Tag Archives: 1970 rewind

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty

CALIFORNIA 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, July 10.

Batting star:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Stan Williams struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer. his fifteenth.  Jarvis Tatum was 2-for-4.  Andy Messersmith struck out thirteen in a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and three walks.

The game:  All the scoring came in the first inning.  For the Twins, Jim Holt hit a one-out single and scored on Killebrew's two-out double.  For the Angels, Tatum hit a one-out single followed by Fregosi's two-run homer.

And that was it.  California opened the fourth with a pair of singles, but a fly out and a double play ended the inning.  In the fifth Cesar Tovar drew a one-out walk and went to second on a wild pitch, but there he stayed.  The Angels loaded the bases with one out in the sixth, but again a double play took them out of the inning.  They got two on in the seventh with one out but did not cash it in.  The Twins got a man on in the eighth and again in the ninth, but did not advance him past first base.

WP:  Messersmith (8-8).

LP:  Kaat (7-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Herman HIll and Rick Renick were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .326.  Killebrew was batting .321.  Tovar was 0-for-3 and was batting .311.  Williams had an ERA of 1.48.

Hill was 0-for-1 and was batting .111.

It's not exactly rare, but it is unusual to have a game in which all the runs are scored in the first inning.  I'm sure this is nowhere near the record for most runs scored in a game like that, but I do wonder what the record is.

Neither team got a hit with a man in scoring position.  The Twins were 0-for-3 and California was 0-for-6.

I don't remember Fregosi as a power hitter, but he hit double-digit home runs six times.  His high was 22, set in 1970.  He hit 151 homers in his career.

1970 was the one year Jarvis Tatum got some decent playing time.  He got 181 at-bats in 75 games, batting .238/.302/.276.  An outfielder, he started 44 of those 75 games.  He stole 99 bases in the minors, so he presumably had some speed and was considered a good defender.  He hit for a decent average in AAA and hit some home runs in the Pacific Coast League, but it didn't translate to major league success.  He is one of two major league players with the first name "Jarvis", the other being ex-Twin Jarvis Brown.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 53-27, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-nine

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 2 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Thursday, July 9.

Batting stars:  Rick Renick was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his seventh). and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out five.  Tom Hall struck out five in three perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Jim Spencer was 2-for-3.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4.  Rudy May pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks and striking out four.

The game:  The Angels scored two in the first inning.  Sandy Alomar singled, stole second, and scored on a one-out single by Fregosi.  Singles by Alex Johnson and Spencer brought home another run, making it 2-0 California.

The Twins got on the board in the second.  Tony Oliva singled and scored from first on Renick's double, cutting the lead to 2-1.  The Angels opened the fourth with a pair of singles but did not score, so it was still 2-1 until the seventh.  Renick led off with a single and went to second on a ground out, leading to an intentional walk to Cardenas.  Rich Reese then delivered a pinch-hit single, tying the score at two.

It stayed 2-2 until the ninth.  With two out Hall singled and Cardenas followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-2.  California did not get a hit after the inning-opening singles in the fourth.

WP:  Hall (5-2).

LP:  Eddie Fisher (3-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .330.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.45.  Hall had an ERA of 2.11.

The Twins started the game with Jim Perry batting third in the lineup and listed as the left fielder, with Bob Allison at first base.  As the Twins were on the road, Perry was scheduled to be the third batter of the game.  He wasn't, of course--Killebrew pinch-hit for him and stayed in the game at first base, with Allison moving to left.  There must be a story behind that, but I have no idea what it is.

Reese pinch-hit for George Mitterwald and Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Blyleven in the seventh.  Both stayed in the game, with Reese going to first (moving Killebrew to third, Renick to left field, and Allison leaving the game) and Ratliff going behind the plate.  Herman Hill came in to play center field in the ninth, with Tovar moving to left and Renick leaving the game.

It's interesting that Hall was allowed to bat in the ninth inning of a tie game.  He had pitched two perfect innings, and there were two out and none on, both of which probably affected the decision.  Also, the Twins didn't have a lot of bench players left at this point.  What's even more remarkable is that it paid off, as Hall got a hit in front of Cardenas' home run.  Hall was not a good batter--.161/.191/.172 in 192 career at-bats.  But he came through here.

