MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, July 2.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-2 with two walks.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run, his nineteenth.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Tommy John pitched 7.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eleven hits and three walks and striking out three.  Don Secrist pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

The game:  In the second, Oliva doubled and Mitterwald delivered a two-out single to put the Twins ahead 1-0.  In the fourth, Oliva singled, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on a foul out to left, and scored on a passed ball to make the score 2-0.

The Twins missed a chance for another run in the fourth.  Allison led off with a triple, but was still on third with two out and then was caught trying to steal home.  They added a run in the seventh when Tovar's two-out double scored Frank Quilici from first base and got one more in the eighth when Killebrew homered.

The White Sox got on the board in the eighth.  Bill Melton doubled with one out and was still on second with two down.  Pete Ward then singled him home, Tom McCraw walked, and Luis Aparicio singled to drive home Ward and make the score 4-2.  Boswell then left in favor of Ron Perranoski, who retired Gail Hopkins on a ground out to end the inning.

The Twins went down in order in the top of the ninth.  According to both b-r.com and baseball-almanac.com, Chicago did not bat in the bottom of the ninth.  The most likely reason would seem to be rain.  It seems like a strange time to call the game, and one assumes the White Sox were not pleased about it, but perhaps it was unavoidable.

WP:  Boswell (10-8).  LP:  John (5-6).  S:  Perranoski (14).

Notes:  Oliva batted fifth in this game, one of only three times all year he batted fifth.  He was 4-for-11 in those games.  Killebrew batted third and Allison fourth.

Tovar was in center, giving Ted Uhlaender the day off.  Uhlaender would come in for defense in the eighth but would play left.  When Uhlaender started and Tovar came in for defense, Tovar would pretty much always go to left field.

Quilici was at third base, with Killebrew playing first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Mitterwald was behind the plate in place of Johnny Roseboro.

Rod Carew was 1-for-5 and was batting .368.  Oliva raised his average to .315.  Perranoski lowered his ERA to 2.08.

Left-handed reliever Don Secrist played in parts of two seasons for the White Sox.  He was in the Baltimore organization in 1963, was drafted by Cincinnati in the first-year player draft, and remained in the Reds organization through 1968.  He first reached AAA in 1966 but did not have a lot of success there until 1968, when he went 11-2, 3.68.  This was "the year of the pitcher" even in the minors, so that 3.68 is not as impressive as it might sound.  The Reds traded him to Chicago after the season.  He was with the White Sox for about two months, going 0-1, 6.08, but with a WHIP of 1.23 in 40 innings.  He gave up seven home runs, which probably helps account for the high ERA.  He also may have been battling injuries--he made only one AAA appearance that season.  He again was with the White Sox for about two months in 1970 but was rarely used, going 0-0, 5.52, 2.11 WHIP in 1.42 innings.  That ended his major league career:  his totals are 0-1, 5.93, 1.46 WHIP in 28 games (54.2 innings).  He pitched in AAA with the White Sox and Cubs in 1971, then was done.

Record:  The win was the Twins' fourth in a row.  They remained tied for first in the American League West with Oakland, although they trailed by winning percentage .569 to .566.

MINNESOTA 10, CHICAGO 5 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Tuesday, July 1.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his fifth and sixth) and a double, scoring three times and driving in three.  Johnny Roseboro was 3-for-5 and scored twice.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and a stolen base (his third), scoring twice.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Ted Uhlaender was 1-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched 5.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Buddy Bradford was 2-for-4.  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-5.  Gail Hopkins was 2-for-5.

The game:  The White Sox took the lead early, scoring three in the first.  Aparicio had a one-out single and scored on Hopkins' single-plus-error.  With two out, Carlos May walked and Bradford and Bill Melton delivered RBI singles to give Chicago a 3-0 lead.  In the third, Don Pavletich and May each hit a one-out single and an error brought them both home, putting the White Sox up 5-0.

The Twins started their comeback in the fourth.  Reese hit a one-out home run, Roseboro had a two-out single, and Cardenas followed with a two-run homer to cut the margin to 5-3.  It looked like Chicago might get the runs back in the bottom of the fourth, as Aparicio and Hopkins again singled with one out.  This time, however, Woodson came in to replace starter Jim Perry and retired Pavletich and May on fly balls to end the inning.

