Tag Archives: 1970 rewind

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-nine

MILWAUKEE 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, September 8.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched 8.1 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out eight.

Opposition stars:  Phil Roof was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eleventh.  Bob Burda was 2-for-4.  Marty Pattin pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out seven.

The game:  The Brewers had men on first and third with two out, but Dave May was thrown out on the back end of a double steal of second and home to end the inning.  They had men on first and third in the second, but Roberto Pena was picked off third to take them out of the inning.  They had men on first and third with none out in the fourth and did score, but got only one run on a double play.  Milwaukee again had men on first and second with out in the sixth and failed to score.

Meanwhile, the Twins had only one hit through the first five innings.  That changed in the sixth, when Rich Reese singled, went to third on an Oliva double, and scored on a ground out, tying it 1-1.  Oliva homered with two out in the eighth, putting the Twins up 2-1.

The lead didn't last long.  Mike Hegan singled with one out in the ninth, leading Bill Rigney to bring in Ron Perranoski.  A logical move, but it didn't work.  Bernie Smith struck out, but Roof hit a two-run homer to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead.  The Twins got a one-out single by George Mitterwald, but he did not get past first and the game was over.

WP:  Pattin (12-11).

LP:  Perranoski (7-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt went to center field in the seventh, with Cesar Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out of the game.  Jim Nettles pinch-hit for Thompson in the eighth, with Frank Quilici coming in to play second base.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the ninth.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici in the ninth.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Perranoski in the ninth.

Oliva raised his average to .318.  Perranoski gave up one run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.13.

This was the first appearance by Hill since July 12.

Nettles had made his major league debut the day before, but this was where he got his first major league at-bat.  He struck out.

This was the tenth blown save for Perranoski.

Pattin had eleven complete games in 1970.  His career high was thirteen in 1972.  He had sixty-four complete games in his career, fourteen of them shutouts.  This was the first of four consecutive seasons in which he would pitch over two hundred innings.  He pitched 970.1 innings in those four years.

The loss broke the Twins' five-game winning streak.  They would next host second-place Oakland for three games.

Record:  The Twins were 83-56, in first place in the American League West, 5.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-eight

MINNESOTA 8, MILWAUKEE 3 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Monday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Hal Haydel was 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and two runs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Haydel pitched five innings of relief, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks and striking out two.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Dave May was 3-for-3 with a stolen base, his fourth.  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-seventh), a triple, and two runs.

The game:  Harper led off the game with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Brewers a quick 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the first when Killebrew doubled, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Brant Alyea single.  The Twins took the lead 2-1 in the second when Haydel doubled and scored on a Tovar single.  Harper homered in the third to tie it 2-2, but in the bottom of the third Alyea walked and scored on a two-out triple by Leo Cardenas to put the Twins up 3-2.  Haydel homered in the fourth to make it 4-2.

Milwaukee edged closer in the sixth.  Russ Snyder and May led off with singles, a bunt moved them to second and third, and a sacrifice fly made it 4-3.  But the Twins put it away in the seventh.  Tovar singled, Danny Thompson reached on an error, and Killebrew had an RBI single.  A wild pitch put men on second and third and a sacrifice fly scored a second run.  Cardenas walked, followed by run-scoring singles by Steve Brye and George Mitterwald brought the score to 8-3.  The Brewers got only one hit in the last three innings.

WP:  Haydel (1-0).

LP:  Al Downing (4-12).

S:  Perranoski (29).

Notes:  Thompson was once again on second base in place of Rod Carew.  Rick Renick was at third, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Brye was in right field in place of Tony Oliva.

The Twins made a number of defensive substitutions in the eighth.  Reese came in to play first in place of Killebrew.  Quilici came in and went to second, with Thompson moving to third and Renick coming out.  Jim Holt came in and went to center, with Tovar moving to left and Alyea coming out.  In the ninth, Jim Nettles came in to play right field, with Brye moving to left and Tovar coming out.

