Tag Archives: 1970 rewind

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-eight

MINNESOTA 4, WASHINGTON 2 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Saturday, June 6.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifteenth) and four RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.  Jim Perry was 2-for-4.

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

Opposition stars:  Lee Maye was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and two RBIs.  Ex-Twin Joe Grzenda pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out two.  Horacio Pina pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk and striking out two.

The game:  With two out in the first, Tony Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer to give the Twins a 2-0 lead.  The Senators had men on second and third with two out in the bottom of the first but did not score.  In the second, singles by Ed Brinkman and Jim French and a hit-by-pitch of Jim Hannan loaded the bases with one out, but all Washington could get out of it was an RBI ground out to cut the lead to 2-1.  In the fourth, however, Maye hit a two-out home run to tie it 2-2.

The Twins responded in the fifth.  Perry singled. Cesar Tovar was hit by pitch, and Rick Renick walked, loading the bases with one out.  Oliva struck out, but Killebrew hit a two-run single to put the Twins back in front 4-2.

Perry took over from there.  The Senators got only one hit after Maye's homer, a one-out single by Mike Epstein in the eighth inning.

WP:  Perry (7-5).

LP:  Hannan (0-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea, who would not return until June 12.  Paul Ratliff remained at catcher in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the fifth and stayed in the game in left field.

Oliva was batting .328.  Killebrew was batting .321.  Renick was 0-for-2 and was batting .308.  Perry had an ERA of 2.90.  He also was batting .300.

Quilici was 0-for-2 and was batting .184.

Killebrew drove in all of the Twins' runs.  It looks like it was important for the Twins to get men on in front of Killebrew, so teams didn't feel as free to just walk him.

Three players with Twins ' connections were used by the Senators:  Bernie Allen (0-for-4), Johnny Roseboro (0-for-2). and Grzenda.

It was Perry's fifth complete game in 13 starts.

Record:  The Twins were 33-15, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.  The difference was all in the loss column--each team had won 33 games, but the Angels had 19 losses.  They had played four more games than the Twins, mostly due to Twins' rainouts.  Seems it never rains in Southern California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-seven

MINNESOTA 2, WASHINGTON 1 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Friday, June 5.

Batting stars:  Frank Quilici was 2-for-3.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out seven in seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Lee Maye was 2-for-3 with a home run, his fourth.  Casey Cox pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out three.  Darold Knowles pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off the game with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Oliva single to put the Twins up 1-0.  Maye led off the bottom of the first with a home run, tying it 1-1.

The Twins put men on second and third with two out in the fourth, but it stayed 1-1 until the fifth.  Quilici led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single to put the Twins up 2-1.

And that was it.  The Senators only twice got a man to second and never got a man to third, as the Twins held the 2-1 victory.

WP:  Blyleven (1-0).

LP:  Cox (3-4).

S:  Perranoski (13).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Carew would not return until June 9, so he apparently was dealing with some minor injury or illness.

Oliva was batting .325.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .317.  Blyleven had an ERA of 1.29.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.80.

Quilici was batting .191.

As you have probably figured out by now, this was Blyleven's major league debut.  He had been 4-2, 2.50 at AAA Evansville.  The story he told so often was true--the first man he faced, Lee Maye, hit a home run off him.  And in fact, he did strike out Frank Howard in the sixth.

We're in early June, and neither Tovar, Killebrew, nor Oliva has been given a game off yet.  I know this is the old days when men were men, but I suspect Bill Rigney was somewhat of an old-school manager even for his time.

The Senators played two ex-Twins:  second baseman Bernie Allen, who was 1-for-3, and John Roseboro, who pinch-hit and was 0-for-1.

Casey Cox was a pretty fair pitcher for several years:  39-42, 3.70, 1.32.  I suspect his won-lost record is affected by the fact that he spent his entire career with bad teams:  the Senators/Rangers and the early-seventies Yankees.  He appeared in 308 games, starting 59 of them.  Slightly more than half of his starts--30--came in 1970.

Record:  The Twins were 32-15, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.

 

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-six

BOSTON 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN BOSTON

Date:  Thursday, June 4.

Batting star:  Rod Carew was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Steve Barber pitched two shutout innings, giving up two walks.

