Tag Archives: 1970 rewind

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-eight

KANSAS CITY 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Steve Barber pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Amos Otis was 3-for-4 with a double.  Bob Oliver was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Joe Keough was 2-for-4.  Dick Drago pitched a complete game, giving up an unearned run on seven hits and one walk and striking out five.

The game:  There was no score until the third, when Bobby Floyd led off with a walk, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Cookie Rojas single.  The Royals added two in the fourth:  Oliver and Keough led off with singles and Lou Piniella followed with an RBI double.  Ed Kirkpatrick was intentionally walked, loading the bases with still none out.  All Kansas City could get out of that was one more, on a ground out, but it put the Royals up 3-0.  Kansas City added two more in the fifth.  Otis hit a one-out single and scored on Oliver's double.  Oliver went to third on Keough's single and scored on a ground out to make it 5-0 Royals.

The Twins didn't mount a lot of threats.  They had a walk and a single with two out in the second.  They got a pair of one-out singles in the seventh.  Their lone run scored in the eighth when Cesar Tovar reached on a two-base error and scored on a Carew single.

WP:  Drago (5-4).

LP:  Bert Blyleven (2-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the seventh.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the ninth.

Carew was batting .373.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .324.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .310.  Hall had an ERA of 2.30.  Barber had an ERA of 2.87.

Manuel was batting .176.  Manuel had been with the Twins all season and had appeared in twenty games, all as a pinch-hitter.  That's a tough way to try to succeed.  He was in his age twenty-six season.  I'm sure he was happy to be in the majors, but it sure wasn't a way to try to develop a young-ish player.

This was Blyleven's first poor start.  He allowed five runs in 4.1 innings, giving up seven hits and two walks and striking out two.

I don't remember that I've ever heard of Bobby Floyd.  He played in parts of seven major league seasons, from 1968-1974, but only once got as many as a hundred at-bats in a season (134 in 1972).  He was an infielder, playing 98 games at shortstop, 56 games at second base, and 48 games at third base.  He batted .219/.264/.266 in 425 at-bats.  1970 was his best season at bat, as he batted .311/.360/.400 in 45 at-bats.  He was tied with me in major league career home runs, as we both hit zero.  He did have a lengthy career as a minor league manager and coach.

Record:  The Twins were 38-20, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-seven

WASHINGTON 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, June 17.

Batting star:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat struck out eight in eight innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks.  Bill Zepp pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  George Brunet struck out ten in eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.  Tim Cullen was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

The game:  Ed Stroud led off the game with a double, went to third on a fly ball, and scored on an error to give the Senators a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the second when Rick Renick singled, went to third on a Cardenas double, and scored on a ground out.

There was only one base runner in innings three through five, and that was on an error.  In the sixth, Washington went back into the lead.  Frank Howard walked, went to third on Rick Reichardt's single and scored on a ground out to make it 2-1.  They got an insurance run in the seventh.  Paul Casanova and Cullen singled and Brunet reached on an error to load the bases with none out.  All they got out of it was a sacrifice fly, but it made the score 3-1.

The Twins threatened in the eighth.  With one out Cesar Tovar doubled and Rod Carew followed with a bunt single, putting men on first and third with Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva coming up.  It looked good, but they both struck out and the inning ended.  All the Twins could get in the ninth was a two-out single by Cardenas.

WP:  Brunet (4-5).

LP:  Kaat (5-5).

S:  Darold Knowles (13).

Notes:  Renick was again at third base, with Killebrew moving to first.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the seventh inning and remained in the game in left field.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Kaat in the eighth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .364.  Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .329.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .316.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.89.

In his last eleven games, Cardenas was 18-for-43 (.419).  He had raised his average from .260 to .292.

Brunet was near the end of a long career, and was not having a particularly good season.  His ERA after this game was 5.17.  This was his second-best start (by game scores) of the season, bested only by a game in mid-July.  He would be traded to Pittsburgh at the August deadline and pitched very well for them out of the bullpen in September.

After all the Senators players with Twins connections in yesterday's game, there were none in today's game.

The Twins would next go on an eleven-game road trip, going to Kansas City, Milwaukee, and Chicago.  Those teams were in fifth, sixth, and fourth place in the AL West, respectively.

