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Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-eight

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CHICAGO 11, MINNESOTA 10 IN CHICAGO (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, June 28.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his eleventh) and three runs.  George Mitterwald was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixth) and four RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a hit-by-pitch and two stolen bases (his sixteenth and seventeenth).

Pitching stars:  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.  Tom Hall pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Ken Berry was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth) and two RBIs.  Syd O'Brien was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bill Melton was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Danny Murphy was 1-for-1 with a home run.  He also pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and three walks.  Luis Aparicio was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third), two walks, and two runs.

The game:  The Twins scored four in the top of the first inning.  Tovar led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  Oliva then singled, Brant Alyea walked, and Mitterwald hit a three-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-0.

The lead lasted until the bottom of the first.  O'Brien led off with a double and Aparicio walked.  Starter Dave Boswell then came out of the game due to injury.  Dick Woodson came in.  Carlos May walked, loading the bases.  An error brought home two runs, Ed Herrmann singled home a run, Rich McKinney hit a two-run double, and after McKinney was picked off Berry hit a home run, giving the White Sox a 6-4 lead after one inning.  It went to 8-4 in the second, as singles by Melton, Bob Spence, Berry, and Barry Moore plated two runs.

The Twins got back into it in the third.  Harmon Killebrew walked, Oliva singled, and Alyea was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with none out.  A pair of RBI ground outs and a run-scoring double by Frank Quilici cut the Chicago lead to 8-7 through three innings.

The Twins put two on in the fifth but did not score.  In the bottom of the fifth, solo homers by Murphy and Aparicio made it 10-7 White Sox.  Melton homered in the sixth to make it 11-7.

In the seventh, walks to Jim Holt and Paul Ratliff and a two-out RBI single by Rick Renick cut the lead to 11-8.  In the eighth Killebrew singled and Oliva followed with a two-run homer to make it 11-10.  But that was as good as it got.  The Twins had men on first and second with two out, but a ground out ended the inning.  In the ninth Tovar singled and stole second with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game.

WP:  Murphy (1-0).

LP:  Woodson (0-1).

S:  Wilbur Wood (11).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Quilici pinch-hit for Thompson in the third and stayed in the game at second base.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for pitcher Steve Barber in the third.  Holt pinch-hit for Alyea in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Quilici in the seventh.  Herman Hill pinch-hit for pitcher Jim Kaat in the seventh, but when Wood then came in to pitch Renick pinch-hit for Hill.  Renick stayed in the game in left field, with Holt moving to center and Tovar to second.  Tom Tischinski pinch-hit for pitcher Ron Perranoski in the eighth.

Oliva was batting .327.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .305.  Bill Zepp gave up two runs in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.80.  Perransoki had an ERA of 1.75.  Hall had an ERA of 2.18.

Thompson was 0-for-1 and was batting .188.  Quilici was 1-for-2 and was batting .180.  Boswell gave up two runs in zero innings and had an ERA of 6.55.

Boswell had doubtless been pitching with an injury all season, but it apparently finally became too much for him in this game.  He would make his next start, however, making five starts in July before finally giving up.

Hall, as you may remember, had pitched 6.2 innings in the first game of the doubleheader, then came in to pitch an inning in the second game.  I wonder when the last time is someone started the first game of a doubleheader and then relieved in the second game.  I especially wonder when the last time is someone started and pitched that many innings in the first game and then relieved in the second game.  In the b-r.com game log, under days rest, it says "-1".

The Twins used seven reserve position players in this game.  I don't know if it was a better game when teams had that many players on the bench, but I think it was more fun.  They also used seven pitchers.

Tom Tischinski was one of those seven.  He got his first at-bat of the season in this game, going 0-for-1.  He would stay with the Twins the rest of the season as the third catcher.

Wood got a hit in this game, going 1-for-1.  He had two hits in all of 1970, going 2-for-18.

The Twins closed out their road trip of three of the worst teams in the league with a record of 5-6.  They would now go home to play two of those same teams, Kansas City and Chicago.

Record:  The Twins were 43-25, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-seven

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MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, June 28.

