MILWAUKEE 8, MINNESOTA 5 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Wednesday, June 17.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Al Newman was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Robin Yount was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and three RBIs.  B. J. Surhoff was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his fourth) and a walk.  Juan Castillo was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

The game:  Newman had an RBI double in the third and Larkin had a two-run double in the fourth to put the Twins ahead 3-0.  In the bottom of the fourth, however, Surhoff hit a three-run homer and Castillo singled in a run later in the inning to give the Brewers a 4-3 lead.  The Twins battled back, as Gladden doubled in a run in the fifth to tie it and Larkin homered in the sixth to give the Twins a 5-4 advantage.  It was short-lived, though, as Yount hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth to put Milwaukee on top 6-5.  Yount struck again in the eighth, delivering a two-run single that gave the Brewers some insurance runs.  The Twins did not get a hit after the Larkin homer in the sixth.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a run and was batting .326.  Larkin raised his average to .328.  Roy Smalley pinch-hit and was 0-for-1, making his average .316.  Neither starter lasted long.  Mike Smithson pitched well for three innings, but his line is 3.1 innings, four runs, nine hits, one walk, and four strikeouts.  John Henry Johnson didn't do a lot better, going 4.1 innings and allowing four runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 37-28, in first place by two games over Oakland.

Notes:  It was an unusual lineup.  Newman was at third base in place of Gary Gaetti and led off.  Greg Gagne batted second, Gladden third, and Puckett fourth.  Larkin was the DH, with Smalley out of the lineup, and Sal Butera caught in place of Tim Laudner.

Player profile:  Juan Castillo was the more-or-less regular second baseman for Milwaukee in 1987, the only season he would see that much playing time.  He came from the cradle of shortstop, San Pedro de Macoris, and signed with the Brewers in 1979.  He never hit much, even in the minors.  His best season was 1984, when he batted .288 with an OPS of .736 for AA El Paso.  He started 1986 in the majors as reserve infielder but was not used much, playing in only 26 games in half a season and batting just .167.  He was the most regular of the second basemen Milwaukee had in 1987, starting 81 games, as Jim Gantner missed about half the season.  He did not take advantage of his chance, batting .224 with an OPS of .613.  He was back to a reserve role in 1988 and after the 1989 season he was a free agent.  He was in AAA for Cleveland in 1990, in AAA back with Milwaukee in 1991, and played sporadically in the Mexican League through 1998.  His major league numbers were .215/.282/.279 in 469 at-bats (199 games).  At last report, Juan Castillo was living in Miami.

MINNESOTA 7, MILWAUKEE 3 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Tuesday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 3-for-4 with a triple and two doubles, driving in four.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5 with a home run, his fourteenth.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola struck out six in 6.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Chuck Crim pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  Bill Schroeder was 2-for-4 with a run.  Dale Sveum was 1-for-2 with a walk and an RBI.

The game:  Gagne hit a two-run triple in the second to open the scoring.  Milwaukee got one back in the fifth, but the Twins broke it open with three in the eighth and two in the ninth.  Hrbek opened the eighth with a home run and Gagne delivered a two-run double later in the inning.  Milwaukee rallied in the ninth, scoring twice on four singles and bringing Jeff Reardon into the game.  He threw a wild pitch but then retired Rick Manning on a fly ball for one of the easier saves of his career.

Of note:  Roy Smalley was 2-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one, to make his average .317.  Puckett raised his average to .327.  Gene Larkin was 0-for-5, dropping his average to .318.  Viola's ERA was 3.30.

Record:  The Twins were 37-27. in first place, two games ahead of Oakland.

Notes:  Smalley played third base, with Larkin at DH and Gary Gaetti out of the lineup.

Player profile:  This was one of only six career starts Chuck Crim made.  Five of them were in June of 1987, with this being his fourth.  It was his rookie year--he started it in the bullpen and moved into the rotation on June 2.  Two of his starts were fairly good, but as a starter he was 1-4, 5.17, 1.58 WHIP.  He was pretty good as a reliever, though, and stayed pretty good through 1990.  He led the league in appearances in 1988 and 1989 and came close in 1990, averaging over 100 relief innings in those three seasons.  The workload may have taken a toll, though, because he never had a good season after 1990.  He was with California from 1992-93, but was released at the end of May of 1993.  He missed the rest of the season, came back with the Cubs in 1994, but then his playing career was over.  He was never the closer, but for his career he was 47-43, 45 saves, 3.83, 1.35 WHIP.  He was a coach for many years, most recently as the bullpen coach of the Dodgers from 2013-15, but does not appear to have a job in baseball at the moment.

MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 0 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Monday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his third.  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven didn't leave any pitches up in this game throwing a four-hit complete game shutout with two walks and six strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  None, really, but we'll note that Bill Wegman also pitched a complete game, giving up five runs on eleven hits and no walks with four strikeouts.

