Tag Archives: 1970 rewind

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nineteen

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, August 19.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a double.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out five.

Opposition star:  Fritz Peterson pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out two.

The game:  There was no score in the first three innings.  The Yankees got men on first and third with two out in the fourth but did not score.  It cost them.  In the bottom of the fourth Killebrew hit a one-out single.  The next batter went out, but two-out singles by Brant Alyea, Reese, and Leo Cardenas resulted in two runs.  It stayed 2-0 until the eighth, when Danny Thompson singled with two out and scored on Killebrew's double.

The Yankees had some threats early.  Horace Clarke walked leading off the game and reached second with two out.  Jake Gibbs hit a two-out triple.  Singles by Bobby Murcer and Jim Lyttle put men on first and third with two out in the fourth.  But they got only one hit after that, a two-out single by Clarke in the eighth.

WP:  Perry (18-10).

LP:  Peterson (13-8).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea and went to center field, with Cesar Tovar moving to left.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth and went to second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .321.  Perry had an ERA of 2.94.

Tischinski was 0-for-3 and was batting .171.

This was one of four shutouts Perry had in 1970.  He had thirty-two for his career.  It was one of thirteen complete games he had in 1970, the most he had in a season.  He had 109 for his career.

The Twins had followed up their nine game losing streak with a three game winning streak.

Record:  The Twins were 72-47, in first place in the American League West, 5.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eighteen

MINNESOTA 8, NEW YORK 7 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 18.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Danny Thompson was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-3 with two walks, a stolen base (his twenty-third), and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Pete Hamm retired all four men he faced.  Stan Williams struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.  Tom Hall struck out three in three perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  John Ellis was 3-for-4 with a home run (his sixth), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Horace Clarke was 2-for-4 with a walk and two stolen bases, his fourteenth and fifteenth.  Danny Cater was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Ron Klimkowski pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  In the first Tovar singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an Oliva single to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Yankees took the lead in the second:  with one out Ellis singled, Ron Woods doubled, and Jake Gibbs hit a two-run single.  The Twins got the lead back in the bottom of the second when, with two out, Tom Tischinski singled, Jim Kaat walked, and Tovar and Thompson hit RBI singles.  New York got the lead back in the third when Gene Michael reached on an error and Cater and Ellis homered.  You could say it was a see-saw game, with the Yankees leading 5-3 after three.

The Twins got the lead back in the fourth:  Tischinski walked with one out, Tovar walked with two out, Thompson had an RBI single, Harmon Killebrew walked to load the bases, and Oliva delivered a two-run single.  But New York took the lead right back in the fifth.  Roy White singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out triple by Bobby Murcer.  Ellis followed with a double, and it was 7-6 Yankees.

Then, suddenly, the scoring stopped.  The Twins managed just two singles in innings five through eight.  In the ninth, Thompson led off with a bunt single.  Killebrew hit into a force out, but Oliva doubled to put men on second and third and Jim Holt delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to win it for the Twins.

WP:  Hall (6-4).

LP:  Lindy McDaniel (8-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew on first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Frank Quilici pinch-hit for Hamm in the fourth.  Reese pinch-hit for Williams in the sixth and stayed in the game at first base, with Killebrew moving to third, Renick to left, and Brant Alyea to the bench.  Manuel pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going in at catcher.  Bob Allison pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.  Holt pinch-hit for Hall in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .323.  Williams had an ERA of 2.13.  Hall had an ERA of 2.89.

Tischinski was 1-for-2 and was batting .184.  Hamm had an ERA of 5.23.

Neither starting pitcher did well.  Mike Kekich of the Yankees pitched 3.2 innings, allowing five runs on four hits and four walks.  He struck out five.  Kaat pitched just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk and struck out two.

There were seven lead-changes in the game.

It was the Twins' second consecutive win after nine straight losses.

Klimkowski had an excellent year for the Yankees, going 6-7, 2.65, 1.15 WHIP in 98.1 innings (45 games).  He was traded to Oakland at the start of the 1971 season and was quite as good, but was still an effective pitcher.  The Athletics released him after the season, though.  He signed back with the Yankees for 1972 but had a poor season, spent 1973 in the minors, and then was done.