Record:  The Twins were 38-19, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-six

MINNESOTA 7, WASHINGTON 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 4-for-4 with a double and three runs.  Jim Perry was 3-for-4.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and two walks.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighth.

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

Opposition star:  Aurelio Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.

The game:  The Senators scored first, getting two runs in the second.  Mike Epstein walked and scored from first on Rodriguez' RBI double.  Eddie Brinkman then followed with a run-scoring single, making it 2-0 Washington.  The Twins got the runs back in the fourth on singles by Cardenas and Perry and a two-run triple by Cesar Tovar.

The Twins took the lead with a two-out rally in the fourth, as Cardenas singled and Mitterwald followed with a two-run homer.  The Senators had two on with one out in the sixth, but did not score.  The Twins made them pay for it, as Cardenas hit a two-out double and Perry delivered an RBI single, putting the Twins ahead 5-2.  They added to the lead in the seventh, as Rod Carew walked and Oliva hit a two-run homer to make the score 7-2.

That was pretty much it.  After their threat in the sixth, Washington got only one more hit, a two-out homer by Rodriguez in the ninth to bring the final score to 7-3.

WP:  Perry (9-5).

LP:  Joe Grzenda (2-4).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Harmon Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese going to the bench.  Reese came in at first base in the seventh, with Killebrew moving to third.  Apparently, Bill Rigney considered Renick to be worse at third than Killebrew.  Jim Holt replaced Brant Alyea in left field, also in the seventh.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third in the ninth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .367.  Perry was batting .361.  Oliva was batting .335.  Killebrew was batting .319.  Perry had an ERA of 2.83.

This was the third and last start Grzenda made in 1970, as he went back to the bullpen after this game.  In fact, it was the last start of his career, as he pitched exclusively in relief after this.  He pitched four innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out one.

Lots of Twins connections with Senators players in this game.  Bernie Allen was at second base and was 1-for-4.  Grzenda is detailed above.  Jim Shellenback replaced Grzenda on the mound and gave up a run in two innings.  Johnny Roseboro pich-hit for Shellenback and was 0-for-1.  Dick Such pitched the last two innings, giving up two runs.

Perry had nine wins in the middle of June.  The Twins' team leader for all of 2021 had nine wins (Michael Pineda).

Rodriguez hit nineteen home runs in 1970.  That would be his career high.  He hit 124 in his career.

Record:  The Twins were starting to put some space between them and second place California.  They were 38-18, in first place in the American League West, 5.5 games ahead of the Angels.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-five

MINNESOTA 5, WASHINGTON 3 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his sixteenth), two walks, and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Ron Perranoski struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ed Stroud was 2-for-4.  Frank Howard was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his nineteenth) and two walks.

The game:  The Senators took the early lead, as Stroud hit a one-out single in the first and Howard followed with a two-run homer.  Rod Carew hit a one-out double in the bottom of the first but was stranded at third base.  The Twins got on the board in the third, however, when Cesar Tovar hit a one-out triple and scored on Oliva's two-out single.

Washington got the run back in the fifth.  Jim French led off the inning with a walk.  Stroud drew a two-out walk, putting men on first and second.  Howard was then intentionally walked, loading the bases, and Mike Epstein drew an accidental walk, forcing in a run.  Rick Reichardt grounded out to end the inning, but the Senators led 3-1.

The Twins got one back in the sixth when Killebrew drew a one-out walk, went to third on a Rich Reese double, and scored on a ground out.  They finally took the lead in the seventh.  Tovar was hit by a pitch with one out.  With two down, Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with a three-run homer, putting Minnesota ahead 5-3.  That's where it stayed, as the Senators got only one hit in the last two innings.

WP:  Zepp (3-0).

LP:  Joe Coleman (5-4).

S:  Perranoski (16).

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Frank Quilici replaced him and went to third base as part of a double switch, with Perranoski replacing Killebrew in the lineup.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .370.  Oliva was batting .336.  Killebrew was batting .326.  Tom Hall gave up no runs in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.45.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.97.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.91.

Manuel was 0-for-1 and was batting .188.  Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .167.  Dave Boswell allowed three runs in four innings and had an ERA of 7.09.

Coleman struck out nine in 7.1 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and three walks.