Batting stars:  Jim Holt was 3-for-4.  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-5.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his nineteenth and twentieth) and three RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a home run (his tenth), two home runs, and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks.  Bill Zepp pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-4 with a double.  Walt Williams was 2-for-5.  Jim Magnuson pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

The game:  Consecutive singles by Paul Ratliff, Holt, and Danny Thompson put the Twins on the board in the second.  In the third Oliva hit a two-out single and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer, making it 3-0.

The Twins continued to build the lead.  In the fourth Holt singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Hall single.  Singles by Tovar and Cardenas followed, making it 5-0 Twins.  Oliva homered leading off the sixth to make it 6-0.

The White Sox had two singles leading off the first and had a single and a walk in the fifth, but otherwise did not threaten through six innings.  Finally in the seventh, Ken Berry hit a one-out single.  With two down Williams singled and Aparicio followed with an RBI double, getting Chicago on the board at 6-1.

That was all the White Sox did, though.  In the eighth Killebrew homered.  Later in the inning Ratliff walked, went to third on a Holt single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  In the ninth Tovar singled, took third on a Cardenas single, and scored on a fielder's choice to bring the total to 9-1.

WP:  Hall (3-2).

LP:  Joel Horlen (6-9).

S:  Zepp (1).

Notes:  Ratliff was at catcher in place of George Mitterwald.  Holt was once again in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Thompson was again at second in place of Rod Carew.  Frank Quilici came in for defense in the eighth, going to second with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Oliva in the ninth and remained in the game in right field.

Oliva was batting .322.  Killebrew was batting .306.  Hall had an ERA of 2.23.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.55.

Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .169.

This was the first start of the season for Hall.  They clearly weren't worried about stretching him out, as he pitched 6.2 innings.  He had pitched multiple innings in relief several times, pitching more than three innings five times, with a high of five innings.  He had pitched 3.2 innings as recently as June 25.  He was not taking anyone's place in the rotation at this point, but instead was making a spot start due to a doubleheader.

This was the first career save for Zepp.  He would end up with four, two in 1970 and two in 1971.  The save rule was clearly different then, as he entered the game with two out in the seventh with the Twins leading 6-1.

Horlen pitched five innings, allowing six runs on twelve hits and no walks and striking out one.  Horlen was having the worst year of his career.  He would not win a game the rest of the season, finishing 6-16, 4.86, 1.39 WHIP.  The weak Chicago offense didn't help him--in his next six starts, the White Sox would score a total of eight runs, with a high of two.  He missed all of August, leading one to believe he may have been pitching with an injury much of the season.  He had pitched over two hundred innings in six consecutive seasons prior to 1970, when he pitched 172.  He was a fine pitcher from 1963-1969, and also had a good year out of the bullpen for Oakland in 1972, his last season.

After scoring nine runs over their previous four games, the Twins scored eighteen in their next two.  That's baseball.

Record:  The Twins were 43-24, in first place in the American League West, three and a half games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-six

MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Saturday, June 27.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer (his ninth) and three runs.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), two runs, and two RBIs.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, giving up one run on two hits and a walk and striking out eight.

Opposition stars:  Bob Spence was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Floyd Weaver struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Tovar led off the game with a single, Leo Cardenas reached on an error, and Oliva hit a three-run homer to put the Twins up 3-0.  The Twins got a pair of singles in the second and did not score.  Oliva led off the third with a single and went to second when the White Sox tried to throw behind him at first base.  Reese then delivered an RBI single to make it 4-0.  Tovar homered in the fourth to increase to lead to 5-0.

The game calmed down a bit from there, but in the sixth Thompson singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single, making it 6-0.  Spence homered in the eighth to get Chicago on the board at 6-1.  The Twins then scored three in the ninth.  Oliva singled, Reese drew a two-out walk, and RBI singles by Jim Holt, Mitterwald, and Thompson followed, bringing the final score to 9-1.

WP:  Blyleven (3-2).

LP:  Garry Janeski (7-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Bob Allison was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew.    Holt replaced Allison in left in the sixth.  Frank Quilici replaced Harmon Killebrew in the ninth, with Quilici going to second and Thompson moving to third.

Oliva was batting .321.  Killebrew was 0-for-5 and was batting .302.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.82.

Thompson raised his average to .167.