Record:  The Twins were 71-47, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Seventeen

MINNESOTA 9, BOSTON 6 IN BOSTON

Date:  Sunday, August 16.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirty-seventh), a walk, and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his ninth) and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eleventh) and a walk.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  John Kennedy was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Tony Conigliaro was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-second), a double, and two runs.  Jerry Moses was 1-for-1 with a home run, his sixth.  Reggie Smith was 1-for-5 with a home run, his seventeenth.  Ed Phillips pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out two.

The game:  In the first Tovar and Killebrew walked, a wild pitch moved them up, and they scored on a two-run double by Oliva to gie the Twins a 2-0 lead.  The Red Sox got one back in the bottom of the first on doubles by Andrews and Carl Yastrzemski and tied it in the second when George Thomas doubled and scored on Kennedy's single.

Boston took the lead in the third on doubles by Conigliaro and Kennedy.  The Twins took the lead back in the fourth when Alyea homered, Bob Allison walked, and Mitterwald homered, giving the Twins a 5-3 advantage.  Smith homered in the bottom of the fourth to make it 5-4.

Killebrew homered in the top of the seventh and Conigliaro homered in the bottom of the seventh, moving the score to 6-5.  Rich Reese led off the eighth with a walk and was bunted to second.  With two out, pinch-hitter Charlie Manuel was intentionally walked and Tovar hit a three-run homer, giving the Twins a 9-5 lead.  Moses homered in the eighth to make it 9-6, but that's where it stayed.

WP:  Bert Blyleven (7-5).

LP:  Gary Peters (11-10).

S:  Stan Willams (10).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Allison was at first base in place of Reese.  Reese replaced Allison at first base in the sixth inning.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in the seventh and went to center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Manuel pinch-hit for Blyleven in the eighth.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew in the ninth and went to second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Luis Tiant was 0-for-1 and was batting .414.  Oliva was batting .321.  Williams allowed one run in two innings and had an ERA of 2.17.

Tiant started but pitched just 1.1 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out one.  It appears that was as much due to injury as performance.  He would pitch in relief a week later, make two more starts, then miss three weeks before making one final start.

It was two short starts in a row, but Bill Rigney saved the bullpen by using yesterday's starter, Blyleven, for 5.2 innings of relief.  I could have included him as a "pitching star" simply for that reason.  He gave up three runs on five hits and two walks and struck out four.  It was his second and last relief appearance of the season.  He would pitch in relief only five more times in his career, and never more than twice in a season.

I assume you know the story of Tony Conigliaro.  He actually had an excellent season in 1970, batting .266 with 36 homers and an OPS of .822.  It was the last good season he would have, though.

I wish I understood how Rigney decided when to use Tovar in center and Holt in left and when to reverse it.  I assume he had reasons, that he wasn't just doing it based on some sort of gut instinct or something, but I have no idea what the reasons may have been.

I don't recall having heard of Ed Phillips.  This was his only year in the majors.  He appeared in twenty-two games, going 0-2, 5.32, 1.65 WHIP.  He started the season well, posting an ERA of 1.50 through his first eight appearances.  It appears that he was injured at that point, and when he came back he was not the same pitcher.  He never did get it back, and was out of baseball after the 1971 season.

The win snapped the Twins' nine-game losing streak.

Record:  The Twins were 70-47, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixteen

BOSTON 11, MINNESOTA 7 IN BOSTON (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his nineteenth), a walk, and two runs.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his tenth.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Carl Yastrzemski was 3-for-4 with a home run (his thirty-third), a walk, and three runs.  George Thomas was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), a double, a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Reggie Smith was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his sixteenth), a double, and two runs.  John Kennedy was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Gary Wagner pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Mike Andrews led off with a walk and Smith and Yastrzemski followed with back to back homers, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  In the third, two-out walks to Danny Thompson and Harmon Killebrew were followed by a three-run homer by Oliva, tying it 3-3.