Opposition stars:  Carl Yastrzemski was 3-for-3 with a walk.  Mike Andrews was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fifth), two walks, and two runs.  Reggie Smith was 2-for-4.  Billy Conigliaro was 1-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and two runs.  Sonny Siebert pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and one walk and striking out four.

The game:  The Twins had two on in the first and the Red Sox had two in both the first and second, but it was scoreless until the third, when singles by Andrews, Yastrzemski, and Rico Petrocelli gave Boston a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it 1-1 in the fifth when Paul Ratliff singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Carew single.

But that was as good as it got for the Twins.  The Red Sox got the lead back in the bottom of the fifth when Andrews walked and Yastrzemski and Smith singled.  They took control in the sixth.  Tom Satriano was hit by a pitch, and with one out Andrews and Conigliaro hit back-to-back homers, giving Boston a 5-1 lead.  The Twins did not get a baserunner in the final three innings.

WP:  Siebert (5-2).

LP:  Jim Kaat (5-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was once again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Alyea pinch-hit for Bill Zepp in the seventh.

Carew was batting .393.  Renick was 1-for-4 and was batting .324.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .321.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .318.

Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out four.

Presumably a game on Wednesday, June 3 was rained out.

Killebrew drew a walk in his sixth consecutive game.  He had ten walks in those games.  For his career, he led the league in walks four times, drew over a hundred walks seven times, and drew ninety or more walks ten times.

Record:  The Twins were 31-15, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.  They had the best winning percentage in the league at .674, bested only by the Big Red Machine in the National League (.712).

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-five

BOSTON 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN BOSTON

Date:  Tuesday, June 2.

Batting stars:  Jim Perry was 2-for-2.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mike Andrews was 4-for-5 with a double.  Tom Satriano was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Billy Conigliaro was 1-for-2 with a home run (his third), a walk, and two runs.  Ray Culp struck out nine in a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits and three walks.

The game:  Andrews led off the first with a single, Carl Yastrezemski walked, and Rico Petrocelli hit an RBI double to put the Red Sox up 1-0.  They missed a chance to get more, however, as they left the bases loaded.

The Twins missed chances to tie it, wasting a leadoff double in the second and stranding two runners in the third.  Conigliaro led off the fourth with a home run.  With one out, Satriano and Culp singled and Andrews had an RBI double to make 3-0.  Again, Boston missed a chance to get more, as they again left the bases loaded.

The Twins got on the board in the fifth when Perry singled, Cesar Tovar walked, and Rod Carew hit an RBI double.  Again, though, the Twins stranded two men.  Boston got the run back in the bottom of the inning when Conigliaro was hit by a pitch and scored on a Luis Alvarado double.

Reese again had a leadoff double in the sixth and went nowhere.  The Red Sox added one more run in the bottom of the sixth when Andrews, Yastrzemski, and George Scott singled.  The Twins did not get a hit after the Reese double leading off the sixth.

WP:  Culp (4-6).

LP:  Perry (6-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Paul Ratliff was again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Mitterwald entered the game in the sixth as part of a double switch.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Woodson in the ninth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .390.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .328.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .325.

Perry was "a good hitter for a pitcher".  His lifetime batting numbers are .199/.228/.247.

Teams were trying to avoid pitching to Killebrew when they could.  He had drawn at least one walk in each of his last five games, and in thirteen of fourteen.  He had drawn nine walks in his last five games.

The 1970 Red Sox would've score a lot of points in Scrabble.  Yastrzemski, Petrocelli, Conigliaro, Alvarado, and Satriano were all in their lineup in this game.  At one time, one of the marks of a true fan was being able to spell "Yastrzemski".

This was the first of a seven-game road trip which would take the Twins to Boston, Washington, and New York.

Record:  The Twins were 31-14, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-four

MINNESOTA 7, NEW YORK 6 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, May 31.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with two home runs, his thirteenth and fourteenth.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched five innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits and three walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Danny Cater was 2-for-4.  Pete Ward hit a pinch-hit home run.  Roy White was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Gary Waslewski pitched two perfect innings of relief, striking out one.

The game:  In the second, Cater singled, Thurman Munson reached on an error, and John Ellis walked, loading the bases with one out.  Gene Michael singled home two runs.  Mel Stottlemyre walked, re-loading the bases.  Horace Clarke hit a two-run single to make it 4-0 Yankees.

The Twins came back.  In the bottom of the second, Jim Holt and Leo Cardenas walked and Paul Ratliff singled, cutting the lead to 4-1.  Killebrew homered in the third to make it 4-2.