Haydel was batting .667.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.05.

Luis Tiant started but could go only one inning, coming out of the game due to injury.  He would make only one more appearance in 1970, nearly three weeks later.

Haydel made his major league debut, and it was a really good one.  He came in after Tiant was pulled, pitched five innings, got the win, went 2-for-3 at the plate, and also hit a home run.  It was the only home run of his major league career, and the double he hit was the only double, but then he only batted six times.  His career batting numbers are .500/.500/1.167.  His career pitching numbers are 6-2, 4.04, 1.31 WHIP.  He had a  terrible year in AAA in 1972 and then was out of baseball.  One wonders if he might have been injured--he had done decently in the minors, and not badly in the majors, prior to 1972.

I don't think of Tommy Harper as a home run hitter, but he hit thirty-one in 1970.  That was easily his best power year--his next highest was eighteen in 1965 with California.  He had an OPS of .899 in 1970--his next highest was .774 in 1983.  He hit 146 home runs in his career, which isn't too shabby.  He also stole 408 bases, which is what I remember him for.  He led the league in steals twice--73 in 1969 with Seattle, and 54 in 1973 with Boston.

The Twins had won five consecutive games and would go for the series sweep in the next game.

Record:  The Twins were 83-55, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-seven

MINNESOTA 7, MILWAUKEE 6 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Monday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Brant Alyea was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his fourteenth and fifteenth) and seven RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Dave May was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Bob Burda was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-4.  John Gelnar struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Ken Sanders struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Brewers starter Lew Krausse for four runs in the first inning.  Cesar Tovar and Rich Reese opened the game with singles.  A ground out put men on second and third.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked to load the bases, which makes perfect sense, but Alyea hit a grand slam to make it 4-0 Twins.

The Brewers tried to come back in the second.  Bob Burda, Mike Hegan, and Roberto Pena all singled, loading the bases with one out.  But Milwaukee could only score once, on a ground out, making the score 4-1.  And in the third, Alyea struck again.  Tony Oliva was hit by a pitch, Killebrew singled, and Alyea hit a three-run homer, making it 7-1 Twins.

From there it was a matter of hanging on.  In the fifth, singles by Pete Koegel and Ted Kubiak put men on first and third with two out.  Then came consecutive singles by May, Burda, and Hegan, resulting in three runs and cutting the lead to 7-4.  In the seventh, Tommy Harper reached on an error, went to third on May's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to 7-5.  In the eighth Phil Roof doubled and scored on Kubiak's single to cut the lead to 7-6.

But the Twins held on.  Bernie Smith singled with one out in the ninth, but did not get farther and the Twins prevailed.

WP:  Stan Williams (9-0).

LP:  Krausse (12-16).

S:  Ron Perranoski (28).

Notes:  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Mitterwald replaced Ratliff behind the plate in the eighth.  Frank Quilici came in to play second in the ninth, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.

Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .315.  Williams gave up two runs (one earned) in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.13.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.11.

Neither starter did very well.  Bill Zepp started for the Twins and lasted 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out two.  Krausse lasted just two innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and one walk and striking out three.

As noted above, the strategy of walking Killebrew to pitch to Alyea seems perfectly logical.  It just didn't work.  Alyea was the starting left fielder at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, but there was a large stretch in the middle where Bill Rigney preferred using Jim Holt.  And when Alyea did start, he was almost always removed for defense midway through the game.  Apparently, Rigney considered Alyea to be absolutely awful on defense.

Wayne Twitchell made his major league debut in this game.  Maybe you say "big deal", and understandably so, but Twitchell played for ten seasons and pitched in 282 games (133 starts).  He career numbers are 48-65, 3.98, 2 saves, 1.43 WHIP.  His best year was 1973, when he went 13-9, 2.50, 1.21 WHIP with five shutouts and ten complete games.  He made his lone all-star appearance that year.  He was traded to Philadelphia after the 1970 season, which is where he spent the bulk of his career.  He also pitched for Montreal, the Mets, and Seattle.  He's not all time great or even an all time very good, but you have to have something on the ball to be able to pitch ten seasons in the big leagues.