The Twins took the lead in the fifth.  Uhlaender led off with a home run and Carew followed with a triple.  With one out, Harmon Killebrew hit a ground ball and the White Sox failed to get Carew at home, tying the score.  Reese then hit his second home run of the game, giving the Twins a 7-5 lead.

The Twins tacked on a couple of runs in the eighth.  Roseboro and Cardenas led off the inning with singles and a stolen base put men on second and third with none out.  A pickoff error brought home one run and a squeeze bunt scored the second, making the score 9-5.  The Twins added one more in the ninth, as Reese hit a two-out double and scored on a Cesar Tovar single.

WP:  Woodson (5-3).  LP:  Wilbur Wood (5-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew raised his average to .372.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-5, dropping him to .312.  Reese's big day raised him to .314.

Graig Nettles started in left, with Tovar going in for defense.  Frank Quilici was also a defensive sub at third, but this time he replaced Killebrew, with Reese remaining at first.

Neither starter lasted very long or did very well.  Perry pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks and struck out none.  Billy Wynne struck out four in four innings but allowed five runs on eight hits and no walks.

Wood was still a relief pitcher at this point in his career, and would lead the league in appearances in 1969 for the second of three consecutive seasons.  He would become a starter in 1971 and would lead the league in starts for four consecutive seasons (1972-1975--he was second in 1971 to Mickey Lolich).

Billy Wynne was a rotation starter for the White Sox for the latter two-thirds or so of 1969, the only time in his career that would be true.  He wasn't that bad, going 7-7, 4.06.  In fact, he was the only member of the White Sox' rotation to not have a sub-.500 record.  He first came to the majors in 1967 with the Mets, making six appearances.  He was traded to Chicago after that season and stayed through 1970.  He got off to a poor start in 1970 and spent most of the season in the minors, although he did get a September call-up.  He then was traded to California, for whom he made three appearances in 1971.  The Angels released him shortly before the 1972 season, he was briefly in AAA with Montreal, then went to the Mexican League through 1973.  For his career he was 8-11, 4.33, 1.58 WHIP in 187 innings.

Record:  The Twins were 42-33, tied for first with Oakland in the American League West, though second in winning percentage, .563 to .560.

MINNESOTA 7, CHICAGO 3 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Monday, June 30.

Batting stars:  Johnny Roseboro was 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, his fourth.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bob Miller pitched 7.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Buddy Bradford was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Bill Melton was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.  Joel Horlen pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out two.

The game:  Ted Uhlaender led off the game with a double and Killebrew delivered a two-out single to give the Twins a 1-0 lead in the first inning.  Neither team really threatened again until the fifth, when the White Sox opened the inning with consecutive singles by Carlos May, Bradford, Melton, and Rich Morales, tying the score and leaving the bases loaded with none out.  Horlen hit into a 1-2-3 double play and Ken Berry grounded out, leaving the score 1-1 through five.

The Twins had only one hit in innings two through six.  In the seventh, however, singles by Killebrew and Reese and a double by Roseboro put the Twins up 2-1.  They missed a chance for more--Leo Cardenas was intentionally walked, but Miller struck out and Uhlaender grounded out to end the inning.

The Twins took control in the ninth, however.  With one out, consecutive singles by Reese, Roseboro, and Leo Cardenas gave the Twins a 3-1 lead.  With Ron Perranoski up to bat, Roseboro and Cardenas pulled off a double steal of third and second, respectively.  Perranoski could not bring anyone home, however, and with two out Uhlaender was intentionally walked to bring up Carew.  That worked about as well as you might think, as Carew doubled home two runs to make the score 5-1.  Oliva was then intentionally walked to bring up Killebrew.  That didn't work very well, either, as Killebrew singled home two runs to make it 7-1.

The White Sox tried to get back into the game.  Melton led off the ninth with a home run and Bradford followed with a triple.  All Chicago could get after that, however, was a Walt Williams sacrifice fly and the Twins won 7-3.

WP:  Miller (1-2).  LP:  Horlen (4-9).  S:  Perranoski (13).