This was Boswell's tenth start of the season, and he had yet to have a game score as high as fifty.  He'd gone 20-12, 3.23 the year before.  He clearly wasn't right, but Bill Rigney continued to run him out there.  It would be another month and a half before Boswell finally left the rotation, and he never had a good season again.

Some interesting managerial decisions regarding the other team's big slugger in this game.  In the fifth, Washington had men on first and second with two out, leading 2-1.  Despite the fact that the only open base was third, Rigney ordered an intentional walk to Frank Howard, moving two men into scoring position.  It backfired to an extent, as Epstein walked to force in a run, but that was the only run the Senators got and it was better than having Howard hit a three-run homer.  In the seventh, the Twins also had men on first and second with two out, trailing 3-2.  Washington manager Ted Williams had his pitcher pitch to Harmon Killebrew, who hit a three-run homer to provide the margin of victory.  That's not to say Rigney was right and Williams was wrong--strategy is one thing, and how well you execute the strategy is another.  It's just interesting that managers went opposite ways in a similar situation in the same game.

Record:  The Twins were 37-18, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-four

MINNESOTA 10, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a walk.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5 with a home run, a triple, two runs, and three RBIs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out seven in five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.  Stan Williams pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and three walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  George Thomas was 3-for-5 with a double.  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Jose Santiago struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Red Sox scored in the first inning as Thomas singled and scored from first on a Carl Yastrzemski double.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the first when Cesar Tovar singled, stole second, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch.

It stayed 1-1 until the fourth.  Boston took the lead when, with one out, Rico Petrocelli and George Scott singled and Conigliaro delivered an RBI double.  Tom Satriano was intentionally walked, loading the bases with still only one out, but Sonny Siebert and Mike Andrews struck out to end the inning.  It cost the Red Sox, as the Twins responded with four runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Cardenas led off the inning with a single and scored on a Holt triple.  Mitterwald followed with an RBI single and was bunted to second.  With two out Carew singled home a run and went to second on the throw home, which enabled him to score on an Oliva single and put the Twins up 5-2.

The Twins added a run in the fifth, although they missed a chance for more.  Reese and Cardenas led off the inning with singles.  With one out, Mitterwald walked and then pinch-hitter Rick Renick walked, forcing in a run to make the score 6-2.  The bases were still loaded, but a pair of force outs thwarted the Twins.

Boston loaded the bases with two out in the sixth with two walks and an error, but Thomas flied out to end the inning.  That was the last time the Red Sox threatened to get back into the game.  The Twins added four runs in the ninth.  Carew, Oliva, and Killebrew all singled, bringing home one run.  A ground out brought home another, and Holt hit a two-run homer to round out the scoring.

WP:  Blyleven (2-1).

LP:  Siebert (5-4).

S:  Williams (3).

Notes:  Holt was again in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Renick pinch-hit for Blyleven in the sixth.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Carew was batting .373.  Oliva was batting .333.  Killebrew was batting .324.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.37.  Williams had an ERA of 1.90.

Pitchers batting does lead to some interesting managerial decisions sometimes.  Leading 2-1 in the fourth, the Red Sox had the bases loaded with one out and Siebert up to bat.  Boston manager Eddie Kasko allowed him to bat, he struck out, so did Mike Andrews, and the inning was over.  The Twins scored four in the bottom of the fourth and the Red Sox never led again.  On the other hand, leading 5-2 in the fifth, the Twins had the bases loaded with one out and Blyleven up to bat.  Renick pinch-hit and walked, forcing in a run.  I'm really not in a position to say either decision was right or wrong, I just find them interesting.  I suspect if the Twins pitcher had been one with a reputation of being a good hitter, say Jim Kaat or Jim Perry, Bill Rigney might have allowed him to bat.

And if you're wondering, Siebert did fall into the "good hitter for a pitcher" category, with a lifetime average of .173.  His best year at-bat would be 1971, when he batted .266 with six home runs in 79 at-bats.  Blyleven had a career average of .131 with no home runs and only seven doubles in 451 at-bats.

The four ninth-inning runs were given up by ex-Twin Lee Stange.  Future Twin Ken Brett pitched one inning, giving up two walks but no runs.