The Twins took the lead in the fourth.  With one out, Leo Cardenas and George Mitterwald walked, Bob Allison had an RBI double, and a ground out scored a second run, putting the Twins up 5-3.  With one out in the fifth, Oliva walked and Alyea homered, making the score 7-3 Twins.

But it was all Boston after that.  In the bottom of the fifth Conigliaro tripled and Thomas homered, cutting the lead to 7-5.  In the seventh Smith led off with a double and Yastrzemski walked.  Rico Petrocelli followed with an RBI single.  A bunt advanced the runners and a fielder's choice with no one retired loaded the bases.  RBI singles by Kennedy and Jerry Moses put the Red Sox in the lead and a walk to Andrews made it 9-7 Boston.  The Red Sox added two runs in the eighth.  Yastrzemski led off with a double.  He was still at second with two out, but then Thomas drove him in with a double and Kennedy followed with an RBI single, bringing the score to 11-7.

The Twins had only two hits after the fifth and did not have more than one man on base.

WP:  Wagner (3-1).

LP:  Ron Perranoski (7-5).

S:  None.

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

Bob Allison pinch-hit for Woodson in the fourth.  Frank Quilici replaced Renick in the seventh and went to second base, with Thompson moving to third.  Reese pinch-hit for Mitterwald in the eighth, with Tom Tischinski going behind the plate.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Perranoski in the eighth.

Oliva was batting .320.  Tom Hall allowed three runs in three innings and had an ERA of 2.99.  Perranoski allowed three runs in one inning and had an ERA of 2.48.

Pete Hamm allowed two runs in one inning and had an ERA of 6.00.

Bert Blyleven started but faced just five batters, retiring only one.  He gave up a walk, two home runs, recorded a strikeout, gave up a double, and was removed from the game.  He was apparently not injured or ill, as he would come back to pitch the next day.  It was apparently just a quick hook.  Maybe that's what you do when you've lost eight straight games.

When you saw the Twins had scored seven runs, you may have thought, well, they finally got their bats going.  Well, not really.  They hit two home runs, but only had five hits.  They drew eight walks and took advantage of some of them, but other than that their offense was no better than it had been.

George Thomas would play briefly for the Twins in 1971, at the end of his career.  This was the last home run he would hit in his career.

This was the ninth consecutive loss for the Twins.  I wonder what the record is for most consecutive losses in a season where you win 98 or more games.  It seems like it can't be a lot more than nine.

This game was the make-up of a rainout on June 3.

Record:  The Twins were 69-47, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifteen

BOSTON 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN BOSTON (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Saturday, August 15.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  None.

Opposition stars:  Reggie Smith was 3-for-3.  Rico Petrocelli was 3-for-4 with a home run (his twentieth) and two RBIs.  Mike Andrews was 2-for-4.  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-4.  Sonny Siebert pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.

The game:  With one out in the first Rich Reese singled and scored on an Oliva double to put the Twins up 1-0.  They had a chance for more, loading the bases with one out, but did not add to their lead.  In the bottom of the first singles by Andrews and Smith put men on first and third with none out and a double play tied the score.

The Twins went back in front in the second.  Danny Thompson singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single.  Tovar took second on the throw home and scored on an Oliva single to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.  The Red Sox got one back in the bottom of the inning when Petrocelli led off with a homer, making the score 3-2.

The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the third but failed to score.  From there, neither team threatened until the sixth.  With one out, Smith singled and an error put men on first and second.  With two out, RBI singles by Petrocelli and Conigliaro gave Boston its first lead at 4-3.  They got an insurance run in the seventh when Tom Satriano singled, went to third on Andrews' single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Twins did not threaten after the third inning, getting only two singles and not advancing a man past first base.

WP:  Siebert (13-6).

LP;  Jim Perry (17-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Harmon Killebrew given a rare game off.  Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .318.  Williams gave up a run in 2.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.11.

Perry pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out three.

Bill Rigney had, for several games, started Holt in center field and moved Tovar to left.  In recent games, he put Alyea back in left and moved Tovar back to center, presumably trying to get more offense into a slumping lineup.  But here, when he used Holt as a defensive substitute, he put him in left and left Tovar in center.  Interesting.