The stolen base in this game was the first of Mitterwald's career.  He stole 14 bases in his career, with a high of three (done four times).  He was caught stealing 17 times.

Janeski pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out three.  He was a rookie in 1970 and remained in the starting rotation all season despite going 10-17, 4.77, 1.51 WHIP.  He was traded to Washington after the season for Rick Reichardt and had a poor season there.  He was in AAA from 1972-1974, making four appearances for Texas in 1972.

Spence's home run was the first of four major league home runs he hit, all in 1970.  His entire major league career (1969-1971) was spent with the White Sox, but 1970 was the only time he got more than 27 at-bats (130).  His numbers were .202/.265/.306.  He hit well in AAA--.286/.392/.493--but couldn't translate that to major league success, although he didn't get very much of a chance, either.  He was a first baseman, and Chicago was playing Gail Hopkins at first base, so you'd think they might have given him more of a shot.  But by 1971 they had Carlos May, and in 1972 they had Dick Allen, so Spence wasn't going to get a shot by then.

Record:  The Twins were 42-24, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-five

CHICAGO 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN CHICAGO

Date: Friday, June 26.

Batting stars: Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4. Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double. Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.

Pitching star: Dick Woodson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars: Luis Aparicio was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base (his fourth) and two runs. Bob Miller pitched five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out two. Jerry Crider pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out three.

The game: Tovar led off the game with a double but did not score. In the bottom of the first Aparicio singled, went to third on Syd O'Brien's double, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. In the second, Rich McKinney reached second on an error. Ken Berry walked and Miller singled home a run. Berry then stole third and scored on another sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 Chicago.

The Twins got on the board in the third. Jim Kaat was hit by a pitch, Tovar singled, a ground out moved the runners up, and another ground out brought home a run. Reese homered leading off the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2.

But that's as close as the Twins got. In the fifth Aparicio walked, went to third on a stolen base-plus-error, and scored on, yes, another sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.

The Twins had two on with none out in the sixth but did not score. They got a one-out single in the ninth, bringing the tying run to bat, but again could not do anything with it.

WP:  Miller (3-3).

LP:  Kaat (6-6).

S:  Crider (1).

Notes:  Jim Holt remained in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.

Herman Hill and Bob Allison pinch-hit for pitchers.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the ninth.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Thompson in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .315.  Killebrew was batting .309.  Bill Zepp did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.70.  Woodson had an ERA of 1.86.

Thompson was batting zero (0-for-7).  Hill was batting zero (0-for-5).  Mitterwald was 0-for-3 and was batting .195.

Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks and striking out two.

Both White Sox pitchers had pitched for the Twins in 1969.

The Twins had scored thirteen runs in their last five games.  In each of those games, the opposition started an average to below average pitcher.

The Twins were 3-5 in their road trip against some of the worst teams in the league.

Record:  The Twins were 41-24, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-four

MILWAUKEE 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Thursday, June 25.

Batting star:  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out six in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Bill Zepp pitched two perfect innings.  Steve Barber pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks.

Opposition stars:  Lew Krausse pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out three.  Russ Snyder was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Brewers jumped on Twins starter Jim Perry for three runs in the first inning.  With one out Snyder doubled and scored on a Dave May single.  Tito Francona walked and Bob Burda delivered an RBI single.  Another run scored on a ground out, making it 3-0 Milwaukee.  In the second Phil Roof singled and Tommy Harper drew a one-out walk, chasing Perry from the game.  Hall came in and gave up a run-scoring single to Snyder and it was 4-0 Brewers.

The Twins did not get a hit until the fifth, when Reese hit a one-out single.  They got on the board in the seventh when, with one out, Tony Oliva doubled, Harmon Killebrew singled, and Reese drove in a run with a single.  That brought the tying run up to bat, but a pair of fly outs ended the inning.  The Twins got only one more baserunner, when George Mitterwald reached on an error in the eighth.

WP:  Krausse (5-10).

LP:  Perry (10-6).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson made his major league debut in this game, playing second base.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Herman Hill and Paul Ratliff were used as pinch-hitter for pitchers.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .301.  Hall had an ERA of 2.41.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.75.  Barber had an ERA of 2.70.

Mitterwald was 0-for-3 and was batting .199.