Pete Koegel got his first major league hit in this game.  A catcher/first baseman, he played in three major league seasons and got eighty-six at-bats.  His numbers are .174/.268/.244, hitting one home run (off Tommy John).  He was very tall, especially for his time, standing 6'6".

There were nine doubleheaders played on this Labor Day.

The Twins had a four-game winning streak.

Record:  The Twins were 82-55, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Oakland.  California fell to third place, seven games back.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-six

MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Sunday, September 6.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-3 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a home run (his tenth), a double, and three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall pitched eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk and striking out six.  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition star:  Clyde Wright pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out six.

The game:  Neither team had a baserunner for the first two innings.  That changed in the third when Rich Reese walked and Tovar hit a two-out two-run homer to make it 2-0 Twins.

The Angels got their first hit in the third, when Joe Azcue singled.  They had their first threat in the fourth when, with one out, Jim Fregosi singled and Alex Johnson doubled, sending Fregosi to third.  But Ken McMullen fanned and Tommie Reynolds bounced back to the pitcher.  It would be their only threat until the ninth inning.

The Twins picked up a run in the seventh on doubles by Mitterwald and Tovar.  California did not have a baserunner in innings five through eight.  In the ninth Sandy Alomar walked and Jarvis Tatum singled, putting men on first and second with none out, bringing the tying run up to bat.  A pair of ground outs scored a run and left a man on third.  McMullen walked, putting the tying run on base, but Billy Cowan flied to center to end the game.

WP:  Hall (7-6).

LP:  Wright (19-10).

S:  Perranoski (27).

Notes:  Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Steve Brye pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the seventh, with Tom Tischinski going in to catch.  Jim Holt went to center field in the seventh, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea going to the bench.  Frank Quilici went to second base in the ninth, with Thompson going to third and Harmon Killebrew coming out of the game.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .317.  Hall had an ERA of 2.65.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.15.

The Twins swept the series between the first and second place teams.  It would be overstating it to say the pennant race was over at this point--the two teams still had four-game series coming up, plus they had to deal with Oakland--but this series obviously went a long way toward clinching the division.

As we've seen, Hall both started and relieved in 1970.  He was excellent in both roles, going 7-1, 2.12, 1.01 WHIP in eleven starts (76.1 innings) and 4-5, 2.96, 4 saves, 1.06 WHIP in 41 relief appearances (79 innings).

This was the best season of Clyde Wright's career.  He went 22-10, 2.83, 1.21 WHIP, made the all-star team, and finished sixth in Cy Young voting.  He was also excellent in 1971 and 1972 and pretty good in 1973.  It fell apart for him after that, but for those four years, he was really good.

The Twins would now have a thirteen-game homestand, hosting Milwaukee, Oakland, and the White Sox for three each before taking on California for four.

Record:  The Twins were  81-55, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-Five

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 3 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Saturday, September 5.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a double and two stolen bases, his twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-2 with a home run (his twentieth), three walks, and three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk and striking out three.  Stan Williams struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Tony Gonzalez was 2-for-4.  Jim Spencer was 2-for-4.  Andy Messersmith struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

The game:  Tovar led off the game with a double-plus-error, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the third Tovar singled and Oliva hit a two-run homer to make it 3-0.

The Angels came back in the bottom of the third.  Joe Azcue led off with a single and was still on first base with two out.  But then came singles  by Jim Fregosi, Gonzalez, and Alex Johnson, plating two runs and cutting the lead to 3-2.  In the fourth, Roger Repoz led off with a single-plus-error, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a Jay Johnstone single to tie the score 3-3.

The Twins took the lead back in the fifth.  With one out Tovar singled, stole second, and scored on a Danny Thompson single to give the Twins a 4-3 lead.