The Twins had now lost eight in a row.  They had scored fifteen runs in those eight games and had been scored 38-15.  In their last eleven games they had scored twenty-two runs.

Record:  The Twins were 69-46, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fourteen

BOSTON 8, MINNESOTA 1 IN BOSTON

Date:  Friday, August 14.

Batting stars:  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4 with a home run, his ninth.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his twenty-second.

Pitching star:  Bill Zepp pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and five walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Mike Andrews was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and three runs.  Carl Yastrzemski was 2-for-2 with a home run (his thirty-second), three walks, and three RBIs.  Rico Petrocelli was 2-for-3 with a home run (his nineteenth), two walks, and two runs.  Reggie Smith was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and two RBIs.  Jerry Moses was 2-for-4.  Ray Culp pitched a complete game, giving up one run on nine hits and three walks and striking out eight.

The game:  The Twins had two on with one out in the first but did not score.  In the bottom of the first Andrews led off with a walk and Smith doubled him home to get the Red Sox on the board.  The Twins had two on with none out in the second but did not score.  In the bottom of the second two-out singles by Moses, Culp, and Andrews made it 2-0 Boston.

Alyea homered leading off the fourth to make it 2-1.  The Twins had two on with two out in the fifth but did not score.  Petrocelli got the run back for the Red Sox with a homer leading off the sixth.

The Twins loaded the bases in the seventh but did not score.  In the bottom of the seventh, Boston took control of the game.  Andrews singled and Yastrzemski hit a two-run homer to make the score 5-1.  Later in the inning, a walk and two errors made it 6-1.  The Red Sox added two more in the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Andrews and Smith and an RBI single by Yastrzemski.

WP:  Culp (13-10).

LP:  Zepp (6-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Tovar was back in center, with Alyea in left.

Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Jim Kaat then pinch-ran for Manuel.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth and stayed in the game at catcher.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Pete Hamm in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .316.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.97.  Tom Hall allowed five runs (four earned) in 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.78.

This was the Twins' seventh consecutive loss, and their offensive drought continued.  They had scored just twelve runs in the seven losses, being outscored 32-12.  In their last ten games, the Twins had scored just nineteen runs.

Record:  The Twins were 69-45, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of Oakland.  This was the smallest the Twins' lead had been since July 21.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirteen

5 Comments

WASHINGTON 1, MINNESOTA 0 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Thursday, August 13.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had only one hit.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up an unearned run on five hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Dick Bosman pitched a complete game shutout, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out seven.  Wayne Comer was 2-for-4.  Frank Howard was 1-for-1 with two walks.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off the game with a bunt single, and that would turn out to be the only Twins hit.  With one out in the bottom of the first, Comer laid down a bunt and reached third on a single-plus-error.  Howard was intentionally walked and Rick Reichardt hit into a force out, scoring Comer.

That was it for the scoring.  The Twins had only one other baserunner.  Kaat walked with one out in the sixth and was erased on a double play.  The unearned run in the first held up and Washington won 1-0.

WP:  Bosman (12-8).

LP:  Kaat (10-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in center, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Danny Thompson was again at second in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Rick Renick pinch-hit for Tischinski in the ninth.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Kaat in the ninth, but then Alyea pinch-hit for Manuel despite the fact that there was no pitching change.  The only explanations I can think of are that Manuel got hurt during the at-bat or that Bill Rigney thought there was a pitching change when there wasn't.  We note that Manuel was used as a pinch-hitter again the next day, so if he was injured it wasn't very serious.  But those are the only things I can think of for why you would do that.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .318.

Tischinski was 0-for-2 and was batting .182.

Bosman was a pretty good pitcher from 1968-1972.  He spent much of 1968 in the bullpen and went 2-9, but with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  It was the Year of the Pitcher, so maybe you don't think that's too impressive, but in 1969 he led the league in ERA at 2.19, going 14-5 with a WHIP of 1.01.  In this year, 1970, he was 16-12, 3.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP.  He was not quite as good in the next two seasons, but he still was a combined 3.70 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  He didn't do much the next two years, but bounced back in 1975 to go 11-6, 3.63, 1.17 WHIP.  For his career, which went from 1966-1976, he was 85-82, 3.67, 1.26 WHIP.  He's certainly not a Hall of Famer, and he never even made an all-star team.  But still, a very respectable career.