The game:  Three of the first four Twins batters in the fourth inning singled, with Roy Smalley driving in a run.  Bush then killed the rally with a three-run homer to put the Twins up 4-0.  The Twins added a run in the fifth on Al Newman's RBI single.  The only Brewers threat came in the third, when they had men on first and third with two out.  The threat ended when Milwaukee tried a second-and-home double steal, with Jim Gantner getting thrown out at the plate.

Of note:  Puckett raised his average to .325.  Smalley was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI, making his average .313.

Record:  The Twins were 36-27, in first place by two games over Oakland.

Notes:  Lombardozzi was back in the number two spot for this game...Bush was in right field, with Tom Brunansky out of the lineup...Sal Butera caught, with Tim Laudner out of the lineup.

Player profile:  Right-hander Bill Wegman pitched for Milwaukee for ten seasons (eleven if you count three starts in 1985) and was pretty good in two of them.  He was drafted in the fifth round in 1981, got a September call-up in 1985.  He was a rotation starter from 1986-88, and given his stats one suspects he had a lot of games like this one, where he pitched pretty well except for a big home run or two.  He averaged over two hundred innings in those seasons--his ERA was well over four, but his WHIP was under 1.3, but he gave up 87 home runs.  He was apparently injured much of 1989 and 1990, pitching only 80.2 innings in those two years combined, but when he came back in 1991 he had the best year of his career, going 15-7, 2.84, 1.12 WHIP.  He followed that up in 1992 with a season almost as good:  13-14, 3.20, 1.17 WHIP.  He still gave up home runs, his walk rate went down a little, and his hits per nine innings went down some.  His FIP went down some in those years, but not nearly as much as his ERA.  Unfortunately for him, whatever magic he found in those years was gone in 1993, as he went 4-14, 4.48, 1.40 WHIP.  His next two seasons were no better, and his playing career after that.  At last report, Bill Wegman had become a pastor and was working at a church in the Cincinnati area.

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 3 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Tim Laudner was 1-for-4 with a grand slam (his sixth homer), driving in five.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs.  Steve Lombardozzi was 3-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and a run.

Pitching stars:  Joe Niekro pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer struck out three in three perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Bryan Clark pitched 4.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Ray Searage struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Ivan Calderon was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.

The game:  Laudner hit a grand slam in a five-run second that put the Twins in the lead to stay.  The White Sox got back in the game with three in the fourth, getting a two-run double from Calderon and an RBI double by Donnie Hill.  The Twins added a run in the fifth.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-4 with a walk and was batting .318.  Roy Smalley was 0-for-3 with two walks and was batting .315.  Chicago starter Jose De Leon lasted only 1.2 innings, surrendering five runs on six hits and two walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 35-27, in first place, two games ahead of Oakland.

Notes:  Randy Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup.  Steve Lombardozzi batted leadoff, with Bush second.

Player profile:  We all know that Ken Williams is the general manager of the White Sox, but I don't remember anything about his playing career.  An outfielder, he was drafted by the White Sox in the third round in 1982 and came to the big leagues as a September call-up in 1986.  He started 1987 in AAA but came up to Chicago in mid-May and was their starting center fielder the rest of the season.  He did pretty well for a twenty-three-year-old rookie:  .281/.314/.422 with 11 homers and 21 stolen bases.  The White Sox decided to move him to third base in 1988, playing Dave Gallagher in center.  It did not go well for Williams--he was batting just .165 when he was sent to the minors in late May, and when he came back at the end of June he was a reserve outfielder.  Chicago traded him to Detroit in March of 1989 for Eric King.  He did little for the Tigers in a season and a half and was waived in mid-June of 1990, selected by Toronto.  The Blue Jays waived him in June of 1991 and he was taken by Montreal.  He was a reserve outfielder for them for most of the rest of the season and did okay in that role, batting .271 with an OPS of .711.  He signed with Milwaukee for 1992 but spent the season in AAA.  He did well there, but apparently not well enough to impress anyone, and his playing career ended after that.  He joined the White Sox front office the next season, working his way up to general manager in 2000.  One wonders what might have happened if the White Sox had left him in center field, but things seem to have worked out pretty well for Ken Williams anyway.

CHICAGO 6, MINNESOTA 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Saturday, June 13.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourteenth.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirteenth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Les Straker pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Richard Dotson pitched seven shutout innings, giving up six hits and two walks while striking out three.  Ivan Calderon was 3-for-4 with a triple and a double, scoring twice and driving in two.  Carlton Fisk was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  The White Sox scored single runs in the second and fifth to go up 2-0.  The Twins got on the board in the eighth, with a Kent Hrbek homer, but Chicago blew it open in the bottom of the eighth, getting two-run doubles from Calderon and Ken Williams to go ahead 6-1.  Brunansky homered in the ninth but the Twins did not do any more damage.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4, dropping his average to .311...Roy Smalley was 1-for-4 to make his average .321.