It's also interesting that Bill Rigney seems to have stopped pulling Killebrew for defense late in games.  Frank Quilici, his usual defensive replacement, was still on the team, and Danny Thompson had taken over second base, so Quilici was still available.  But Killebrew was being allowed to stay in the games.

This was the first of a four-game series with the Angels going into the all-star break.  A sweep would put a lot of space between the Twins and California.  The Twins had won five in a row, ten of eleven, and twelve of fourteen.

Record:  The Twins were 53-26, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-eight

MINNESOTA 8, OAKLAND 6 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Wednesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Rich Reese was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Sal Bando was 4-for-4 with a double and three runs.  Don Mincher was 2-for-4.  Reggie Jackson was 2-for-4.  Dave Duncan was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his eighth.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the first when Tovar singled and Oliva hit a two-run homer.  The Athletics got on the board in the second when Bando singled, went to third on Jackson's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  They tied it in the fourth when Bando doubled and scored on Mincher's single.

The Twins got the lead back in the sixth.  Thompson reached third on a single-plus-error, scored on a sacrifice fly, and then Reese homered to make it 4-2.  They added two more in the seventh.  Cardenas led off with an infield single.  He had only gotten to second with two out, but then Jim Perry walked and Thompson and Oliva had run-scoring singles, making it 6-2.  The Twins got one more in the eighth when Cardenas doubled and scored on a Perry single, and one more in the ninth when Oliva singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Frank Quilici double.

So it was 8-2 going to the bottom of the ninth, and Perry had given up just one hit since the fourth.  But with one out Bando, Jackson, and Mincher all singled, making it 8-3, and Duncan hit a three-run homer, making the Twins' lead just 8-6.  Ron Perranoski came in and walked Felipe Alou.  Frank Fernandez fanned, but Bert Campaneris singled, bringing the winning run to the plate in Joe Rudi.  But he grounded out and the Twins held on for the victory.

WP:  Perry (13-6).

LP:  Catfish Hunter (13-6).

S:  Perranoski (20).

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Rick Renick was at third base in place of Harmon Killebrew, who got his first day off of the season.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici replaced Renick in the eighth, with Quilici going to second and Thompson moving to third.

Oliva was batting .331.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.65.

Quilici was 1-for-1 and was batting .188.

Perry pitched very well for eight innings, but his like was 8.1 innings, six runs, eleven hits, one walk, and three strikeouts.

Hunter pitched 6.2 innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and one walk and striking out two.

I don't suppose it's all that rare, but it does seem somewhat unusual to have both starters give up six runs.

This was the third four-hit game for Oliva in 1970.

The Twins had won four in a row, nine of ten, and eleven of thirteen.

Record:  The Twins were 52-26, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-six

MINNESOTA 2, OAKLAND 1 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Monday, July 6.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his nineteenth.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and five walks and striking out one.  Ron Perranoski struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Diego Segui pitched four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks and striking out three.  Bob Locker pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.   Mudcat Grant struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Twins got a man to third with one out in the first but did not score.  In the second, Sal Bando walked and Tommy Davis was hit by a pitch.  A double play moved Bando to third and Dave Duncan's RBI single put the Athletics ahead 1-0.

The Twins tied it in the third.  Tovar hit a one-out single, and two-out singles by Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew produced a run.  In the fourth Leo Cardenas walked and two-out singles by Zepp and Tovar produced a run, putting the Twins ahead 2-1.

And that was it for scoring.  Oakland had their chances.  They had men on first and third in the fifth.  They had a man on second with one out in the sixth.  They had men on first and second with two out in the seventh.  But none of them scored, and the Twins took a 2-1 victory.

WP:  Zepp (4-0).

LP:  Segui (3-5).

S:  Perranoski (19).

Notes:  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Oddly, in a one-run game, the Twins did not put in a defensive substitute for Killebrew.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .325.  Tovar was batting .316.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .313.  Zepp had an ERa of 2.53.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.67,

It was Zepp's first start since May 30.  He would stay in the rotation until almost the end of the season.  Bill Rigney was obviously not concerned about "stretching him out", as he pitched 6.1 innings.