The Twins' pitching took it from there.  California never had more than one man on base and never advanced a man past second, giving the Twins the victory.

WP:  Perry (21-11).

LP:  Tom Murphy (13-11).

S:   Williams (11).

Notes:  Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt went to center field in the sixth inning, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Perry in the seventh and Steve Brye pinch-ran for Ratliff.

Oliva raised his average to .317.  Perry had an ERA of 3.00.  Williams had an ERA of 2.10.

Messersmith had been a starter most of the season, but was sent to the bullpen in early August after some less-than-stellar starts.  He would make only one more appearance in 1970.

Tom Murphy started for the Angels.  He pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and no walks and struck out none.

The Twins had now won the first two games in what was a series the Angels really needed to win.  They would go for the sweep in the next game.

Record:  The Twins were 80-55, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-four

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 0 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, September 4.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-4.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, his twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out four.  Ron Perranoski pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Alex Johnson was 2-for-4.  Eddie Fisher pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  In a matchup of the first and second place teams, the Twins jumped out early.  With two out and none on in the first, Harmon Killebrew walked, Oliva singled, and Alyea hit a three-run homer, putting Minnesota ahead 3-0.

The Twins put two men on in the third and the fourth but did not score.  The Angels, who did not have a baserunner in the first three innings, got a pair of two-out singles in the fourth but did not score.

With one out in the sixth, Tony Gonzalez singled, Fregosi walked, and Johnson got an infield single, loading the bases.  Bill Rigney brought in Perranoski, who struck out Billy Cowan and retired Tommie Reynolds on a grounder to end the inning.

California got only one hit after that, a two-out triple by Fregosi in the eighth.  The Twins added a run in the eighth.  A walk to Killebrew and a single by Oliva put men on first and third with none out, and a sacrifice fly brought the final score to 4-0.

WP:  Blyleven (9-6).

LP:  Rudy May (6-12).

S:  Perranoski (26).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in the sixth and went to center, with Tovar moving to left.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson going to third.

Oliva raised his average to .316.  Perranoski lowered his ERA to 2.18.

May pitched five innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks and striking out five.

Oliva broke out of his slump in a big way.  The four hits were as many as he'd had in the previous eight games.

With just a three-game difference going in, this three-game series was obviously an important one for both teams.  The two teams would play again, in a four-game series, in mid-September, so it's not like the Angels had to sweep.  I'm sure, though, that they felt they at least needed to win two of the three.  Taking the first one was a big advantage for the Twins.

Showing the importance of this game is pulling Blyleven in the sixth with a shutout going and bringing in the closer, Perranoski.  You can't always tell from a written play-by-play, but it does not appear that Blyleven was being hit hard.  Still, it was an important game.  Bringing your closer in that early was unusual back then, although certainly not unheard of.  But, as we've chronicled in this series, Perranoski was sometimes asked to pitch three or more innings, and he generally got the job done when he did.

Record:  The Twins were 79-55, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-three

MILWAUKEE 8, MINNESOTA 3 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Thursday, September 3.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his twelfth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Roberto Pena was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer (his third), a double, and two runs.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-2 with a double, a stolen base (his eighth), two walks, and three runs.  Dave May was 2-for-4.  Phil Roof was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his tenth) and two walks.

The game:  The Brewers started the scoring in the second.  With one out, Hegan singled, Pena doubled, and Roof walked, loading the bases.  All they could get out of it was one run, on a Ted Kubiak single, but it gave Milwaukee a 1-0 lead.

The Brewers took control of the game in the fifth.  Tommy Harper led off with a walk and was bunted to second.  May singled him home and took second on the throw to the plate.  Following a ground out Hegan was intentionally walked, Pena hit an RBI single, and Roof hit a three-run homer, putting Milwaukee up 6-0.

The Twins did try to come back.  In the sixth Tovar tripled and scored on a ground out to get them on the board.  In the seventh, Rich Reese hit a one-out single and, with two out, Alyea hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to cut the lead to 6-3.

