MINNESOTA 8, WASHINGTON 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 19.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Don Mincher was 1-for-2 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up one run on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Jim King was 2-for-4 with a double.  Dick Nen was 2-for-4.  Jim French was 2-for-4.

The game;  The Twins again jumped on the Senators early, getting a two-run double from Allison and an RBI single by Mincher to take a 3-0 lead in the first.  Perry contributed a two-run double in a three-run fourth to make it 6-0.  The Senators got a man on in every inning but did not score until the eighth, when two singles and a double play grounder produced their only run.  Versalles ended the scoring with a two-run single in the bottom of the eighth.

Of note:  Joe Nossek was 1-for-5 with a double and a stolen base, his second.  Andy Kosco was 0-for-5 with a run.  Earl Battey was 1-for-4 with a run.

Record:  The win made the Twins 96-55.  Chicago defeated Cleveland 7-5 to just barely stay alive, 9.5 games back.

Notes:  Manager Sam Mele continued to give some people a break.  Nossek replaced Jimmie Hall in center.  Andy Kosco replaced Tony Oliva in right...Battey's average went to .301...Jim King is another guy I never heard of who had a pretty substantial career.  He came up with the Cubs in 1955 and was a semi-regular for them for two years.  He wasn't bad, hitting in the .250s with some power, but the Cubs traded him to St. Louis and his career went into a tailspin.  He spent most of 1957-58 and all of 1959-60 in the minors.  It should be noted that it was not leaving Wrigley Field that hurt him, as his numbers were actually a little better on the road than at home.  Washington chose him in the expansion draft and it was the best thing that could have happened to him.  He was at least a semi-regular outfielder for the Senators from 1961-67.  A left-handed batter, he appears to have been platooned a lot in his career, although his numbers against left-handers are not that much worse than against righties.  He never hit for a high average but did provide some power, hitting double-digit homers every year from 1961-66 with a high of twenty-four in 1963.  He had a bad year in 1967, was traded to the White Sox and then to Cleveland, and his career ended after that season.  Still, he was in the big leagues for at least part of eleven seasons, which isn't too bad.  An Arkansas native, he returned there after he was done playing and worked for the telephone company there until his retirement.

MINNESOTA 4, WASHINGTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 18.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventeenth) and a double.  Frank Quilici was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.  Earl Battey was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

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

Opposition stars:  Woodie Held was 1-for-2 with a double and three walks, driving in one.  Frank Howard was 3-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.  Ken Hamlin was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base (his eighth), scoring twice.

The game:  Howard singled in Held to give the Senators a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, but RBI singles by Battey and Don Mincher put the Twins up 2-1 in the bottom of the first.  Versalles hit a two-run homer in the second to make it 4-1.  That was all the runs the Twins would get, but it was all they needed.  This was due in large part to the bullpen, as starter Jim Kaat was pulled with none out in the fifth after giving up a run-scoring double to Held.  Boswell came in and put out the fire in the fifth.  He pitched until the seventh, when a walk, a single, and a bunt put men on second and third with one out.  Bill Pleis came in and retired pinch-hitter (and future Twin) Brant Alyea on a popup.  Klippstein then came in to pitch the rest of the game.  He allowed two singles to start the eighth, but a double play took care of the threat.

Of note:  Ted Uhlaender was 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run.  Sandy Valdespino was 1-for-3 with a run.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Kaat pitched four innings, giving up two runs on four hits and six walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 95-55.  Chicago beat Cleveland 8-5, so the Twins' lead remained 9.5 games.

Notes:  Battey got his average back over .300 at .302...Manager Sam Mele apparently was taking advantage of the Twins' big lead in the pennant race to rest some players.  Uhlaender played left in place of Bob Allison and Valdespino was in right in place of Tony Oliva...Uhlaender's stolen base was the first of his career.  He would steal fifty-two in his career, with a high of sixteen in 1968...Washington stranded thirteen runners and went 1-for-12 with men in scoring position.

WASHINGTON 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, September 17.

