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Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-nine

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MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, August 29.

Batting star:  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched six shutout innings, giving up nine hits and a walk and striking out one.  Tom Hall struck out three in 2.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Frank Baker was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Jim Lyttle was 2-for-4.  Thurman Munson was 2-for-5.  Roy White was 2-for-5.  Mel Stottlemyre pitched a complete game, giving up three runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out seven.

The game:  Cesar Tovar started the game with a single and went to third when Tony Oliva reached on an error with one out.  A sacrifice fly brought home a run and singles by Jim Holt and Ratliff brought home another, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Yankees got three hits in the bottom of the first, but a double play kept them from taking advantage of them.  They loaded the bases in the second on a single, a hit batsman, and a walk, but a line drive double play took them out of that inning.  Each team had two on with one out in the fourth and did not score.  New York got a pair of singles with two out in the sixth and did not score.  So, it remained 2-0 going to the ninth.

Ratliff homered with two out in the top of the ninth to make it 3-0.  But the Yankees did not just go away quietly.  With one out Ron Woods tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.  Munson then singled to bring the tying run to bat with two out.  White hit a ball to deep right, but it was just a fly out and the game was over.

WP:  Zepp (7-3).

LP:  Stottlemyre (12-11).

S:  Hall (4).

Notes:  Holt was in center, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Danny Thompson went to third base in the ninth, replacing Harmon Killebrew.

Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .317.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.79.  Stan Williams did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.04.  Hall had an ERA of 2.92.

Allison was 0-for-1 and was batting .197.

The was the first time Ratliff had started since August 10 and the first time he had played an entire game since July 10.

The Twins had only two at-bats with men in scoring position, going 1-for-2.  The Yankees had eight at-bats with men in scoring position, but went 0-for-8.  They stranded eleven.

Record:  The Twins were 76-53, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-eight

NEW YORK 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Friday, August 28.

Batting star:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching star:  Luis Tiant pitched seven innings, giving up one run on four hits and five walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mike Kekich pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out seven.  Jim Lyttle was 0-for-0 with three walks.

The game:  There were no hits on either side until the third, when Horace Clark singled.  He stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and score on Frank Baker's single to put the Yankees up 1-0.

The Twins got their first hit in the fifth, when Rich Reese singled.  He went to second on a ground out and scored on a George Mitterwald single, tying the score at 1-1.

It stayed 1-1 through eight.  Killebrew led off the ninth with a double.  Tony Oliva was intentionally walked and the strategy worked, as the next three batters went out.  In the bottom of the ninth Bobby Murcer reached on an error and was bunted to second.  Danny Cater was intentionally walked.  A ground out moved Murcer to third and he scored on a wild pitch to end the game.

WP:  Kekich (4-3).

LP:  Ron Perranoski (7-6).

S:  None.

Notes:  Oliva was again in center with Cesar Tovar in left and Brant Alyea in right.  Jim Holt went to center in the seventh, with Oliva going to right and Alyea leaving the game.  There's no obvious reason for the move.  Alyea popped up to third in the top of the inning--he may have injured himself, or Bill Rigney may have decided to substitute for him because he wouldn't be batting again for a couple of innings.

Bob Allison pinch-hit for Tiant in the eighth.  I'm not really questioning the move, but I can't help pointing out that Tiant was 1-for-2 in the game and was batting .419 for the season, while Allison was batting .200.

Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth and stayed in the game at second base.  Danny Thompson, who was still at second base in place of Rod Carew, moved to third.

Tiant as stated above, was 1-for-2 and was batting .419.  Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .320.  Perranoski gave up an unearned run in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.34.

In the two games of the doubleheader, the Twins scored one run and had just eight hits.

This was easily Kekich's best start of the season.  He had a game score of seventy-seven.  His next highest was sixty-three on September 12.  This was his only complete game of the season and one of eight in his career.

The Twins had lost five of their last seven games.

Record:  The Twins were 75-53, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.  This was their smallest lead since June 29.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-seven

NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 0 IN NEW YORK (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Friday, August 28.