John McNamara had a pretty quick hook on Segui, pulling him one batter into the fifth inning when he had given up just two runs.  He had allowed a lot of baserunners (nine), and maybe McNamara thought he'd pushed his luck as far as he could.  It was only Segui's fourth start of the season, as he'd been in the bullpen earlier.  He'd gone seven innings in each of his first two starts, so again, "stretching him out" doesn't seem to have been a concern.  He'd gone only 1.1 innings in his third start, and gave up four runs, so maybe the manager just didn't have much confidence in him.

Ex-Twin Mudcat Grant was having an excellent year out of the Oakland bullpen.  After this game his ERA was 0.87.  To no one's surprise, he couldn't do that over the whole season, but he ended up 8-3, 24 saves, 1.86 ERA, 1.06 WHIP.  He also ended up in Pittsburgh, as he was traded in mid-September.

Also playing for Oakland was ex-Twin Don Mincher.  He went 0-for-4 and was batting just .228.  He would raise that to .248 by season's end, and would hit 27 home runs.

The next-to-last batter of the game was a pinch-hitter named Tony LaRussa.  I suppose I've heard that LaRussa played in the majors, but I didn't know anything about his career.  As it turns out, there's not much to know.  He first came up to the Kansas City Athletics as an eighteen-year-old and was used mostly as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement, going 11-for-44 in 34 games.  He did not make it back to the majors until 1968.  1970 is when he got most of his big league playing time, batting .198/.301/.255 in 52 games (106 at-bats).  For his career he batted .199/.292/.250 in 132 games (176 at-bats).

The Twins had won seven of eight games.  This was the first of a ten-game road trip that would take them to Oakland, California, and Baltimore.  The Baltimore leg of the trip would come after the all-star break.

Record:  The Twins were 50-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-five

MINNESOTA 12, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 5.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-fourth), two walks, two runs, and two RBIs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams retired all ten men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition star:  Duane Josephson was 2-for-4 with a triple.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second.  Killebrew walked, Rich Reese singled, and Paul Ratliff was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one out.  All the Twins could get out of it was a Cardenas sacrifice fly, leaving them up 1-0.  In the third, though, the offense came alive.  Cesar Tovar and Holt singled, putting men on first and third, and Oliva singled in a run.  A wild pitch scored another, and Killebrew singled to bring home a third.  Singles by Ratliff and Cardenas brought home a run and a sacrifice fly plated one more, making it 6-0 Twins through three.

The Twins added some more runs in the fifth.  Killebrew led off with a home run.  Reese walked and went to third on a stolen base-plus error.  Cardenas walked, Danny Thompson singled in a run, Tovar was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Holt singled in two runs, pushing the Twins' lead to 10-0.

The White Sox got on the board in the sixth.  Jim Kaat had shut them down through five and a third innings on just four singles, but with one out in the sixth Walt Williams walked, Luis Aparicio doubled, Tom McCraw had an RBI double, Carlos May drove in a run with a ground out, and Josephson tripled home a run.  That was as good as it got for Chicago, though, as Williams came in at that point and retired every White Sox batter for the rest of the game.

The Twins added single runs in the sixth and seventh.  In the sixth, Ratliff was hit by a pitch with two out and scored on a Cardenas double.  In the eighth an error, an Oliva single-plus-error, and an intentional walk loaded the bases and Reese was hit by a pitch to bring in the game's final run.

WP:  Kaat (7-6).

LP:  Bob Miller (3-4).

S:  Williams (7).

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Tovar in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the seventh and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Oliva was batting .326.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .311.  Williams had an ERA of 1.67.

Kaat had pitched very well through five innings, but his final line was 5.2 innings, three runs, seven hits, two walks, and no strikeouts.

Ex-Twin Bob Miller started for the White Sox and pitched just two innings, allowing five runs on five hits and a walk and striking out one.

I find it odd that Chicago manager Don Gutteridge would order an intentional walk to Killebrew in the eighth inning.  I mean, yes, he's Harmon Killebrew, but the score was 11-3, it was the eighth inning, and the White Sox had just one more turn at bat.  It just seems like a bit of poor sportsmanship to me.  Not that anything should've been done about it--I'm not saying it was outrageously outrageous or anything.  I just don't see the point of it.  Play the game.  Let the big man hit.