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Earl Battey was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Camilo Pascual struck out thirteen in nine innings, giving up one run on five hits and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Pete Richert pitched nine innings, giving up one run on five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.  Fred Valentine was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Frank Howard was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

The game:  The Senators opened the scoring in the third when Valentine walked, went to second on a ground out, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Howard's single.  The Twins had only three hits through five innings, but in the sixth a pair of two-out walks were followed by a Mincher single to tie it 1-1.  In the tenth, Don Lock's two-out single brought Valentine home with the go-ahead run.  Zoilo Versalles opened the bottom of the tenth with a walk and was bunted to second, but a pair of fly outs ended the game.

Of note:  Versalles was 0-for-4 with a walk.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3.  Bob Allison was 0-for-4 with a walk and a run.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 94-55.  Chicago won, cutting the Twins' lead to 9.5 games.

Notes:  Nossek played center and Hall moved to right, giving Tony Oliva a day off.  Oliva was used as a pinch-hitter and was 0-for-1, dropping his average to .317...I remember Pete Richert as a fine relief pitcher for Baltimore, but before that he had a few good years as a starter, mostly with Washington.  He made the all-star team as a starter twice, in 1965 and 1966.  1965 was his best year, as he was 15-12, 2.60, 1.19 WHIP.

MINNESOTA 7, KANSAS CITY 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 15.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring twice.  Bob Allison was 1-for-2 with two RBIs.  Don Mincher was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.

Pitching star:  Bill Pleis pitched a scoreless inning with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Billy Bryan was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and a double.  Ken Harrelson was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and a walk.  Larry Stahl was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.

The game:  Each team scored once in the first.  It stayed 1-1 until the fourth, when Earl Battey had an RBI single to put the Twins in the lead.  In the fifth, Versalles had a run-scoring single-plus-error and Allison had a two-run single to make it 5-1 Twins.  Homers by Harrelson and Stahl cut the lead to 5-3 in the sixth, and the Athletics scored twice in the eighth on Bryan's homer and a run-scoring single by Mike Hershberger to tie it at five.  In the ninth the Twins took the lead back on RBI singles by Ted Uhlaender and Joe Nossek.  Kansas City got a man on by error with two out in the bottom of the ninth, but that was as close as they would come.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-1 with an RBI.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4 with a run.  Jim Perry pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins made it seven in a row with the win and improved their record to 94-54.  Baltimore won and Chicago split a doubleheader, so the Orioles moved into sole possession of second place, ten games back.

Notes:  Oliva raised his average back to .318.  He was removed for a pinch-runner in the fourth inning following a single.  He perhaps suffered a minor injury, because he would not start again for nearly a week.  He was replaced by Allison, whose place in the starting lineup had been taken by Valdespino...Larry Stahl is another guy who played for quite a while without doing a whole lot.  An outfielder, he played in all or part of ten major league seasons, from 1964-73.  His high in games played was 119 and his high in at-bats was 312, both in 1966.  Other than 1964, when he had only 46 at-bats, he only once hit over .250 (.253), only three times had an OBP over .300 (the high was .315), and only once had an OPS over .660 (.709 in 1971).  It's interesting to see how some guys tear up AAA and can't get a chance in the majors, and other guys play in the majors for years without really doing much of anything.  As has been observed before, no one ever promised that life or baseball would be fair.

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, September 14.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base (his thirteenth), scoring once and driving in two.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base (his twenty-sixth), scoring once.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-5 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched eight innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Jim Merritt struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Ken Harrelson was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twentieth), a walk, and a stolen base (his seventh).  John Wyatt struck out four in two shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks.  Mike Hershberger was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The game:  Hershberger singled in a run in the top of the second, but Earl Battey had an RBI double in the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  Hall doubled and scored in the sixth to put the Twins up 2-1, but the Athletics tied it in the seventh on a walk, an error, and two sacrifices.  Hall came through again in the seventh, delivering a two-run single to give the Twins a 4-2 lead.  Harrelson led off the ninth with a homer, cutting the lead to 4-3.  A walk, a single, and a bunt followed, putting men on second and third with one out.  Merritt then struck out Wayne Causey and pinch-hitter Billy Bryan to end the game.

Of note:  Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 with two walks.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a run.

Record:  The Twins' sixth straight victory made them 93-54.  Baltimore split a doubleheader while Chicago lost, so the Twins' margin over both teams went to ten games.