White homered in the fifth to make it 5-2, but the Twins again came back in the bottom of the inning.  Singles by Jim Kaat, Cesar Tovar, and Carew brought home one run and Tony Oliva doubled in another.  Killebrew walked to load the bases and Rich Reese delivered a two-run single, giving the Twins their first lead at 6-5.  But Ward homered in the seventh to tie it 6-6.

That was the last hit by either team until the tenth, when Cater led off with a single.  A pair of productive outs got him to third, but he was stranded there.  Killebrew led off the tenth with a home run to walk it off for the Twins.

WP:  Williams (5-0).

LP:  Lindy McDaniel (4-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in left in place of Brant Alyea and Ratliff was again in place of George Mitterwald.

Carew was batting .394.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .330.  Killebrew was batting .329.  Williams had an ERA of 1.59.

Kaat started and pitched five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks and striking out two.  Stottlemyre pitched four innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out none.  They batted better than they pitched, going a combined 2-for-4 with a walk and a run.

This tied for the longest relief appearance for Williams this season--he would again go five innings on July 7.  These days, of course, it's common for the starter not to go five innings.

The Twins took two of three from the Yankees in this series.

Record:  The Twins were 31-13, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-three

MINNESOTA 10, NEW YORK 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 30.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 4-for-5 with a home run (his third), a triple, three runs, and three RBIs.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a double.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks and striking out none.

Opposition stars:  Danny Cater was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Thurman Munson was 2-for-5 with a double.  Gary Waslewski pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Twins took the lead early.  With one out in the first, Carew doubled and scored on an Oliva single.  Oliva was out trying to go to second on the throw home, but Harmon Killebrew walked and Reese hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 3-0.  The Yankees loaded the bases in the second but did not score.  With two out in the third, Killebrew singled and scored on a Reese triple.  Jim Holt followed with a single to make it 5-0 Twins.

But of course, against the Yankees, it couldn't be that easy.  In the fourth, Cater doubled, went to third on Munson's single, and scored on a ground out to make it 5-1.  In the fifth, Bobby Murcer singled, went to third on Roy White's double, and scored on a ground out to cut the lead to 5-2.  In the seventh, Gene Michael singled, Jim Lyttle walked, and two-out walks to Jerry Kenney and Murcer made it 5-3.  In the seventh Cater singled, Munson doubled, Ron Woods delivered a two-run single to tie it 5-5.  With two out, John Ellis singled and Woods scored from first to give New York the lead at 6-5.

But the Twins came back in the bottom of the seventh.  Tovar led off with a home run to tie the score.  With one out Oliva doubled, Killebrew was intentionally walked, and Rich Reese reached on an error, loading the bases.  Then came consecutive singles by Rick Renick, Leo Cardenas, and Ratliff, scoring four runs and giving the Twins a 10-6 advantage.  New York did not get a baserunner after that.

WP:  Perranoski (4-2).

LP:  Steve Hamilton (3-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew was batting .394.  Oliva was batting .333.  Renick was 1-for-2 and was batting .333.  Killebrew was 1-for-2 and was batting .324.  Ratliff was batting .300.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.89.

Dick Woodson allowed two runs in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 10.80.

Bill Zepp started and pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  He would go back to the bullpen after this start, rejoining the rotation on July 6.

Stan Bahnsen started for the Yankees.  He pitched three innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and a walk and struck out none.

Bill Rigney replaced Killebrew with Quilici a lot, which of course is a perfectly understandable move.  It's interesting, though, that I don't think he has yet replaced him until Killebrew was unlikely to get another at-bat, no matter how big the Twins' lead was.  In this game, for example, the Twins took a 10-6 lead in the seventh.  But with Killebrew likely to bat in the eighth, Rigney left him at third, and did not make the defensive move until the ninth.

Reese was 7-for-12 in the last three games he started.  He raised his average from .225 to .258.

Record:  The Twins were 30-13, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-two

NEW YORK 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 29.

Batting stars:  Rick Renick was 2-for-4 with two home runs, his third and fourth.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched six innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and three walks and striking out one.  Dick Woodson pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Thurman Munson was 2-for-4.  Bobby Murcer was 2-for-5.  Mike Kekich pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and four walks and striking out four.  Lindy McDaniel pitched 3.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out two.