Batting star:  Rich Reese was 2-for-3 with a double.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Fritz Peterson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and one walk and striking out four.  Thurman Munson was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Peterson was 2-for-3 with a double.  Gene Michael was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off the game with a walk and Reese followed with a single, putting men on first and second with none out.  But Harmon Killebrew grounded into a double play and Tony Oliva bounced back to the pitcher, taking the Twins out of the inning.  The Twins would get only two more hits and only once again get a man to second, when Reese doubled with two out in the ninth.

The Yankees were held scoreless until the fifth.  Ron Woods led off that inning with a double and scored on Michael's single.  Peterson then singled.  With one out, Munson hit an RBI single and runners went to second and third on the throw home.  A wild pitch plated a run and a sacrifice fly brought home another, giving New York a 4-0 lead.  They added two in the sixth.  Bobby Murcer singled, John Ellis walked, and a bunt moved runners to second and third.  Michael then delivered a two-run single to make it 6-0.

And that was that, as they Yankees took a 6-0 victory.

WP:  Peterson (15-9).

LP:  Jim Kaat (10-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Oliva was in center field, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea in right.  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison and Rick Renick pinch-hit for pitchers.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .321.  Tom Hall retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 2.90.

The Twins had just three hits in the game.

I assume the configuration of Yankees stadium led Bill Rigney to change his outfield alignment.

I had forgotten that Munson was already the regular catcher for the Yankees in 1970.

In some ways, this was Peterson's best year.  He went 20-11, 2.90, 1.10 WHIP (leading the league), and made his only all-star appearance.  Arguably, though, he was better in 1969--he went 17-16, but with a 2.55 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP, which also led the league.  He also led the league in walks per nine innings and strikeout/walk ratio in both years.  For his career, he was 133-131, 3.30, 1.19 WHIP.  It was his misfortune to come to the Yankees in their worst years, or his won-lost record would be much better.

Record:  The Twins were 75-52, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-six

MINNESOTA 5, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 27.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Jim Perry was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his third.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his thirteenth.

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

Opposition stars:  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.  Rico Petrocelli was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-first.  Chuck Hartenstein struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Mike Nagy pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  In the first inning Rich Reese hit a one-out single and scored on an Oliva double, with Oliva taking third on the throw home.  Harmon Killebrew then hit a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.  The Red Sox came right back to tie it in the second.  Petrocelli led off with a home run.  Conigliaro then got an infield single, stole second, and scored on Mike Andrews' two-out single.

Boston loaded the bases in the fourth but did not score.  In the bottom of the fourth, Holt led off with a single and Mitterwald hit a two-out two-run homer.  Perry then doubled, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Cesar Tovar single, giving the Twins a 5-2 lead.

The Red Sox did not threaten again.  Carl Yastrzemski led off the fifth with a single but was erased on a double play.  That was the last baserunner Boston had.  Perry was in total control, and the Twins cruised to a 5-2 victory.

WP:  Perry (19-11).

LP:  Sonny Siebert (13-7).

S:  None.

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

Oliva was batting .323.

Perry hit four doubles in 1970, half of them in this game.  He hit twenty-two doubles in his career.  Four was his career high in a season--he also hit four in 1966.

Perry had thirteen complete games in 1970, which was his career high.  He had 109 complete games in his career.

Billy Conigliaro had a really good year in 1970.  At age 22 he batted .271/.339/.462.  The Red Sox must have thought he would become as big a star as his brother Tony.  But he went backward in 1971, was traded to Milwaukee, and was out of baseball after the 1973 season.

Record:  The Twins were 75-51, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-five

MINNESOTA 7, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, August 26.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, a stolen base (his twenty-fourth), two runs, and three RBIs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out eight.

Opposition star:  George Scott was 2-for-3.

The game:  The Twins got on the board in the first when Tovar singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Harmon Killebrew.  In the second, Leo Cardenas hit a one-out double, George Mitterwald hit a run-scoring single-plus-error, and Tovar delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0 Twins.