Perry lasted only 1.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks and striking out one.  It seems like a really quick hook for that era--I wonder if he was battling an injury or illness.  If so, it was minor, because he made his next start and did well.

Krausse had a few good years and also some not-very-good years.  This was one of the not-very-good ones, as he went 13-18, 4.75, 1.40 WHIP.  His game score of 82 in this game was his second-highest of the season, topped only by a shutout of the White Sox on July 7.  He did have eight complete games in 1970, his career high.

This game was a make-up of a rained out game on May 15.

Record:  The Twins were 41-23, in first place in the American League West, three games behind California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-three

MINNESOTA 3, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Wednesday, June 24.

Batting star:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell struck out eight in eight innings, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks.  Stan Williams pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Bob Burda was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Marty Pattin struck out ten in a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk.

The game:  In the first, Russ Snyder drew a one-out walk, Mike Hegan walked with two out, and Dave May singled, loading the bases.  Burda singled home a run, but a baserunning blunder ended the inning with the Brewers leading by only 1-0.

Milwaukee had men on first and second with one out in the second but did not score.  In the fourth, Cesar Tovar led off the inning by reaching second on a single-plus-error.  He was bunted to third and scored on a wild pitch to tie it 1-1.  Tony Oliva then doubled and scored on a Harmon Killebrew single to give the Twins a 2-1 lead.  It didn't last long, though, as Burda led off the bottom of the fourth with a double, was bunted to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly to tie it 2-2.

Each team had two on with two out in the seventh and did not score.  In the eighth Tovar was hit by a pitch, stole second, and scored on an Oliva single to put the Twins ahead 3-2.  The Brewers threatened in the ninth.  Burda led off with a walk and Phil Roof had a two-out single to put the tying run into scoring position.  But Ted Savage struck out to end the game.

WP:  Boswell (3-6).

LP:  Pattin (4-6).

S:  Williams (4).

Notes:  Herman Hill made his season debut in center field, with Tovar moving to second base in place of the injured Rod Carew.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.

Oliva was batting .321.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .302.  Williams had an ERA of 1.81.

Hill was 0-for-3 and was batting zero.  Boswell easily had his best game of the season to date--his score of 68 was twenty points higher than his second-best game score so far--but still had an ERA of 6.24.

Oddly, Frank Quilici was not used as a defensive replacement for Harmon Killebrew, even though the Twins took the lead in the eighth and Killebrew was unlikely to come to bat again.

Bob Burda had only been a member of the Brewers for a couple of weeks, having been sold by the Giants on June 9.  He was a first baseman/corner outfielder, mostly playing right field for Milwaukee.  He got the most playing time of his career in 1970--245 at-bats--and did not take advantage of it, batting .249/.315/.335 with just four home runs, not the kind of production you want from someone who plays those positions.  He had shown some power in the minors, hitting 27 homers in AAA in 1963 and 18 more in AAA in 1964, but he had only 13 homers in 634 major league at-bats.  He played for St. Louis in 1971 and for Boston in 1972 before ending his playing career.  He was successful in business after leaving baseball and is currently living in retirement in Mesa, Arizona.

Record:  The Twins were 41-22, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-two

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MILWAUKEE 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Tuesday, June 23.

Batting star:  George Mitterwald was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Phil Roof was 2-for-3 with a home run, his sixth.  Roberto Pena was 2-for-4.  Bobby Bolin pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and four walks and striking out three.  Dave Baldwin struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  The Twins loaded the bases in the second inning but did not score.  In the bottom of the second, Dave May singled, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on Pena's single to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.

The Twins put two on with one out in the third but again did not score.  They got on the board in the fifth, as Cesar Tovar doubled and scored on a Jim Holt single.  The Twins took the lead in the sixth when Bob Allison singled and Mitterwald hit a two-out two-run homer, making it 3-1 MInnesota.

The Brewers had two on in the fifth and again in the sixth but did not score.  Roof homered leading off the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2.  It was still 3-2 in the ninth.  Roof was hit by a pitch with one out and Tommy Harper walked with two out.  Ron Perranoski then came in to face pinch-hitter Gus Gil.  Gil hit a double to left, scoring both runners, and Milwaukee took the win, 4-3.

WP:  Baldwin (2-0).