As you can see above, seven of the Twins' batters had two or more hits.  They had sixteen for the game, so they were spread pretty evenly.  The Red Sox stranded twelve men and were 1-for-15 with men in scoring position.

Record:  The Twins were 36-18, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.  They had the best record in the American League, but trailed National League leader Cincinnati, who was 44-17.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-three

BOSTON 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 13.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Pitching star: Stan Williams pitched two shutout innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  George Thomas was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a hit-by-pitch, and three runs.  Reggie Smith was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Ray Culp pitched eight innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on nine hits and three walks and striking out three.

The game:  Thomas doubled with one out in the first, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the first when Tovar led off with a single-plus-error, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Twins took the lead in the second.  Paul Ratliff led off the inning with a walk.  With one out Tovar, Carew, and Oliva all singled, scoring two runs and putting them up 3-1.

It stayed 3-1 until the sixth.  Thomas led off with a double and scored on a Carl Yastrzemski single to cut the lead to 3-2.  Smith then doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  The next two batters were retired, but Billy Conigliaro hit a two-run single to put Boston ahead 4-3.  Singles by Jerry Moses and Culp resulted in another run, making it 5-3 Red Sox.  In the seventh, George Thomas singled, Carl Yastrzemski walked, and an error scored Thomas to make it 6-3.

The Twins rallied in the ninth.  Leo Cardenas reached on an error, Ratliff singled, and Rick Renick walked, loading the bases with none out and bringing up the top of the Twins order.  Tovar hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-4, but Carew struck out and Oliva grounded to second, ending the game.

WP:  Culp (5-6).

LP:  Jim Kaat (5-4).

S:  Sparky Lyle (9).

Notes:  We once again had Jim Holt in left and Ratliff behind the plate, replacing Brant Alyea and George Mitterwald, respectively.  Charlie Manuel and Renick were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Carew was batting .372.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .330.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .315.  Williams had an ERA of 2.09.

Kaat had pitched in three of the last five Twins games, starting two of them.  He again wasn't awful, but wasn't very good, either:  five innings, four runs, seven hits, no walks, no strikeouts.  I'm sure Kaat was more than willing to pitch that often, and I'm sure he said he felt fine, but it wasn't really working very well.

We tend to remember Sparky Lyle as a Yankee, but he was a fine reliever in Boston for five years before coming to New York.  As a Red Sock, he was 22-17, 2.85, 69 saves, 1.29 WHIP in 331.1 innings (160 games, all in relief).

Record:  The Twins were 35-18, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-two

MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, June 12.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 4-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with three walks.

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

Opposition stars:  Tom Satriano was 2-for-3 with a home run.  Mike Andrews was 2-for-4.

The game:  In the second Brant Alyea reached on an error, went to second on a Cardenas single, and scored on a Perry single to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Twins loaded the bases in the third on two walks and a single but did not score.  In the fifth Tony Oliva singled and went to second on a wild pitch with two out.  Alyea then delivered an RBI double and scored on a Cardenas single to put the Twins up 3-0.

Satriano homered leading off the sixth to make it 3-1.  A pair of singles gave the Red Sox two on with one out, but they could do no more.  In the seventh, singles by Rico Petrocelli, Satriano, and Mike Fiore plated another run to cut the lead to 3-2.

A strikeout ended the inning, however, and the Twins got the runs back in the eighth.  Jim Holt walked, Cardenas got another single, and George Mitterwald singled home a run.  With two out, Carew hit an RBI double to make the score 5-2.  Boston got a one-out single in the ninth from George Scott but did not get the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Perry (8-5).

LP:  Gary Peters (3-7).

S:  Perranoski (14).

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Harmon Killebrew moving to first.  Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the fifth and stayed in the game in left field.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Perry in the sixth.  Rich Reese pinch-hit for Renick in the seventh and stayed in the game at first base, with Killebrew moving to third.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at third base.

Carew was 1-for-5 and was batting .371.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .333.  Killebrew was batting .315.  Perry was 1-for-2 and was batting .313.  He also had an ERA of 2.81.  Stan Williams gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.21.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.00.

It was fun when teams had deeper benches and could make lots of in-game moves with position players.  I miss that.

This was the start of a six-game homestand for the Twins against Boston and Washington.  They had only eight home games in the month of June.