But that was as good as it got.  In the bottom of the seventh Hegan hit a two-out double and Pena followed with a two-run homer, making it 8-3.  The Twins got a pair of one-out singles in the eighth, but that was it.

WP:  Marty Pattin (11-11).

LP:  Bill Zepp (7-4).

S:  Ken Sanders (7).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Steve Brye was in left field in place of Alyea.  Jim Holt went to center in fifth as part of a double switch, with Tovar moving to left and Brye coming out of the game.  Alyea pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the seventh.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Jim Kaat in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .311.  Williams gave up one run in 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.16.

It was the major league debut for Brye.  He'd batted .308 with an OPS of .849 in AA Charlotte.  He was, of course, a September call-up.  He was often mixed up with Steve Braun, who was with the Twins for most of the time Brye was.

Oliva was in a 2-for-26 slump over his last seven games.  His average fell from .323 to .311.

Zepp started for the Twins and pitched 4.2 innings, giving up five runs on five hits and five walks and striking out two.

Following three sub-par starts, the last of which was August 28, Kaat was sent to the bullpen.  He would both start and relieve the rest of the season.  Here, he pitched two innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk and striking out two.

Marty Pattin was one of the stars of "Ball Four", pitching in the Seattle Pilots rotation for most of the 1969 season.  He wasn't very good then, but he a solid rotation starter from 1970-1973 for Milwaukee and Boston.  He both started and relieved the rest of his career, a career that lasted until 1980.  He was 114-109 for his career, with a 3.62 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP.  He made one all-star team, with the Brewers in 1971.  He appeared in 475 games, starting 224 of them, and pitched 2038.2 innings.  He clearly isn't worth of the Hall of Fame or anything, but for most of his thirteen year career he was a guy you were happy to have on your team.

Record:  The Twins were 78-55, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.

 

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-two

MINNESOTA 7, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MILWAUKEE (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER--11 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, September 1.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fortieth), three walks, and four RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and three walks.  Jim Kaat pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ted Kubiak was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Jerry McNertney was 2-for-5.  Al Downing pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and six walks and striking out two.  Ken Sanders pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.

The game:  Tovar led off the game with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on a Killebrew single, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.

And it stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth.  There were threats, of course.  The Twins had men on first and second with two out in the third.  The Brewers had men on first and second with two out in the fourth.  The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the fifth and men on second and third with two out in the sixth.  Milwaukee had men on first and second with two in the sixth and loaded the bases with two out in the seventh.

But it was still 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth.  The first two Brewers went out, but consecutive singles by Tito Francona, Bob Burda, and Kubiak tied the score 1-1 and we went to extra innings.

Neither team got a man on in the tenth, but in the eleventh.  The Twins put it away.  Jim Holt walked and Rich Reese singled.  Leo Cardenas reached on an error to bring in a run.  A bunt moved the runners up and Kaat was intentionally walked.  Tovar delivered a two-run single.  A force out put men on first and third and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to make it 7-1 Twins.  Milwaukee got a leadoff double in the bottom of the eleventh, but could do no more.

WP:  Kaat (11-10).

LP:  Bobby Bolin (5-11).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt went to center field in the fifth inning, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out of the game.  Frank Quilici went to second base in the eleventh inning, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-6 and was batting .314.  Hall had an ERA of 2.76.  Ron Perranoski pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run and had an ERA of 2.27.  Stan Williams gave up a run in two innings and had an ERA of 2.09.

Alyea must have been an absolutely awful outfielder, the way Bill Rigney would take him out for defense in the fifth or sixth inning.

I had forgotten that Al Downing pitched for Milwaukee.  He was there for less than four months--traded there with Francona for Steve Hovley in mid-June and traded to the Dodgers before the 1971 season for Andy Kosco.