LP:  Tom Hall (2-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in right in place of Tony Oliva.  Allison was again in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  So as not to spoiler it, I haven't checked if Bill Rigney continued to use the light-hitting Quilici to replace Carew or if he went a different direction.  We'll see as the series goes on.  With Quilici in the starting lineup, Rigney did not use a defensive replacement for Harmon Killebrew at third base.

Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .301.  Hall gave up two runs in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.70.

Quilici was 0-for-3 and was batting .172.

The Brewers used six pinch-hitters in the game:  Ted Savage, Gil, Danny Walton, Mike Hershberger, Tito Francona, and Jerry McNertney.  They also used a pinch-runner, Max Alvis.  I miss the days when teams had enough bench players that they could do stuff like that.

With the recent election, the 1970 Twins had five Hall-of-Famers:  Blyleven, Carew, Kaat, Killebrew, and Oliva.  I'm sure that's nowhere near the record, but it's still impressive.

The Twins were now 2-3 on their eleven-game road trip.

Record:  The Twins were 40-22, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-one

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MINNESOTA 4, MILWAUKEE 3 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Monday, June 22.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his eighteenth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on five hits and one walk and striking out five.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twelfth), a double, and two runs.  Ken Sanders retired all five men he faced, striking out one.  John Gelnar pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins drew a pair of two-out walks in the first but stranded them.  In the bottom of the first Harper led off with a double, took third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Brewers a 1-0 lead.  The Twins put two on with one out in the third, but a double play took them out of the inning.

The Twins tied it in the fourth when Bob Allison walked and scored from first on a Leo Cardenas double.  The Twins took the lead in the fifth when Tovar went to second on a single-plus-error, Frank Quilici walked, and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to make it a 4-1 game.

Milwaukee did not get a man past first in innings two through eight.  In the ninth, Ted Savage singled and Harper hit a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 4-3.  Perranoski then came in and retired the next three men to end the game.

WP:  Kaat (6-5).

LP:  Gene Brabender (3-9).

S:  Perranoski (17).

Notes:  Allison was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Jim Holt was in right field in place of Tony Oliva, who apparently was dealing with a minor injury.

The most significant thing that happened, though, was that Rod Carew had his knee torn up while turning a double play in the fourth inning.  He would not return for three months.  He was batting .376 when he was injured.

Killebrew was batting .306.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.79.

Quilici was 1-for-1 and was batting .182.

This was the last year of Brabender's five-year career.  He had been a good pitcher for Baltimore from 1966-1968.  He pitched 289.2 innings for them in 82 games (30 starts) and went 16-14, 3.39, 1.21 WHIP.  He did not do as well in Seattle in 1969, however, and was awful for Milwaukee in 1970--6-15, 6.02, 1.60 WHIP.  He somehow lost his control when he left Baltimore--he walked 3.1 per nine there, 4.6 per nine in Seattle, and 5.1 per nine in Milwaukee.  He apparently had a sore shoulder, which may have contributed to the problem.  He passed away in 1996 at the young age of fifty-five, due to a brain aneurysm.

Record:  The Twins were 40-21, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty

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MINNESOTA 11, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, June 21.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Joe Keough was 2-for-4 with a double.  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4.  Al Fitzmorris pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  The Twins opened the scoring in the second.  Allison led off with an infield hit.  While Rick Renick was batting, Allison somehow went to second on an error on the shortstop.  He then stole third and scored on a throwing error on the catcher, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The Twins put two on in the third but did not score.  In the fourth, however, the Twins took control of the game.  Allison reached on an error and Renick walked.  Cardenas delivered a two-run single-plus error, taking second on the play.  Reese singled, putting men on first and third, and George Mitterwald singled home a run.  A bunt moved the runners up and a sacrifice fly brought home one more, making it 5-0 Twins.  Killebrew homered leading off the fifth to make it 6-0.

The Royals had only one hit through the first six innings.  In the seventh, consecutive two-out singles by Bob Oliver, Keough, Piniella, and Ed Kirkpatrick brought home two runs and chased Perry from the game.  Perranoski came in to retire Hawk Taylor and keep the score 6-2.