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-5, making his average .371.  Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .317.  Reese raised his average to .303.

Charlie Manuel got the start in left field and went 0-for-5.  The standard defensive changes were made, with Cesar Tovar going to left, Frank Quilici going to third, and Killebrew replacing Reese at first.

I don't know how often someone was intentionally walked to get to Rod Carew, but I doubt that it happened very often.  Walking Oliva to get to Killebrew I can see, in that it was already 5-1, a hit of any kind would probably drive in two and put the game out of reach, and Oliva would be more likely to get a hit than Killebrew.  it's not a great option, but the White Sox were out of great options at that point.

For a part-time outfielder, Buddy Bradford (given name:  Charles William Bradford) had a long career.  He was with the White Sox from 1966-1970, with Cleveland from 1970-1971, went to Cincinnati for the end of 1971, was back with the White Sox from 1972-1975, finished 1975 with St. Louis, and came back to the White Sox again for 1976.  He also played in Japan in 1977.  Through all of that, he never had more than 313 plate appearances in a season or more than 281 at-bats.  He was generally a fourth or fifth outfielder.  One assumes he was good on defense, because he could not hit--his lifetime numbers are .226/.311/.364.  He was a right-handed batter, but he did not hit lefties particularly better than right-handers.  One also assumes he was a pretty nice guy, because if he was a jerk they wouldn't have kept him around that long.  He apparently had a successful career in business after his baseball career ended.

Record:  The Twins were 41-33, in second place in the American League West, one game behind Oakland.

MINNESOTA 12, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY (GAME TWO)

Date:  Sunday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 5-for-5 with two home runs (his eleventh and twelfth) and a double, driving in five.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring three times and driving in three.  Frank Quilici was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and two walks, scoring twice and driving in two.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Buck Martinez was 3-for-4.  Mike Hedlund pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the first but could only score once, on a double play.  It looked like it might cost them, as the Royals took the lead with two in the bottom of the first.  With a man on second and two out, Bob Oliver doubled home a run and Martinez singled home another.

Not to worry.  The Twins took control with a six-run second.  Two walks opened the inning, and Kansas City starter Jim Rooker was pulled, having walked four of the seven batters he faced.  The bullpen did not provide relief for the Royals.  Quilici singled home a run to tie it, Kaat walked to load the bases, Tovar doubled home two, and Oliva hit a three-run homer to put the Twins ahead 7-2.

The only Kansas City threats came in the fourth and the eighth, both times when they had two on with two out.  The Twins scored two more in the sixth, when Tovar doubled and Oliva homered, and three in the ninth, when Mitterwald hit a two-run homer and Tovar later had an RBI single.

WP:  Kaat (8-6).  LP:  Rooker (0-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Oliva was 8-for-9 in the doubleheader with two home runs and a double.  Over the last ten games, he was 25-for-45 with 11 doubles and 5 home runs.  He raised his average from .279 to .322.

Tovar was in center field in place of Ted Uhlaender.  Bob Allison started in left.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.

This was Quilici's only three-hit game of the season.

Allison got his second stolen base of the season, swiping second in the second inning.  It would be his last stolen base of the season, as he would go 2-for-6 in steal attempts.  He actually reached double digits in stolen bases four times in his career, with a high of thirteen in 1959.  He was Rookie of the Year that season, made the all-star team, and led the league in triples with nine.

Kaat's ERA was 2.65.

I have no memory of Mike Hedlund, but he was actually pretty good in 1969.  He went 3-6, 3.24, 1.30 WHIP in 34 games (16 starts).  He also had a fine year in 1971, going 15-8, 2.71, 1.17 WHIP in 32 games (30 starts).  He had made six appearances with Cleveland in 1965 at age eighteen, when he clearly wasn't ready.  He got a September call-up with the Indians in 1968 after a good year in AA.  The Royals took him in the expansion draft.  After his good season in 1969, he went to Venezuela to play winter ball and got very sick.  It looks like it took him all of 1970 to get his strength back--he started 1970 in the majors, but struggled and was sent back to AAA after just nine appearances.  It looks like he probably developed arm problems after his fine 1971 season, as he did not have a good year after that.  He did pitch well in AAA in 1974, but that was his last season.