Notes:  Oliva's average dropped to .317...Billy Bryan, whom I don't recall having heard of, had a fairly decent major league career.  A catcher, he spent parts of 1961-63 with the Athletics before finally sticking in 1964.  He appeared in 211 games for Kansas City from 1964-65, getting 545 at-bats, and actually hit pretty well:  .248/.301/.459, numbers which are better than they may appear given the context of the 1960s.  He pretty much fell apart after that, though, hitting only .172 in a 1966 season split between the Athletics and the Yankees and spending most of 1967-70 in the minors, although he did play in sixteen games for the Yankees in 1967 and forty for Washington in 1968.  His playing career ended after the 1970 season.

MINNESOTA 2, BOSTON 0 IN BOSTON

Date:  Sunday, September 12.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and a stolen base (his nineteenth), scoring once.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4 with two stolen bases (his twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth) and a run.

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

Opposition stars:  Earl Wilson pitched eight innings, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Jim Gosger was 2-for-4.  Frank Malzone was 1-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the first when Oliva hit a two-out triple and scored on Allison's single.  The score stayed 1-0 through eight innings.  Neither team even mounted much of a threat--the only player for either team to reach second base in that time was Malzone, who hit a two-out double in the sixth.  In the ninth, Versalles singled, stole second and third, and scored on a Don Mincher sacrifice fly.  The Red Sox did not get a man past first base in the ninth.

Of note:  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4.

Record:  The win was the Twins' fifth straight and made them 92-54.  Chicago won and Baltimore did not play, so the White Sox resumed sole possession of second place, nine games behind.

Notes:  Oliva's average remained .318...Earl Wilson is another forgotten pitcher of the 1960s.  He became a rotation starter in 1961, but really did not hit his stride until he was traded to Detroit in June of 1966 at age 31.  After posting an ERA of 4.10 and a WHIP of 1.40 in his seasons with Boston, he went 13-6, 2.59, 1.00 WHIP the rest of the 1966 season with Detroit.  He followed that up in 1967 by going 22-11, 3.67, 1.17 WHIP in 1967.  In 1968 his won-lost record was not as good, but his other numbers were comparable or better.  He continued to pitch well in 1969, but struggled in 1970 and ended his playing career after that season.  My first thought was that perhaps the Tigers had some genius pitching coach who helped Wilson in 1966.  And maybe he was a genius, but he certain doesn't have that reputation.  The Tigers' pitching coach in 1966 was Stubby Overmire.

MINNESOTA 8, BOSTON 4 IN BOSTON

Date:  Saturday, September 11.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 4-for-5 with a double, a walk, and two stolen bases (his eleventh and twelfth), scoring three times and driving in two.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-5 with a double and two stolen bases (his twenty-second and twenty-third), scoring twice.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.

Pitching star:  Camilo Pascual pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Carl Yastrzemski was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eighteenth) and two RBIs.  Lee Thomas was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Jim Gosger was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.

The game:  Oliva singled in a run in the first and Don Mincher had an RBI single in a two-run third to put the Twins up 3-0.  Hall's two-run single in the fourth made it 5-0 and the Twins were never really threatened.  Oliva's two-run double made it 8-2 in the eighth.  The Red Sox got single runs in the eighth and ninth but never appeared to be back in the game.

Of note:  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a walk.

Record:  The Twins' fourth consecutive win made them 91-54.  Baltimore and Chicago both lost, so the Twins' lead over both went up to nine games.

Notes:  Oliva raised his average to .318...The Twins' first three batters in the lineup (Versalles, Hall, Oliva) went a combined 10-for-15 with a walk, three doubles, and four stolen bases...The Boston starter was Jim Lonborg, who was in his rookie year and was not yet the ace pitcher he would become, if only briefly.  He went 9-17, 4.47, 1.39 WHIP in 1965.  The Red Sox, to their credit, kept him in the rotation all year.  He improved in 1966 and had his best year in 1967, when he went 22-9, 3.16, 1.14 WHIP and won the Cy Young award.  He broke his leg in a skiing accident that off-season and was never the same.  He would, however, go on to have a long career and had a few good seasons, going 14-12, 2.83 for Milwaukee in 1972, 17-13, 3.21 for Philadelphia in 1974, and 18-10, 3.08 for the Phillies in 1976.  After his playing career was over he went to dental school and appears to still be a practicing dentist in Hanover, Massachusetts.

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.