The Twins put it away with five in the ninth.  Cesar Tovar doubled and scored on a Carew single.  Killebrew walked and Allison was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  An error brought home one run and Cardenas hit a three-run double to bring us to the final score of 11-2.

WP:  Perry (10-5).

LP:  Bill Butler (2-6).

S:  Perranoski (16).

Notes:  Allison was in right field, giving Tony Oliva his first day off of the season.  Renick was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Jim Holt replaced Renick in the seventh inning.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Carew was 7-for-12 in his last three games and raised his average to .378.  Perry was 1-for-2 and was batting .368.  Killebrew was batting .305.  Perry had an ERA of 2.82.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.82.

I really don't know how Allison got to second in the second inning.  The play-by-play says "Baserunner Advance; Allison to 2B/Adv on E6".  My best guess is that he was trying to steal second and would've been out, but the shortstop dropped/missed the throw.  The catcher should get an assist on that, though, and nothing indicates that he did.

It seems strange to bring your closer into a game in the seventh inning of a 6-2 game, but of course it would not have been nearly has strange in 1970.  Plus, the game was arguably on the line--Kansas City had just scored two runs and had two men on.  On the other hand, the batter was Hawk Taylor, who wasn't exactly Babe Ruth--a career .218 average with a career OPS of .578.  Today they surely would've brought someone else in to pitch the ninth, with the Twins leading 11-2, but that just wasn't the way they did things back then.  At that time, they figured, Perranoski hasn't pitched since June 15, he's all warmed up, he might as well finish it up.

The Royals starter, Butler, would pitch for the Twins in 1974-1975 and 1977.  In this game, he pitched six innings, giving up six runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks and striking out three.  Kansas City made five errors in the game, leading to four unearned runs.  They had made three errors in yesterday's game and two in the game before that, making ten for the series.  Yet, they won two out of three.

The Twins would now head for Milwaukee for the next leg of their three-city road trip.

Record:  The Twins were 39-21, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-nine

KANSAS CITY 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Saturday, June 20.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fourth.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.  The Twins only got one other hit.

Pitching stars:  Dick Woodson struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Stan Williams pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Ed Kirkpatrick was 2-for-3 with a home run (his ninth), a double, and four RBIs.  Amos Otis was 2-for-4.  Jim Rooker pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on four hits and three walks and striking out five.  Bob Johnson struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  In the first inning, the Twins loaded the bases with one out on a bunt single, a walk, and an error, but Leo Cardenas grounded into a double play to end the inning.  It cost the Twins, because the Royals scored four in the bottom of the first.  Cookie Rojas hit a one-out double and scored on Rojas' single.  An error put men on first and third and Joe Keough walked, loading the bases.  With two out, Kirkpatrick hit a three-run double, making it 4-0 Kansas City.

It stayed 4-0 until the fourth, when Kirkpatrick homered to make it 5-0.  Meanwhile, the Twins got only one hit in innings two through seven.  Bob Allison led off the eighth with a double.  Brant Alyea walked and Carew followed with a three-run homer to make it 5-3.  It killed the rally, however, as the next three batters went out.  Reese hit a one-out double in the ninth, bringing the tying run up to bat, but Charlie Manuel and Allison struck out to end the game.

WP:  Rooker (4-4).

LP:  Dave Boswell (2-6).

S:  Johnson (1).

Notes:  Rick Renick was in left field in place of Alyea.  Allison pinch-hit for Dave Boswell in the fifth and stayed in the game in center field as part of a double switch.  Alyea pinch-hit for Woodson in the eighth and Jim Kaat pinch-ran for Alyea.  Manuel pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the ninth.

Carew was batting .376.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .318.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .307.  Woodson had an ERA of 2.35.  Williams had an ERA of 1.85.

Manuel was 0-for-1 and was batting .167.  Boswell gave up five runs (two earned) in four innings and had an ERA of 6.89.

This would be the last time Allison would play center field.  He had not done so since playing two innings there in 1968.

Oliva was 0-for-12 in his last three games.  Killebrew was 0-for-12 in his last four games.

This was Woodson's first appearance since June 2.  I assume he had gone to AAA Evansville during the interim.

This was the Twins' third consecutive loss, two to the Royals and one to the Senators.

Record:  The Twins were 38-21, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.