Record:  The Twins were 35-17, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-one

NEW YORK 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Wednesday, June 10.

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

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out three.  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Thurman Munson was 2-for-3 with a double.  Horace Clarke was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fourth.  Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and a walk and striking out seven.

The game:  Neither team advanced a man past second, and neither team had more than one man on base, until the fourth, when Oliva led off with a triple and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  With two out in the fifth, Stottlemyre singled and Clarke hit a two-run homer, putting the Yankees up 2-1.

And that was it.  The Twins did not get a hit after Oliva's triple and the 2-1 score held up.

WP:  Stottlemyre (6-4).

LP:  Blyleven (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Blyleven in the eighth.

Rod Carew was 0-for-3 and was batting .377.  Oliva was batting .335.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .313.  Blyleven had an ERA of 1.93.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.12.

What a frustrating way to lose a game.  Two out, no one on, the pitcher up.  He gets a hit, but no problem.  Horace Clarke, the player who would become emblematic of the state of the Yankees in the mid-60s to mid-70s, was next up.  And he hits a home run, the last homer he would hit all season and one of twenty-seven for his career.

Getting only one run is frustrating, too, but Stottlemyre was a fine pitcher.  164-139, 2.97, 1.22 WHIP, five all-star appearances, twenty-game winner three times.  A torn rotator cuff brought his career to an end at age thirty-two.  If he'd pitched longer, or pitched in an era where the Yankees were good, he'd have had a shot at the Hall of Fame.

Record:  The Twins were 34-17, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty

NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, June 9.

Batting star:  Jim Holt was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Murcer was 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base (his fifth), and two RBIs.  Danny Cater was 2-for-4.  Stan Bahnsen was 2-for-4.  He also pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks and striking out seven.  Roy White was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Yankees put men on first and third in the first inning but did not score.  It looked like it would cost them, as the Twins scored two in the second.  Harmon Killebrew led off with a walk, Holt hit a one-out double, and Leo Cardenas singled them both home, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

New York matched the two runs in the bottom of the second, though.  Ron Woods walked, Gene Michael singled, and Bahnsen had a bunt single, loading the bases with one out.  Horace Clarke struck out, but Murcer delivered a two-run single, tying the score 2-2.

Cesar Tovar led off the third with a single-plus-error but was stranded at second.  Paul Ratliff hit a two-out triple in the fourth but was also stranded.  In the sixth, singles by Thurman Munson and John Ellis and a walk to Woods loaded the bases with none out.  All the Yankees got out of it was a sacrifice fly by MIchael, but it was enough to put New York ahead 3-2.  They added two more in the seventh when Murcer and White singled, moved up on a ground out, and scored on a fielder's choice-plus-error, giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead.  The Twins did not get a hit after the fourth inning.

WP:  Bahnsen (4-4).

LP:  Jim Kaat (5-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  The Twins made no position player substitutions.

Rod Carew returned to the lineup and was 0-for-3.  He was batting .385.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .332.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .320.

Kaat was pitching in consecutive games, although with an off-day in-between.  He didn't do terribly, but he wasn't great, either.  He pitched six innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on twelve hits and two walks and striking out two.  Bringing him in to pitch relief might not have been the best idea, although I'm sure he was more than willing to do it.

It's interesting how many times pitchers have shown up in the best batter lists lately.  I'm all for the DH, but there were at least some pitchers who could hit back in the day.

We think of the Yankees of this era as being bad teams, but they were not bad in 1970.  They were 93-69-1, and no, I did not check to see what happened that they had a tie.  Presumably a rain-shortened game.  But anyway, they had a very good team.  They just weren't as good as Baltimore.

Record:  The Twins were 34-16, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.  Again, the difference was all in the loss column, as the Angels were 34-20.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-nine

MINNESOTA 10, WASHINGTON 9 IN WASHINGTON (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, June 7.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-6 with a double and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with a grand slam, his sixth home run.