Record:  The Twins were 40-33, in second place in the American League West, a game and a half behind Oakland.

KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 2 IN KANSAS CITY (GAME ONE)

Date:  Sunday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4.  Graig Nettles was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-4 with a double.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Danny Morris pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Wally Bunker pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on eleven hits and no walks and striking out three.  Bob Oliver was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, his eighth.  Joe Foy was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his twenty-third.  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Jackie Hernandez was 2-for-4.  Mike Fiore was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and two walks.

The game:  The Royals jumped on Jim Perry for three runs in the first three batters.  Foy singled, Pat Kelly walked, and Fiore hit a three-run homer to put Kansas City up 3-0.

The Twins did not get a baserunner until the third, when Roseboro singled, and he was immediately erased by a double play.  They got on the board in the fourth when Uhlaender doubled and scored on Oliva's single.  The Royals got the run back in the bottom of the fourth when Hernandez singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Foy single, making the score 4-1.

Kansas City kept adding on runs.  They scored in the fifth when Kelly singled, Eliseo Rodriguez walked, and Piniella delivered an RBI single.  They scored two in the sixth when Fiore walked and Oliver hit a two-run homer, making the score 7-1.

The Twins would score only once more, on Nettles' solo homer in the seventh.  They had chances.  They had men on first and third in the sixth and had men on second and third in the ninth.  They would've had two on in the seventh, but they had a man thrown out on the bases.

WP:  Bunker (4-4).  LP:  Perry (6-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Rod Carew was back in the lineup but went 0-for-4, making his average .375.  Oliva raised his average to .310.  Rich Reese went 0-for-4 and was batting .308.

Despite pitching two shutout innings, Danny Morris was sent back to AAA Denver after this game.  It would be his last major league appearance of the season, his last as a Twin, and in fact his last of his career.  He would be in the Twins' organization through 1972, but would never get another shot at the majors.

So far in this series, Hernandez was 6-for-12 with two doubles.  He would bat .222/.278/.282 for the season.

"Joe Foy" has to be one of the shortest names in baseball history.  Ed Ott has him beat, and I'm sure there are a few others, but I wouldn't think there are very many.

For an expansion team, the Royals had a darn good starting rotation.  Bunker was their best, going 12-11, 3.23, 1.17 WHIP.  But they also had Dick Drago (11-13, 3.77, 1.27), Bill Butler (9-10, 3.90, 1.37), Roger Nelson (7-13, 3.31, 1.22), and Jim Rooker (4-16, 3.75, 1.32).  They couldn't hit (team average:  .240, team OPS:  .648), which is why they didn't win a lot of games, but their rotation kept them in the game most of the time.

Record:  The Twins were 39-32, second in the American League West, two games behind Oakland.

KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 4 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Saturday, June 28.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk, driving in two.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-3.  Bob Allison was 1-for-1 with two walks.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Mike Fiore was 2-for-2 with two walks.  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Jackie Hernandez was 2-for-4.  Galen Cisco struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks.

The game:  The Twins put men on second and third with one out in the second but came up empty.  The Royals opened the scoring in the third.  Hernandez singled and Joe Foy walked, putting men on first and second with two out.  Fiore then singled home the game's first run.  Bob Oliver delivered another single, but Foy was thrown out trying to score from second, so the score remained 1-0.  Buck Martinez homered leading off the fourth, making it 2-0.

The Twins had a big inning in the sixth.  With one out, Harmon Killebrew singled, Allison walked, and Mitterwald singled, loading the bases.  Cardenas tied the score with a two-run double and then, with two out, Rick Renick came through with a two-run single to put the Twins ahead 4-2.

The lead didn't last long.  With two out and a man on third in the bottom of the sixth, Piniella had an RBI double and later came around to score on an error, tying it 4-4.

The Twins had chances to get back into the lead.  Cesar Tovar led off the seventh with a double, but it led nowhere.  They had men on first and third with one out in the eighth, but again the threat died.  It cost them, because in the bottom of the eighth, the Royals scored three times and took control of the game.  Oliver led off with a walk and stole second.  With one out, Martinez was intentionally walked.  It didn't work, as Kansas City then got three consecutive singles.  Piniella singled to load the bases, Hawk Taylor had a two-run single, and Hernandez had an RBI single.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Cisco (1-0).  LP:  Dave Boswell (9-8).  S:  Moe Drabowsky (7).