Record:  The Twins were 49-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-four

CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, July 4.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-5 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-6.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out one.  Bill Zepp pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Stan Williams pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-4.  Ed Herrmann was 2-for-5 with a home run, his seventh.  Walt Williams was 2-for-6.  Tommy John pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out seven.

The game:  The White Sox had men on first and third with one out in the second, but Gail Hopkins was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third and a fly out ended the inning.  Chicago got on the board in the fourth, though.  Carlos May was hit by a pitch and Hopkins reached on a fielder's choice, putting men on first and second with none out.  Herrmann singled home a run and another run scored on a double play, making it 2-0 White Sox.

The Twins only once got a man as far as second base for six innings.  In the seventh, however, Cardenas hit a two-out double and George Mitterwald followed with an RBI single, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Chicago had men on second and third with none out in the eighth but did not score.  Herrmann homered leading off the ninth to make it 3-1.  In the bottom of the ninth Tony Oliva led off with a double and stayed on second on Rick Renick's infield single to short.  Oliva was then picked off second, a huge mistake in the ninth inning.  Bob Allison then walked, putting men on first and second.  Cardenas had an RBI single, making it 3-2 and putting men on first and third, and Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly to send the game to extra innings.

The Twins missed a good chance in the tenth.  Tovar led off and got to third on a single-plus-error.  Danny Thompson hit a short fly ball for the first out.  Harmon Killebrew and Oliva were both intentionally walked, filling the bases, and the strategy worked, as pinch-hitter Tom Tischinski hit into a double play.  In the twelfth, Bob Spence led off with a walk.  Walt Williams replaced him on first on a fielder's choice.  He then scored when Luis Aparicio reached on an error.  Aparicio went all the way to third and scored on a sacrifice fly, making it 5-3.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the twelfth.

WP:  Wilbur Wood (4-7).

LP:  Dick Woodson (1-2).

S:  Jerry Crider (2).

Notes:  Thompson was again at second in place of Rod Carew.  Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Reese to the bench.

There were lots of bench moves.  Frank Quilici pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Jim Holt replaced Brant Alyea in left field in the ninth with the Twins trailing and Alyea due to bat in the bottom of the inning.  Alyea would make only one brief appearance between this game and July 16, so he presumably was dealing with an injury.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Holt in the ninth and Herman Hill pinch-ran for Allison, with Hill staying in the game in center and Tovar moving to left.  Reese pinch-hit for MItterwald in the ninth and Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Ron Perranoski in the ninth, with Ratliff staying in the game to catch, Reese staying in the game at first base, and Killebrew moving to third.  Jim Kaat pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the tenth, but when the White Sox changed pitchers Tischinski pinch-hit for Kaat.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .324.  Tovar was batting .312.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .308.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.68.  Perranoski gave up one run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.75.  Williams had an ERA of 1.78.  Woodson gave up two unearned runs in two innings and had an ERA of 2.70.

Tischinski was batting zero (0-for-2).  Hill was 0-for-1 and was batting .118.  Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .175.  Boswell had an ERA of 6.22.

As you can see above, the Twins used seven bench players (not counting Kaat).

Crider, of course, is an ex-Twin, having played for them in 1969.

The loss ended the Twins' five-game winning streak.  It was their second extra-inning game in four days.

Despite lasting twelve innings, the game took just 3:31 to play.

RecordL  The Twins were 48-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-three

MINNESOTA 8, CHICAGO 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 3.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Rick Renick was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his twenty-third) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Duane Josephson was 2-for-3.  Floyd Weaver struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  The White Sox scored first, tallying twice in the first inning.  One-out singles by Luis Aparicio and Carlos May put men on first and third.  A passed ball scored one run and Josephson's two-out single made it 2-0 Chicago.

The Twins came back with four in the bottom of the first.  Tovar and Thompson led off the inning with singles.  A wild pitch scored a run and Tony Oliva delivered an RBI double to tie it 2-2.  Killebrew then walked, a run-scoring single by Jim Holt put the Twins ahead, and an error made it 4-2 Twins after one.