The Twins were swept by the last-place Senators.  It was their sixth consecutive loss.  They had scored eleven runs in those six games and been shut out twice.  In their last nine games they had scored only eighteen runs.  They would now go to fourth-place Boston for a four-game series.

Record:  The Twins were 69-44, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twelve

WASHINGTON 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Wednesday, August 12.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-1.  Luis Tiant was 1-for-2 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Stan Williams pitched a perfect inning.  Dick Woodson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Tom Hall pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Frank Howard was 2-for-3 with a home run (his thirty-first), a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Mike Epstein was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifteenth).  Jim Hannan pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out five.

The game:  Ed Stroud led off with a single and Howard hit a two-run homer to give the Senators a 2-0 lead.  The Twins got a run back in the second, but missed a chance for more.  Frank Quilici led off with a single and Tiant doubled, putting men on second and third with none out, but all the Twins could manage was an RBI ground out, cutting the lead to 2-1.

The Twins did tie it in the sixth.  Leo Cardenas led off with a double.  He was still on second with two out, but then an error brought him home, making the score 2-2.

It only stayed tied until the next time Washington batted.  Lee Maye reached on an error and scored on Howard's double.  Epstein then hit a two-run homer to give the Senators a 5-2 lead.  The Twins got one back in the eighth when Cesar Tovar singled, Harmon Killebrew drew a one-out walk, and Oliva followed with a pinch-hit RBI single.  The Twins had the tying run on base with one out, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.

Danny Thompson led off the ninth with a single and Bob Allison singled with one out, again putting the tying run on base.  But Tovar grounded into a double play and the game was over.

WP:  Hannan (8-5).

LP:  Tiant (7-2).

S:  Joe Grzenda (5).

Notes:  Charlie Manuel was given a rare start in right field, with Oliva given a rare day out of the lineup.  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.

Jim Holt pinch-hit for Williams in the seventh.  Oliva pinch-hit for Manuel in the eighth and stayed in the game in right field.  Thompson pinch-hit for Ratliff in the ninth.  Allison pinch-hit for Hall in the ninth.

Tiant was batting .429.  Oliva was batting .320.  Williams had an ERA of 2.06.  Hall had an ERA of 2.41.

Manuel was 0-for-3 and was batting .189.  Allison was 1-for-1 and was batting .185.

Tiant pitched five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits and no walks and striking out three.

The Twins had lost five in a row and had scored eleven runs in those five games, being outscored 24-11.  They had scored eighteen runs in their last eight games.  Obviously, the losing streak was causing their lead in the AL West to shrink.

Record:  The Twins were 69-43, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eleven

WASHINGTON 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN WASHINGTON (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, August 11.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his thirty-sixth) and a walk.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-1.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks and striking out seven.  Tom Hall struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two walks.

Opposition stars:  Aurelio Rodriguez was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his sixteenth) and a double.  Casey Cox pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on two hits and one walk and striking out two.  Horacio Pina pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Darold Knowles pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

The game:  Danny Thompson had a one-out bunt single in the first and with two-out, Killebrew hit a two-run homer to make it 2-0 Twins.

For a while, it looked like that would hold up.  The Senators had two on in the first with an error and a walk, had two on in the third with a single and a walk, and had two on in the fourth with a double and an intentional walk.  Still, it was 2-0 through seven.  In the eighth, however, Frank Howard hit a one-out single and Rodriguez hit a two-out two-run homer to tie it 2-2.

It remained 2-2 until the eleventh.  With one out, Ed Brinkman singled and scored from first on a double by Paul Casanova, ending the game.

WP:  Darold Knowles (2-11).

LP:  Bert Blyleven (6-5).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in center field, with Cesar Tovar in left and Alyea on the bench.  Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Jim Kaat pinch-ran for Killebrew in the tenth.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the tenth.  Frank Quilici went to second base, with Thompson moving to third.  Renick went to left, with Tovar moving to center.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .318.  Hall had an ERA of 2.44.