Notes:  It was kind of a B lineup for the Twins.  Tovar was in center field, replacing Ted Uhlaender.  Allison was in left, which is not exactly unusual but he did only start fifty-two games in 1969.  Mitterwald was the catcher in place of Johnny Roseboro.  Frank Quilici was at second base, although Rod Carew pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning.  Rick Renick was at third, with Killebrew on first and Rich Reese on the bench. although Reese was used as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a double and was batting .304.  Carew singled in his pinch-hitting appearance and was batting .382.

Boswell pitched 7.2 innings, but allowed all seven runs (six earned) on eleven hits and five walks, striking out six.  He had gotten into the eighth inning in each of his last four starts and five of his last six.

Future Twin Bill Butler started for Kansas City.  He struck out seven in six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks.

The Twins were 2-4 against the expansion Royals so far and had lost all four games played in Kansas City.

Record:  The Twins were 39-32, in second place in the American League West, a half game behind Oakland.

KANSAS CITY 9, MINNESOTA 8 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, June 27.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer, his fourth.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer and two walks, scoring twice.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Joe Foy was 3-for-5 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Mike Fiore was 2-for-3.  Ex-Twin Jackie Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Bob Oliver was 2-for-5 with a double.  Jerry Adair was 2-for-5.  Future Twin Tom Burgmeier pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  It looked good early.  In the first, Ted Uhlaender reached on an error, Tovar singled, and Oliva hit a three-run homer, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead three batters into the game.  Kansas City got on the board in the second on back-to-back two-out doubles by Eliseo Rodriguez and Hernandez.  With one out in the third, Tovar singled and Oliva walked.  Harmon Killebrew flied out, but Reese hit a three-run homer to give the Twins a 6-1 lead through three innings.

The Royals opened the fifth with a walk to Foy and a single by Pat Kelly, but a fly out and a ground out held them to second and third with two down.  Then, however, Twins starter Dick Woodson uncorked a wild pitch (wild pitches are always "uncorked") which somehow allowed both runners to score, cutting the Twins lead to 6-3.  In the sixth, Hernandez doubled and was still on second with two out.  Foy singled him home, there was a walk to Kelly, Ed Kirkpatrick had an RBI single, and Oliver drove in a run with a double, tying the score 6-6.

The Twins had the bases loaded with one out in the seventh, but Killebrew popped up and Reese bounced back to the pitcher.  Minnesota did take the lead in the eighth, however.  With men on second and third and one out, Ron Perranoski laid down a squeeze bunt to put the Twins up 7-6.  Uhlaender followed with a double to make it 8-6.  In the bottom of the eighth, Oliver singled home Kelly to cut the lead to 8-7.

There it stood going to the bottom of the ninth.  Perranoski, in his third inning of work, gave up a single to Adair and walked Rodriguez.  Hernandez flied out and Dennis Paepke struck out, and it looked like he might work out of the jam.  Joe Foy singled to tie the score, however, and Kelly was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Al Worthington came in, but Hawk Taylor singled to left to win the game for the Royals.

WP:  Moe Drawbowsky (5-5).  LP:  Perranoski (4-3)  S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Graig Nettles was in left.  Frank Quilici came in for defense in the ninth, but this time Billy Martin did not use him to send Tovar to the outfield.  Instead, Quilici came in to play third, Killebrew moved from third to first, Reese came out of the game, and Nettles remained in left field.

Perranoski had not pitched in the previous game, but had pitched 2.1 innings the day before.  This was his sixth consecutive appearance of two innings or more.

Twins starter Woodson pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and five walks and striking out five.  Kansas City starter Dick Drago pitched three innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on four hits and a walk and striking out one.

Jackie Hernandez was a major league player from 1965-1973 (1967-1968 with the Twins), but this was the only season he was a regular.  In fact, it was the only season he had more than 250 at-bats.  He didn't do much with the chance, batting .222/.278/.282.

