitter.  The lineup that would be the world champion 1968 Tigers was already pretty much in place in 1965, with the only addition being Mickey Stanley.