I know Kaat was considered a good hitter, and I know they were trying to set up a double play, but there's no way in the world I intentionally walk Kaat to pitch to Tovar.  That makes no sense to me at all.  You get Kaat out and then walk Tovar to pitch to Thompson.  Manager Dave Bristol made a big mistake there.

The Twins swept the doubleheader, giving up just one run to the Brewers.

Record:  The Twins were 78-54, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-one

MINNESOTA 4, MILWAUKEE 0 IN MILWAUKEE (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Tuesday, September 1.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his second.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his thirty-ninth.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry struck out nine in a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Roberto Pena was 2-for-3.  John Gelnar pitched two perfect innings.

The game:  With one out in the first, Thompson singled, Oliva doubled, and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  Rich Reese led off the fourth with a double and scored on a Leo Cardenas single to make it 4-0.

And that was it.  Perry was in complete control.  The Brewers only twice got a man as far as second base:  in the first, when Dave May singled and went to second on an error, and in the sixth, when Russ Snyder hit a two-out double.

WP:  Perry (20-11).

LP:  Lew Krausse (12-15).

S:  None.

Notes:  Cesar Tovar remained in left, with Jim Holt in center and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Frank Quilici went to second in the seventh inning, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew going to the bench.

Oliva raised his average to .317.  Perry had an ERA of 3.00.

August had been the Twins' worst month of the season.  It was the only month in which they had been below .500, at 14-18.  They got September off to a good start, though.

This was Perry's second-best game, by game scores, to date.  This was an 86--he'd had an 87 in August 6, when he gave up one run in eleven innings.  He would have one game in September that was better.

Record:  The Twins were 77-54, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty

NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, August 30.

Batting stars:  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jake Gibbs was 3-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Roy White was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, his nineteenth homer.  Steve Kline pitched 8.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out five.

The game:  In the second Harmon Killebrew and Holt singled and Ratliff followed with a two-run double.  Ratliff was on second with none out, but the Twins could do no more damage.  Still, the Twins had a 2-0 lead.  Rich Reese doubled with one out in the third, but he was also stranded at second.

Gibbs led off the third with a home run to cut the lead to 2-1.  The Twins had men on first and second with none out in the fourth but again did not score.  They had men on first and second with one out in the fifth and did not score.

And in the bottom of the fifth they paid the price.  Gibbs led off with a single and Jerry Kinney walked.  A bunt moved the runners to second and third, Frank Baker walked with two out to load the bases, and White hit a grand slam to put New York ahead 5-2.

The Twins got one-out singles from Ratliff and Leo Cardenas to bring the tying run to the plate.  Danny Thompson fouled out, but Rick Renick got a pinch-hit single.  Unfortunately, Ratliff was thrown out at the plate, trying to score from second on the hit, and the game was over.

WP:  Kline (3-3).

LP:  Bert Blyleven (8-6).

S:  Lindy McDaniel (21).

Notes:  Cesar Tovar was again in left, with Holt in center and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Ratliff was again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was again at second in place of Rod Carew.

Alyea pinch-hit for Quilici in the seventh.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Blyleven in the seventh.  Thompson went to second in place of Quilici.  Renick pinch-hit for Perranoski in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .315.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.28.

Blyleven pitched six innings, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks and striking out four.  The solo homer didn't hurt him, but the grand slam sure did.

This was Steve Kline's rookie year, and he'd been in the majors about a month and a half at this point.  He was very good in his first three seasons, especially in 1971 and 1972, when he posted ERAs under three and WHIPs under 1.1 in both years.  He then developed arm problems, was traded to Cleveland early in 1974, missed all of 1975, tried to come back, but was done after 1977.  From 1970-1972, though, he was 34-28 with an ERA of 2.80, 1.11 WHIP.  He was only twenty-four after the 1972 season, but had pitched 458.2 innings in the past two seasons, which may have contributed to his arm problems.  If not for injury, he might have had a fine major league career.

Record:  The Twins were 76-54, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.