Tischinski was 0-for-4 and was batting .194.

Blyleven was used in relief to start the eleventh.  Obviously, it did not go well.  The Twins had used four relievers the previous day, and had used three the day before that, so perhaps the decision was understandable (although Hall had pitched five innings of relief two days earlier and was still used for two innings in this game).  This was one of two times Blyleven was used in relief in 1970 (we'll discuss the other when it comes up).  He would appear in relief seven times in his career.  While it's a small sample size, he did not do well as a reliever.  He pitched 12.1 innings and went 1-2, 4.97, 1.90 WHIP.

Despite his poor won-lost record, Knowles actually had a good year in 1970.  He had an ERA of 2.04 with 27 saves.  He appeared in 71 games and pitched 119.1 innings, both career highs.

The Twins had now dropped four games in a row.  In those four games, the Twins scored eight runs.  In their last seven games, the Twins had scored just fifteen runs.

Record:  The Twins were 69-42, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Ten

OAKLAND 7, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, August 10.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirty-fifth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Pete Hamm pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits.

Opposition stars:  Rick Monday was 4-for-5 with a home run (his eighth), two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Tony LaRussa was 3-for-4 with a double.  Tommy Davis was 3-for-5.  Don Mincher was 3-for-5.  Diego Segui was 2-for-3.  Segui also pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and six walks and striking out three.  Mudcat Grant pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out two.

The game:  It was close most of the way.  In the second, Sal Bando doubled and scored on Frank Fernandez' single to get the Athletics on the board.  The Twins got two on in the bottom of the second but did not score.  Monday homered with one out in the third to make it 2-0 Oakland.

The Twins eventually tied it, but missed on some good chances to get ahead.  In the bottom of the third Bill Zepp led off with a single-plus-error and Cesar Tovar had a bunt single to put men on first and third.  A double play scored a run.  A single and a walk followed that, but a ground out ended the inning.  In the fourth a single by Cardenas and walks to Tom Tischinski and Charlie Manuel loaded the bases with one out, but all the Twins could manage was a sacrifice fly, tying the score 2-2.

The Athletics put two on with two out in the sixth but did not score.  In the seventh, however, Monday doubled, went to third on a Davis single, and scored on Mincher's single to put Oakland up 3-2.  They put it out of reach in the eighth.  LaRussa led off with a double and Grant followed with a bunt single.  Bert Campaneris had an RBI single, Monday drove in a run with a double, and Davis and Mincher hit RBI singles to make the score 7-2.

Killebrew led off the eighth with a homer, but that was the last run the Twins scored.  They got a pair of two-out singles in the eighth, but a popup ended the inning and thpie Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Segui (7-8).

LP:  Ron Perranoski (7-4).

S:  Grant (20).

Notes:  The switch to Holt in center and Tovar in left appears to be permanent, as the Twins did it again in this game.  Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the fourth.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Perranoski in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field, with Tovar moving to second base and Thompson leaving the game.  Brant Alyea pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going behind the plate.  Jim Kaat pinch-hit for Dick Woodson in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .321.  Zepp allowed two runs in four innings and had an ERA of 2.87.  Perranoski gave up an unearned run in one inning and had an ERA of 2.16.  Stan Williams had a rare bad game, allowing three runs in a third of an inning, and had an ERA of 2.09.

I don't understand using Kaat as a pinch-hitter when Mitterwald and Frank Quilici were still on the bench, unless for some reason they were unavailable that day.  I know Kaat was always considered a good hitter, but he was "a good hitter for a pitcher" rather than an actual good hitter.  At this point in the season, he was batting .177 with an OPS of .401.  His career numbers are a batting average of .185 and an OPS of .494.  Not that Mitterwald and Quilici were great batters, but they were clearly better than that.

Once again, ex-Twins came back to haunt the Twins.

The loss was the Twins' third in a row and meant that they ended their homestand 5-5.  They next had a seven-game road trip, three in Washington and four in Boston.

Record:  The Twins were 69-41, in first place in the American League West, 6.5 games ahead of California.