It was all Twins after that.  In the second Tovar doubled and scored on a Thompson single to make it 5-2.  In the fifth, Thompson and Oliva singled and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to bring the score to 8-2.

The White Sox never had two men on base after the first inning and only once advanced a man to second.

WP:  Perry (12-6).

LP:  Joel Horlen (6-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Renick was at third, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Frank Quilici came in to play second in the sixth, with Thompson moving to shortstop and Leo Cardenas leaving the game.

Oliva was batting .325.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .308.

Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .177.

It was Perry's seventh complete game of the season.

The Twins were once again able to get to Joel Horlen.  He pitched five innings and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits and a walk and struck out one.  Horlen had been a good pitcher for several years, but he started to decline in 1969 and the decline was more pronounced in 1970--he went 6-16, 4.86.  He was especially bad against the Twins--0-4, 8.03, 1.99 WHIP.  He would do better in 1971 and have a decent year mostly pitching out of the bullpen for Oakland in 1972 before ending his playing career.

The Twins started their homestand 5-0.  They had just gone 3-4 against those same two teams on the road.

Record:  The Twins were 48-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-one

MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 1 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, July 1.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Rick Renick was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out nine in seven innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits and one walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Jim Rooker pitched nine innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks and striking out five.  Amos Otis was 2-for-4.  Paul Schaal was 1-for-2 with two walks.

The game:  The Royals had men on first and second with one out in the first but did not score.  Instead, Renick homered leading off the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Neither team really threatened after that until the sixth, when the Twins failed to capitalize on a Danny Thompson leadoff double.  In the seventh, Kansas City tied it.  Ed Kirkpatrick reached on a two-base error and scored on a two-out single by Tommy Matchick.

The Twins threatened in the bottom of the seventh.  Herman Hill, pinch-running for Brant Alyea, was on second with two out.  Tovar singled, but Hill was thrown out at the plate.  The Royals threatened in the ninth, loading the bases with one out, but Cookie Rojas grounded into a double play.  Kansas City threatened again the tenth, putting two on with two out, but Lou Piniella flied out to end the inning.

In the tenth, leadoff batter George Mitterwald reached on an error.  Jim Kaat pinch-ran for him.  Pinch-hitter Frank Quilici bunted and reached on another error, putting men on first and third.  Tovar was intentionally walked, loading the bases with none out.  Pinch-hitter Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly to win the game.

WP:  Perranoski (5-2).

LP:  Rooker (4-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Renick was at third, with Harmon Killebrew moving to first and Reese going to the bench.  Hill pinch-ran for Alyea in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Bob Allison and Quilici pinch-hit for pitchers.  Kaat pinch-ran for Mitterwald.  Reese pinch-hit for Thompson.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .326.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .307.  Tovar was batting .306.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.38.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.65.

Hill was 0-for-1 and was batting .133.

This was Blyleven's seventh major league start.  The Twins scored three or fewer runs in five of them.

The only ex-Twin to play for the Royals in this game was Jackie Hernandez, who went 1-for-4.

This was the third time Perranoski had pitched as many as three innings in a game in 1970.

Record:  The Twins were 46-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy

MINNESOTA 8, KANSAS CITY 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, June 30.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and two runs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.  Rick Renick was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit grand slam, his fifth homer.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Dick Woodson pitched a perfect inning.  Stan Williams pitched three shutout innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Bob Oliver was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and three RBIs.  Paul Schaal was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Amos Otis was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his sixteenth) and three runs.

The game:  In the first Schaal singled and Oliver hit a two-run homer, giving the Royals an early 2-0 lead.  The Twins got one back in the second when Rich Reese reached on a two-base error and scored on a Leo Cardenas single.  The lead went back to two in the third when Otis reached on a single-plus-error and scored on Oliver's double.  The score went to 5-1 in the fifth when Schaal led off with a homer, Otis and Lou Piniella singled, and a double play brought home a run.

The Twins came back in the sixth.  Killebrew led off the inning with a home run, cutting the lead to 5-2.  With one out Holt singled and Cardenas and George Mitterwald walked, loading the bases.  Bob Johnson came in to face pinch-hitter Renick, who hit a grand slam and put the Twins up 6-5.  They added two more in the seventh when Killebrew and Reese singled and both scored on a Holt triple.