Catcher Eliseo Rodriguez was the Royals' lone all-star representative in 1969.  He batted just .236/.333/.296 that season, although in fairness it should be noted that he batted much better in the first half--.260/.342/.339.  Interestingly, Lou Piniella, who won the Rookie of the Year award, did not make the all-star team.  Rodriguez was also an all-star in 1972, when he was with Milwaukee and batted .285/.382/.352.  Oddly for a two-time all-star, he never had as many as four hundred at-bats in a season, and the season in which he came the closest--1974, with 395--he did not make the all-star team.  In addition to the Royals and Brewers, he played for the Yankees (9 games in 1968), California, and the Dodgers.  His lifetime numbers are .245/.356/.308.  He may have had the least distinguished career of any two-time all-star in the history of baseball, but at least he got there, which is more than a lot of players can say.

Record:  The Twins were 39-31, in second place in the American League West, a half game behind Oakland.

MINNESOTA 7, CALIFORNIA 4 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Thursday, June 26.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his eighteenth) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in two.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with two doubles and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.  Al Worthington struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up four hits.

Opposition stars:  Bubba Morton was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Rick Reichardt was 2-for-4.  Sandy Alomar was 2-for-5 with a double.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-5.

The game:  Sandy Alomar led off the first with a double and scored on an error by left fielder Charlie Manuel, putting the Angels up 1-0.  The Twins had only one hit through the first three innings, but Killebrew homered with one out in the fourth to tie the score 1-1.

Jim Hicks led off the fifth with a home run to give California a 2-1 lead.  It was short-lived, however, as the Twins came back with two in the sixth.  Tovar and Oliva hit back-to-back one-out doubles to tie it and Killebrew followed with an RBI single to give Minnesota a 3-2 lead.  That lead was short-lived as well, as the Angels got two in the bottom of the sixth.  Singles by Fregosi and Aurelio Rodriguez and a two-run double by Morton gave California the lead, 4-3.

The Twins went into the lead to stay with a four-run eighth.  Tovar and Oliva again hit back-to-back one-out doubles to tie the score.  Killebrew was intentionally walked, but Reese singled to bring home the go-ahead run.  A wild pitch moved the runners up to second and third, a walk to Manuel loaded the bases, and a passed ball brought home the third run of the inning.  Johnny Roseboro then delivered an RBi single to make the score 7-4.

The Angels got three hits in the last two innings, but thanks to a double play never got a man past first base.

WP:  Worthington (1-0).  LP:  Jim McGlothlin (5-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Rod Carew was out of the lineup, with Tovar at second base.  In the eighth, Frank Quilici came in to play second, with Tovar moving to left to replace Manuel.

Oliva raised his average to .305.  Over his last six games he was 15-for-28 with 9 doubles and 2 home runs.  Reese raised his average to .313.  He was 7-for-11 in his last three games.

The Twins' two-through-five batters were 8-for-17 with a home run, four doubles, and a walk.  They scored seven runs and drove in five.

After giving up six runs in two-thirds of an inning on June 17, Worthington had pitched 7.1 scoreless innings over five games.  His ERA fell from 17.18 to 5.73.

Kaat's ERA was now 2.70.

They say that everybody loves a Bubba, but Bubba Morton batted well enough to make on think he should've gotten more of a chance than he did.  He was the first black player signed by the Detroit Tigers.  He batted .324 as a twenty-four-year old in Class D in 1956, but was promoted only to Class B in 1957, where he batted .310.  He batted .285 in AAA Charleston in 1959, but was made to repeat AAA in 1960.  He finally got to the majors in 1961, at age thirty, but was used primarily as a pinch-hitter, appearing in 77 games but getting only 108 at-bats.  Remarkably, he batted .287/.382/.407 in that role.  He had another solid year in 1962.  In fairness to the Tigers, it should be pointed out that Morton was a corner outfielder, and they had Al Kaline and Rocky Colavito to play corner outfield at the time, so there wasn't much room for Morton.