The Twins missed some chances to add to their lead, wasting a leadoff triple by Oliva in the third and getting men on first and second with one out to no avail in the fourth.  In the sixth, however, the Twins put it out of reach.  Mitterwald led off with a walk and went to third when Blyleven reached on a two-base error.  Tovar doubled them both home to make it 5-0.  Walks to Rich Reese and Killebrew loaded the bases with two out and Holt hit a two-run single to increase the lead to 7-0.

Blyleven was in complete control.  The Red Sox never got a man to third and only twice got a man as far as second.  All four Boston hits were singles.

WP:  Blyleven (8-5).

LP:  Ray Culp (13-12).

S:  None.

Notes:  Oliva was batting .321.

Holt was in center, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew in the eighth and went to second, with Thompson moving to third.

This was Blyleven's first career shutout.  He would end his career with sixty.  He led the league in shutouts three times--in 1973 (9). 1985 (5), and 1989 (5).

Culp was a good pitcher and he had a fine 1970 season, but he didn't have it in this game.  5.1 innings, seven runs (six earned), seven hits, four walks, and five strikeouts.

The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 74-51, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-four

BOSTON 1, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 25.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 2-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and three walks and striking out three.  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up three hits.

Opposition stars:  Rico Petrocelli was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-3.  Tony Conigliaro was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-fifth.  Vicente Romo pitched four shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out three.  Ken Brett struck out five in four shutout innings, giving up four hits and no walks.

The game:  There were no threats in the first three innings, then each team threatened in the fourth.  With two out Petrocelli and George Scott singled and Billy Conigliaro walked, loading the bases.  Tom Satriano grounded out to end the inning.  In the bottom of the inning, Thompson led off with a single.  Oliva hit into a force out and was picked off, but reached second on an error.  Rich Reese then drew a two-out walk, but Rick Renick struck out to end the inning.

Each team again threatened in the seventh.  For Boston, Scott walked and Billy Conigliaro singled.  A bunt moved them to second and third with one out, but Scott was out at home on a fielder's choice and a ground out ended the inning.  For the Twins, Reese singled and Renick reached on an error, but a popped up bunt resulted in a double play a strikeout ended the inning.

The game's lone run scored in the eighth when Tony Conigliaro hit a two-out home run.  The Twins threatened in the ninth when Oliva led off with a single and Reese drew a one-out walk, but pinch-hitter Jim Holt hit into a double play to end the game.

WP:  Brett (4-7).

LP:  Tom Hall (6-6).

S:  Gary Wagner (3).

Notes:  Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Alyea pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the eighth.  Frank Quilici then pinch-ran for Alyea.  Holt pinch-hit for Renick in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .321.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.94.  Hall gave up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.92.  Williams retired the only man he faced and had an ERA of 2.05.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.39.

Romo was normally a reliever, but he was in the Red Sox rotation for about six weeks from mid-July through the end of August.  This is one of two starts in which he had a game score over fifty, which may be why Boston decided to pull him after four innings.

Brett was a starter most of his career, but he was primarily a reliever in 1970 and 1971.

Sparky Lyle was the Red Sox' closer in 1970, but he was going through a bit of a rough patch.  In his last three appearances, he had faced five batters and four of them had gotten on base (three hits and a walk), resulting in two blown saves and in him briefly being taken out of the closer role.  Wagner took his place and did well, but as soon as Boston thought Lyle was straightened out he went back to being the closer.  Wagner had a solid season in 1970, but it was his last major league season.  He developed some sort of arm problem--I could not quickly find out what--and made only ten minor league appearances in 1971, ending his playing career.

After a brief offensive resurgence, the Twins went back into a slump.  They had scored just fifteen runs in their last six games.

Record:  The Twins were 73-51, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-three

WASHINGTON 11, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, August 23.

Batting star:  Charlie Manuel was 1-for-1.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Aurelio Rodriguez was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base (his tenth), and two runs.  Del Unser was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer (his fifth), a walk, and two runs.  Ed Brinkman was 2-for-5.  Ed Stroud was 2-for-6 with two runs.  Frank Howard was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his thirty-sixth.  Dick Bosman pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and no walks and striking out three.