Kansas City did not get a hit after the fifth inning.

WP:  Woodson (1-1).

LP:  Johnson (1-5).

S:  Williams (5).

Notes:  Herman Hill was again in center, with Tovar moving to second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Danny Thompson went to third in the eighth inning in place of Killebrew.  Paul Ratliff and Renick were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .327.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .303.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.74.  Williams had an ERA of 1.70.

Hill was 0-for-5 and was batting .143.

This was the second time Jim Kaat had pitched in relief and then started two days later as if nothing had happened.  Neither time did it go well.  In this game, he pitched four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out one.  In the two starts combined, he had an ERA of 7.20 and a WHIP of 2.20.  I'm sure Kaat was more than willing to take the ball both times, but the fact that someone is willing to do something does not necessarily mean it's a good idea to let them do it.

The Royals' starter was Don O'Riley.  He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks and struck out none.  This was his first major league start.  He would start again on July 4, which would be his last major league start.  For his career he pitched in 27 games, 18 in 1969 and 9 in 1970.  He pitched 46.2 innings, pitching 23.1 in each of his two seasons.  He was 1-1, 6.17, 1.76 WHIP.  I suspect that makes him not unusual for a pitcher on an expansion team.

Record:  The Twins were 45-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-nine

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 4-for-5 with a triple.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Herman Hill was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched 8.2 innings, giving up four runs on ten hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Ex-Twin Pat Kelly was 2-for-5 with a double.  Future Twin Tom Burgmeier pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  Most of the action came early.  With one out in the top of the first, Cookie Rojas and Amos Otis singled, followed by doubles by Ed Kirkpatrick and Piniella to make it 3-0.  With two out Tommy Matchick added an RBI single to make it 4-0 after a half inning.

The Twins responded in the bottom of the first.  They started the inning with consecutive singles by Tovar, Hill, Oliva, and Killebrew, plating two runs.  A sacrifice fly later in the inning cut the lead to 4-3 after one.

The Royals put two on in the second and third but could not score.  Hill and Oliva started the bottom of the third with singles.  The next two batters went out, but Jim Holt delivered an RBI single to tie it 4-4.  With two out in the fifth, Perry doubled and Tovar followed with an RBI triple to give the Twins their first lead at 5-4.

And that's where it stayed.  Kansas City had only two hits after the third inning and did not put a man past first base, leaving the Twins with a 5-4 victory.

WP:  Perry (11-6).

LP:  Dick Drago (6-5).

S:  Ron Perranoski (18).

Notes:  Hill was in center field, with Tovar moving to second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Interestingly, Frank Quilici was not used as a defensive replacement for Killebrew.

Perry was 1-for-4 and was batting .357.  Oliva was batting .330.  Killebrew was batting .309.  Tovar was batting .301.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.74.

These were the first two hits of Herman Hill's career.  In fact, they were the only two hits of Herman Hill's career.  He had been 0-for-2 in 1969 and was 2-for-22 in 1970.  His career batting line was ,083/.083/.083.  He had batted .300 in AAA Denver in 1969, but batted just .248 in AAA Evansville in 1970.

The two Twins pitchers shared the first four letters of their last names--Perry and Perranoski.  What's the significance of that?  Well, nothing, as far as I know.  I just found it interesting.

Drago pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs on twelve hits and a walk and striking out two.  He's largely forgotten now, but Dick Drago was a pretty fair pitcher for quite a while.  He was with Kansas City from 1969-1973, posting double digit wins in four of the five seasons and nine in the other.  He was with Boston from 1974-1975 and 1978-1980, with stops in California and Baltimore in between.  He closed out his career in Seattle in 1981.  He posted sub-four ERAs in nine of his thirteen seasons.  His career numbers are 108-117, 3.62, 1.31 WHIP.  He pitched 1875 innings and appeared in 519 games, 189 of them starts.  He never made an all-star team, never led the league in anything, and only once got Cy Young consideration (fifth in 1971), but for over ten years he was a pitcher you'd be happy to have on your team.

Record:  The Twins were 44-25, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.