In 1963 he went 1-for-11 to start the season and was sold to Milwaukee.  The Braves had Hank Aaron in their outfield, but their other outfielders were Don Dillard, Mack Jones, Ty Cline, and Hawk Taylor, so you'd think they might have given Morton a shot.  Instead, they continued to use him as a pinch-hitter and sent him to the minors after just twenty-eight at-bats.  He didn't get back to the majors until 1966.  He batted .303 with an OPS of .843 in AAA in 1964, and all it got him was a sale to Cleveland.  He batted .319 With an OPS of .836 in AAA in 1965, and all it got him was a sale to California.  He got a September call-up with them in 1966 and stayed with them through 1969.  He was still often used as a pinch-hitter, but at least got some playing time in the outfield, making forty to fifty starts a season.  With the Angels, he batted .267/.351/.436 in 586 at-bats.  He played in Japan in 1970, then was done as a player.  He was the head coach at the University of Washington from 1972-1976, then worked for Boeing.  He passed away in 2006.

His career numbers were .267/.351/.370, numbers compiled in the 1960s when offense was very low.  His career numbers as a pinch-hitter are .281/.378/.331 in 189 pinch-hitting appearances.  I don't know why he didn't get more of a chance to play.  Was racism involved?  Was he a very poor defensive player?  Was he such a good pinch-hitter that teams didn't want to take him out of that role?  Was it a matter of age?  It would be an interesting thing to research by someone who had the time.

Record:  The Twins were 39-30, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of Oakland.

MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 2 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Wednesday, June 25.

Batting stars:  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-3 with a double.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double.  Charlie Manuel was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and four walks and striking out one.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Jim Spencer was 2-for-2.  Andy Messersmith pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out five.  Ken Tatum struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  the Twins got two in the first inning.  Ted Uhlaender walked and went to third on a Cesar Tovar single.  Oliva doubled home the first run.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked, and Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.  Manuel singled to load the bases, but Roseboro hit into a fly out/double play.

It stayed 2-0 until the fifth.  The Angels loaded the bases with none out on singles by Sandy Alomar and Bill Voss and a walk to Jim Fregosi.  Rick Reichardt hit a sacrifice fly to bring home one, but a popup and a ground out limited the damage.  The Twins still led 2-1.

California tied it in the seventh.  Aurelio Rodriguez hit a two-out single and scored on Spencer's single-plus-error.  An intentional walk to Joe Azcue and an accidental walk to Messersmith loaded the bases and brought Perranoski in to replace Perry.  He got Alomar to fly out to leave the score tied.

The Twins took the lead for good in the eighth.  Again the damage came with two out and none on.  Oliva singled and went to second on a wild pitch.  Killebrew was again intentionally walked, and Reese again came through, delivering a single that put Minnesota up 3-2.  The Angels threatened in the ninth, getting a leadoff double from Winston Llenas, but he did not advance past second.

WP:  Perranoski (4-2).  LP:  Messersmith (3-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Rod Carew was held out of the lineup, with Tovar at second.  Frank Quilici came in to play second in the ninth inning, with Tovar moving to left to replace Manuel.

Oliva raised his average to .303.   Over his last five games, he was 13-for-24 with eight doubles and two home runs.

This was Perranoski's fifth consecutive appearance in which he'd pitched two innings or more.

Winston Llenas spent his entire career in the Angels' organization, other than when he played in Mexico.  He had only two full seasons in the majors, 1972 and 1974, but he played in parts of four others.  He was a reserve throughout his career, and was often used as a pinch-hitter:  197 of his 592 plate appearances came in a pinch-hitting role.  He was fairly good at it, batting .259/.294/.339 as a pinch-hitter.  When he did play in the field he played all over:  49 games at second base, 48 in the outfield, 44 at third base, 6 at first base.  His career high in games was 78 in 1973, but his career high in at-bats was 138 in 1974.  In his six major league seasons, he had 531 at-bats and batted .230/.277/.279, so he actually batted better as a pinch-hitter than he did when he was actually playing.  He finished with the Angels in 1975, but played in Mexico through 1982.  He managed in the Mexican League from 1978-1982 and managed in the minors for the Angels from 1983-1986.  A native of the Dominican Republic, he ran the Cleveland Indians Dominican Baseball Academy for several years.

Record:  The Twins were 38-30, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of Oakland.