The game:  Stroud and Unser opened the game with singles and Howard followed with a three-run homer, putting the Senators up 3-0 three batters into the game.  Washington then loaded the bases with two out, but did not score any more in the first.  In the third, however, Mike Epstein walked, Rodriguez singled, and Jim French hit a two-run triple.  A ground out scored French to make it 6-0 Senators through three.  In the sixth Bosman and Stroud singled and Unser hit a three-run homer to increase the lead to 9-0.

Meanwhile, the Twins managed just three hits, all singles, through those six innings.  They finally got on the board in the seventh.  With two out Jim Holt doubled and Leo Cardenas singled him in.  That was as good as it got, though.  With two out in the eighth Epstein walked, Rodriguez hit an RBI triple, and Brinkman had a run-scoring single to bring the final score to 11-1.

WP:  Bosman (13-9).

LP:  Jim Perry (18-11).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in center, with Cesar Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.

Paul Ratliff came in to catch in the sixth as part of a double switch, with George Mitterwald going to the bench.  Bob Allison went to left field in the seventh in place of Tovar.  Manuel went to right in the seventh in place of Tony Oliva.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Woodson in the seventh.  Frank Quilici went to third base in place of Harmon Killebrew in the eighth.

Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .319.

Pete Hamm allowed three runs in three innings and had an ERA of 6.08.

Perry started but lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two.  By game scores this was his worst game of the season, and it was his second-shortest start.  He would bounce back to throw complete games in his next two starts.

Hamm would go back to AAA after this game, and would not pitch in the majors again until September 26.

Luis Tiant made his only relief appearance of the season, allowing two runs in two innings.

The Twins lost two out of three in the series and had lost five of their last six games against the last-place Senators.  They would now host Boston for three games.

Record:  The Twins were 73-50, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-two

WASHINGTON 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, August 22.

Batting stars:  Jim Kaat was 2-for-2 with a double.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his thirty-eighth) and two walks.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his tenth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out six in four innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Frank Howard was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his thirty-third and thirty-fourth) and two walks.  Tim Cullen was 2-for-4.  Rick Reichardt was 2-for-5 with a double.  Tom Grieve was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  George Brunet pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Darold Knowles pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.  Horacio Pina pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  With one out in the first, Wayne Comer walked, went to second on a pickoff error, and stole third.  Frank Howard then walked, and a force out scored Comer.  Aurelio Rodriguez doubled to put men on second and third, and Grieve delivered a two-run single to make it 3-0 Senators before the Twins came to bat.

The Twins came back.  With one out in the second Jim Holt doubled and Cardenas followed with a two-run homer to cut the lead to 3-2.  With one out in the third Tony Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer to put the Twins in front 4-3.

The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the fourth, but Thompson hit into a double play to end the inning.  It cost them, as Howard homered in the fifth to tie the score 4-4.  Washington went on to put two on with one out, but a pair of ground outs ended the inning.  The Twins had two on with one out in the eighth but another double play, this one hit into by Cardenas, ended the inning.  Cesar Tovar hit a two-out double in the ninth, but nothing came of it.

Howard led off the tenth with his second home run to put the Senators up 5-4.  Killebrew walked with one out in the bottom of the tenth, but a pair of forceouts ended the game.

WP:  Pina (4-1).

LP:  Hall (6-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in center, with Tovar in left.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field, with Tovar moving to center.  Bob Allison pinch-ran for Killebrew in the tenth.

Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .319.  Hall had an ERA of 2.85.

Kaat pitched well after the first inning, but his line was still six innings, four runs. eight hits, and four walks.  He struck out two.

I understand why you would pinch-run for Killebrew in the tenth, but I don't know why you would use Allison.  Allison had some speed when he was younger--Dazzle would've said "he can run a little bit"--but he was thirty-five by this time, and whatever speed he had was basically gone.  Certainly Frank Quilici would've been a better pinch-runner, plus he could've gone to third base if the Twins had tied the score.  In addition, while Allison wasn't the hitter he had once been, he'd have been a better pinch-hitter than Quilici if the game had continued.  I don't understand this one.