Pitching star:  Bill Zepp pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Aurelio Rodriguez was 4-for-6 with three doubles and three runs.  Frank Howard was 2-for-3 with a double, four walks, and two RBIs.  Rick Reichardt was 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs.  Lee Maye was 2-for-5 with two walks.  Ed Stroud was 2-for-7 with a double, a stolen base (his eighteenth), and two runs.  Jim Shellenback pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

The game:  Tovar led off the game with a double, was bunted to third, and scored on Killebrew's single.  Oliva and Rick Renick followed with singles, plating another run, and an RBI ground out made it 3-0 Twins.  The Senators put men on first and second in both of the first two innings, but did not score until the third, when singles by Stroud, Howard, and Reichardt brought home one run and an RBI ground out cut the lead to 3-2.

Dave Boswell led off the fifth with a double but was stranded at third.  In the bottom of the fifth Maye walked, Stroud doubled, and Howard was intentionally walked, loading the bases with none out.  All Washington got out of it was a sacrifice fly by Reichardt, but it tied the score 3-3.

The Twins had two out and none on in the sixth when Brant Alyea walked.  George Mitterwald singled and Frank Quilici walked, loading the bases.  Bob Allison then pinch-hit for Tom Hall, prompting Ted Williams to take out George Brunet and bring in Dick Bosman.  Bill Rigney then pinch-hit Reese for Allison, and Reese responded by hitting a grand slam, putting the Twins ahead 7-3.

Each team missed a chance to score in the seventh.  In the eighth Rodriguez led off with a double and scored on Eddie Brinkman's single.  Jim French walked and a passed ball moved the runners to second and third.  A sacrifice fly cut the lead to 7-5, but still, the Twins had a two-run lead going to the ninth with Ron Perranoski pitching.  But with one out in the ninth Rodriguez singled, Brinkman walked, and French singled, cutting the margin to 7-6.  Del Unser lined to second, but Maye delivered an RBI single, tying it 7-7 and sending the game to extra innings.

With one out in the eleventh, the Twins hit five consecutive singles to score three runs.  Cardenas, Killebrew, Oliva, Charlie Manuel, and Jim Holt all singled, giving the Twins a 10-7 lead.  Jim Kaat came in to pitch the bottom of the eleventh.  With one out, pitcher Joe Coleman walked.  The next man went out and there followed what appeared to be a game-ending grounder to third, but an error on Killebrew kept the game alive.  Howard then hit a two-run double to make the score 10-9.  Reichardt was intentionally walked, and Steve Barber came in to face Dave Nelson.  He got him to fly to center to end the game.

WP:  Zepp (2-0).

LP:  Joe Grzenda (2-3).

S:  Barber (2).

Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Reese on the bench.  Reese remained in the game after his pinch-hit grand slam, with Killebrew moving to third.  Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.

Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the sixth and stayed in the game in left field.  Minnie Mendoza pinch-hit for Zepp, but after a pitching change Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Mendoza.

Oliva was batting .338.  Killebrew was batting .324.  Renick was batting .310.  Hall retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 2.52.  Stan Williams gave up two runs in two innings and had an ERA of 2.00.  Perranoski gave up two runs in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.16.

Quilici was 0-for-4 and was batting .170.  Boswell allowed three runs in 4.1 innings and had an ERA of 7.13,

It's very rare that you see a pinch-hitter for a pinch-hitter these days, because teams just don't have enough players on the bench.  The Twins did it here twice in the same game, and both times it paid off.

The Killebrew error in the eleventh emphasizes why the Twins usually put in a defensive replacement for him when they had the lead.  In this game, however, they had no one left on the bench to use.  The Senators allowed Joe Coleman to bat in the eleventh for the same reason, and it paid off for them as he walked.

The Twins had done their best to make sure Frank Howard did not beat them, walking him four times.  He nearly beat them anyway, as they did pitch to him in the eleventh and he drove in two runs with a double.  The Twins did not walk him there because it would have brought the winning run to the plate in the person of Reichardt.  Reichardt was no Howard, but he did hit double-digit home runs six years in a row, with a high of 21 in 1968, so it's understandable that the Twins would not want him to come up as the winning run.

In the Twins connection report, Bernie Allen was 0-for-2, Johnny Roseboro was 0-for-1.  Shellenback pitched two shutout innings, and Joe Grzenda allowed three runs in 1.1 innings.

Kaat had pitched 5.1 innings on June 4.  This was his first relief appearance of the season, and it obviously did not go well.  He would next pitch June 9.  We'll see how well that one goes.

Record:  The Twins were 35-14, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.