The game:  With two out in the first Murcer singled, Roy White walked, and Danny Cater delivered an RBI single to put the Yankees up 1-0.  The Twins drew a pair of walks in the second but could do nothing with them.  In the third Jerry Kenney tripled and scored on a fielder's choice to make it 2-0 New York.  The Twins loaded the bases in the third but again could not score.  In the fourth, Gene Michael and Mike Kekich singled, putting men on first and third, and Horace Clarke grounded out to put the Yankees ahead 3-0.

The Twins got on the board in the fourth when Renick led off with a home run.  Renick again homered in the sixth to make it 3-2.  The Twins had men on first and third in the seventh, but again failed to make it count.

White led off the eighth with a triple and scored on Ron Woods' single to give New York an insurance run at 4-2.  The last seven Twins batters were retired.

WP:  Kekich (1-1).

LP:  Perry (6-4).

S:  McDaniel (4).

Notes:  Renick was at third, with Harmon Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Reese pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the sixth.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Perry in the sixth and stayed in the game at catcher.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Ron Perranoski in the eighth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .393.  Oliva was batting .331.  Renick was batting .323.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .322.  Woodson had an ERA of zero.  Perranoski gave up one run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.80.  Perry had an ERA of 2.61.

Woodson was making his season debut.  It appears he was coming off an injury.

The Twins stranded nine and were 1-for-7 with men in scoring position.

Record:  The Twins were 29-13, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-one

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 11, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 28.

Batting stars:  Luis Tiant was 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Rick Renick was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars: Luis Tiant pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out five.  Stan Williams pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Russ Snyder was 4-for-5 with a home run, his second.  Jerry McNertney was 2-for-4.  Danny Walton was 2-for-5.  Tommy Harper was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.

The game:  The Twins put this one away early.  The Brewers got two men on in the first with walks but did not score.  Alyea led off the second with a single.  With one out, singles by Leo Cardenas, Mitterwald, and Tiant made it 2-0.  Tovar walked to load the bases, Carew got an infield single, and a sacrifice fly made it 4-0.

The Twins added some more in the third.  Singles by Rick Renick and Tiant put two on with two out and Tovar hit a three-run homer to put the Twins up 7-0.  Milwaukee got a pair of singles in the fourth but did not score.  In the bottom of the fourth Killebrew and Alyea singled, putting two on with one out.  Renick hit an RBI single.  With two out Mitterwald doubled home a run and Tiant delivered a two-run single to give the Twins a 11-0 lead.

Snyder hit a solo homer in the fifth and Harper hit one in the seventh to cut the lead to 11-2.  The Brewers had two on with two out in the seventh, two on with one out in the eighth, and loaded the bases in the ninth, but the score did not change.

WP:  Tiant (6-0).

LP:  John Morris (2-1).

S:  Williams (2).

Notes:  Renick was at third base, with Killebrew at first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Reese replaced Killebrew in the eighth.  Frank Quilici replaced Cardenas at shortstop in the fifth, presumably due to illness or injury.  He would be back in the lineup the next day.

Tiant was batting .435.  Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .398.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .327.  Killebrew was batting .326.  Tovar was batting .302.  Williams had an ERA of 1.55.

Quilici was 0-for-2 and was batting .159.

Tiant was not a particularly good batter through most of his career.  In 1965 and 1968 he batted below .100.  In 1964 and 1966 he batted .111.  He'd only had one year in which his average was higher than that--he batted .254 in 1967.  For his career he batted .164/.185/.224.  I don't know if there was a reason he batted so well in 1970 or if it was just a small sample size fluke, but it's pretty amazing.

Also, Tiant had four RBIs in 1970.  Three of them came in this game.

The Brewers stranded eight men and went 0-for-13 with men in scoring position.

This was one of ten major league starts John Morris made.  He appeared in relief 122 times over an eight-year career.  He was 11-7, 3.95, 1 career save, 1.35 WHIP.

There was apparently a rainout on Wednesday, as there seems no other reason for an off-day in the middle of the series.

Record:  The Twins were 29-12, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty

MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 26.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4 with a double.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jim Kaat was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.