Jim Hannan was the Washington starter.  He lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, with no walks and no strikeouts.

I've probably pointed this out before, but Aurelio Rodriguez has all the vowels in his first name and all but one in his last name.

Record:  The Twins were 73-49, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-one

MINNESOTA 4, WASHINGTON 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 21.

Batting stars:  Jim Holt was 2-for-2.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two triples and two runs.  Tom Tischinski was 1-for-3 with a home run.

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

Opposition star:  Ed Stroud was 3-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  The Senators opened the game with two singles but did not score.  In the second, however, Ed Brinkman singled and Paul Casanova tripled to give Washington a 1-0 lead.  They had a man on third with none out, but did not score him.  They added a run in third, though, when Mike Epstein tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly.  The got one more run in the fourth when Tim Cullen doubled and scored on Stroud's single.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Tovar tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly.  They tied it in the sixth when Holt singled, Tovar hit an RBI triple, and Danny Thompson had a run-scoring single.  Tischinski homered in the seventh to give the Twins the lead at 4-3.

And that was it.  The Senators got only one hit after the fourth inning, a leadoff single by Stroud in the seventh.  He was bunted to second, but remained there.  Well, he's probably not there any more, but you know what I mean.

WP:  Williams (8-0).

LP:  Casey Cox (7-9).

S:  None.

Notes:   Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Holt pinch-hit for Blyleven in the sixth and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out of the game.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Harmon Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Williams had an ERA of 2.06.

Tischinski was batting .182.

There were four triples in the game, which I'm sure is nowhere near the record but still seems noteworthy, given the number of games in which you don't even see one.  Tovar led the league in triples in 1970 with 13, nearly twice his next-highest season total (7 in 1967).  He also led the league in doubles with 36,

This was Tischinski's only major league home run.  At least it was a game-winner.  He hit only eleven home runs in the minors, with six of them coming in 1963 with Class A Rocky Mount.

Record:  The Twins were 73-48, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty

NEW YORK 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 20.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two RBIs.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.

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

Opposition stars:  Jim Lyttle was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mel Stottlemyre pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  Reese tripled leading off the second and scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees tied it in the fourth when Frank Baker walked and Bobby Murcer delivered an RBI double.  The Twins took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth when Cardenas homered.

It stayed 2-1 Twins until the seventh.  John Ellis led off the seventh with a double and Lyttle followed with a double, but Ellis could only reach third.  A ground out scored a run to tie it.  A fielder's choice with no one retired somehow put men on second and third.  Stottlemyre then hit a triple, scoring both runs and putting the Yankees up 4-2.

Mitterwald homered in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-3.  The Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the eighth, but Jim Holt struck out and the Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Stottlemyre (12-10).

LP:  Bill Zepp (6-3).

S:  Lindy McDaniel (17).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in center, with Cesar Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Tom Hall in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Tovar in the seventh.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .321.  Hall retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 2.87.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.41.

Stottlemyre hit six triples in his career.  This was his second of the season, which was a career high for him.  While he wasn't an awful batter for a pitcher, he wasn't particularly good, either:  .160/.213/.223 in 749 at-bats.

Reese hit seventeen triples in his career.  He hit five in 1970, which was also his career high.

It was Stottlemyre's bad luck to come to the Yankees just as their dynasty was ending, and to suffer a torn rotator cuff shortly before their next dynasty began.  Had he played for the Yankees when they were good, and had he not gotten injured, he would almost certainly have had a much higher win total, made some post-season appearances, and possibly (who knows?) have made the Hall of Fame.  As it was, he went 164-139, with a career 2.97 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  He was an all-star five times, led the league in complete games twice, and in innings pitched once.  However, because the team was bad, he twice led the league in losses, once with an ERA of 3.80 and once with an ERA of 3.22.  I guess the point, if there is one, is that circumstances that you can 't control can play a significant role in the success of ballplayers, and of human beings generally.

The loss snapped the Twins' three-game winning streak.  Their homestand would continue with three against Washington and three against Boston.

Record:  The Twins were 72-48, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.