Pitching stars:  Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Danny Walton was 1-for-4 with a home run, his tenth.  Tommy Harper was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

The game:  Tovar homered leading off the bottom of the first to put the Twins ahead 1-0.  Walton homered in the second to tie it 1-1.  The Twins went into the lead to stay in the bottom of the second.  With one out, Ratliff doubled and scored on a Kaat single.  With two out, Carew singled and Kaat scored all the way from first base to put the Twins ahead 3-1.

Harper homered in the third to cut the lead to 3-2, but that was as close as the Brewers would come.  They threatened in the sixth, putting men on first and third with one out, but Ted Kubiak was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third.

The Twins got an insurance run in the seventh.  Kaat singled, was bunted to second, went to third on a Carew single, and scored on a single by Tony Oliva.  They put it out of reach in the eighth.  Reese singled and scored from first on a Holt double.  Holt was bunted to third and scored on a Ratliff single.  Milwaukee got a couple of guys on base in the ninth but did not bring the tying run up to bat.

WP:  Kaat (5-1).

LP:  Bobby Bolin (1-4).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Carew got back over .400 at .404.  It would be the last time he would be above .400 this season.  Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .329.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .319.

I wonder when the last time is a pitcher scored from first base on a single.

This was Bolin's only season with Milwaukee, and it would not be a full season.  He had been traded to the Brewers after several solid seasons with San Francisco.  He would be traded to Boston in September and would play for the Red Sox through 1973.

Walton hit seventeen home runs in 1970.  He would not hit more than four in any other season.  He had fifteen in the first half of the season, then hit just two more before being injured and missing the month of September.  He was twenty-two in 1970 and Milwaukee probably thought they had a coming superstar, but it was not to be.  He had some big home run season in AAA, hitting 184 home runs at that level, but never got as many as 100 at-bats in a major league season after 1970.

Record:  The Twins were 28-12, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-nine

MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Russ Snyder was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his twentieth), a walk, and two runs.  Skip Lockwood pitched a complete game, giving up six runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk and striking out six.

The game:  Cesar Tovar and Rod Carew led off the first with singles, putting men on first and third, and Tony Oliva hit an RBI ground out to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Brewers tied it in the third when Harper drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on Russ Snyder's single.  The Twins went back in front in the fourth.  Oliva reached on an error and scored on a Harmon Killebrew triple.  Reese followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Twins.

Milwaukee came back.  Ted Kubiak led off the fifth with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.  In the sixth Snyder singled and scored from first on Mike Hegan's double to tie it 3-3.  The Brewers took the lead in the seventh when Gus Gil singled, was bunted to second, and scored on Harper's single.

It was the Twins' turn in the seventh.  George Mitterwald reached on an error and was bunted to second.  Tovar reached on another error, sending Mitterwald to third.  With two out, Oliva reached on yet another error, scoring Mitterwald to tie it 4-4.  Killebrew walked to load the bases and Reese delivered a two-run single to give the Twins a 6-4 lead.

Milwaukee drew a pair of one-out walks in the eighth but did not score.  The first two Brewers went out in the ninth, but Harper doubled and scored on Snyder's single, cutting the lead to 6-5.  An error on Frank Quilici (in the game as a defensive replacement) put men on first and second, but future Twin Danny Walton flied out to end the game.

WP:  Tom Hall (2-1).

LP:  Lockwood (0-1).

S:  Ron Perranoski (12).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .387.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .329.  Killebrew was batting .328.  Bill Zepp pitched 6.2 innings and gave up four runs, making his ERA 2.78.  Hall did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.59.  Stan Williams gave up a run in 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 1.65.  Perranoski got the last out and had an ERA of 1.64.

This was Zepp's second start of the season.  He would make one more, then go back to the bullpen until July, when he would go into the rotation.

Milwaukee made four errors in the game, and as you can see above, the errors cost them.  Lockwood was allowed to pitch a complete game despite giving up six runs, presumably on the theory that it's not his fault that his fielders couldn't field.  Still, a complete game while giving up six runs is unusual, even if four were unearned.

This was Killebrew's only triple in 1970.  For his career, he hit twenty-four triples.  He only once hit more than two in a season, and that's in 1961, when he hit seven.

Gus Gil somehow managed to play in parts of four seasons and appear in 221 games despite batting .186/.272/.226, for an OPS of .499.  Presumably he was considered a good fielder, but his batting line pretty much defines "futility infielder".

The Twins had played four one-run games in a row, winning two and losing two.

Record:  The Twins were 27-12, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of California.