Record:  The Twins were 34-27, in first place by a game over Oakland.

Notes:  Steve Lombardozzi again batted second...Sal Butera was the starting catcher again.  While Tim Laudner was the primary catcher for the Twins in 1987, he only started 76 games, and he and Butera largely shared catching duties once Butera joined the team.

Player profile:  This was the first full season for Ivan Calderon, and it was his best one.  He was signed as a free agent by Seattle in 1979, saw some time in the majors with the Mariners from 1984-86, but was traded to the White Sox as the player to be named later in a deal for Scott Bradley.  He didn't play a lot that season, but in 1987 he had the starting right fielder job and made the most of it, batting .293/.362/.526 with 28 homers.  He struggled through an injury-plagues 1988, but bounced back in 1989 to bat .278, although his OPS dropped to .770.  He had similar number in 1990 and after the season was traded to Montreal in a deal that included Tim Raines. He had a good 1991 for the Expos, making his only all-star team and batting .300/.368/.471, the only time he batted .300.  He was hurt much of 1992, although he did okay when healthy.  That was as good as it got, though.  He was traded to Boston after the 1992 season, was released in August, finished up the season back with the White Sox, and then his playing career was over.  I seem to remember him as a better player than he was, but he had about five pretty solid major league seasons.  His career numbers are .272/.333/.442 with 104 home runs and 97 stolen bases.  Ivan Calderon was killed in a bar in December of 2003.  It appears to have been a deliberate murder, but the reasons for such murder were not apparent from a quick internet search.

MINNESOTA 7, CHICAGO 4 IN CHICAGO (SECOND GAME OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Friday, June 12.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 1-for-2 with three walks, scoring once and driving in two.  Roy Smalley was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring once.  Sal Butera was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Juan Berenguer struck out four in 3.1 innings of relief, giving up four hits and no walks.  Keith Atherton retired all four batters he faced, striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Harold Baines was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and three RBIs.  Jim Winn pitched 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits and five walks while striking out one.  Daryl Boston was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base (his eleventh), scoring twice.

The game:  Gladden's two-run single capped a four-run second that put the Twins up 4-0.  Baines hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 4-2, but the Twins got the runs back in the fifth on a two-run single by Gary Gaetti.  In the bottom of the fifth, the White Sox scored two on four consecutive singles to make it 6-4 and chase starter Mike Smithson from the game.  Benerguer came in to retire the side and the White Sox only once got the tying run on base after that, getting a pair of two-out singles in the seventh.  The Twins added an insurance run in the ninth on a pair of errors.

Of note:  Gaetti was 2-for-5 with two RBIs...Smalley raised his average to .324...Gene Larkin was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run to make his average .345...Berenguer lowered his ERA to 2.79.  Smithson pitched 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks while striking out three...Chicago starter Scott Nielsen pitched 4.2 innings, giving up six runs on six hits and three walks while striking out one.

Record:  The Twins were 34-26, in first place, 1.5 games ahead of Kansas City.  They would play .500 the rest of the season, but it would be good enough.

Notes:  Gladden played center, with Kirby Puckett going to the bench...Steve Lombardozzi was the number two hitter...Randy Bush batted third and played right field, with Tom Brunansky moving to left...Larkin played first base, with Kent Hrbek on the bench...Butera caught in place of Tim Laudner.

Player profile:  Daryl Boston was never a full-time player, but he was a part-timer for a long time.  He was a first round draft choice, taken with the seventh pick in 1981.  He was up-and-down between AAA and the majors from 1984-86, always putting up good numbers in AAA but not exactly making the most of his chances in the big leagues.  He spent about one more month in AAA in 1987, but then finally was in the majors to stay.  He was mostly used in center field, but saw significant time in left and occasionally played right field as well.  He had some power and some speed, but not really a lot of either one.  His offensive numbers were for the most part not terrible but not quite good, either.  He always seemed on the verge of putting things together with the White Sox, but never quite got there.  He was waived in late April of 1990 and claimed by the Mets.  He had some decent years for them as a platoon outfielder, posting an OPS in the .760s from 1990-92.  A free agent after that, he signed with Colorado for 1993 and had slightly better numbers, which one would assume is attributable to playing in Colorado.  He signed with the Yankees for 1994 but didn't play much or well for them.  He was in independent ball in 1995 and 1996 then retired as a player.  He has been a coach since then, mostly in the White Sox organization, and was the first base coach for the White Sox in 2016.

MINNESOTA 5, CHICAGO 2 IN CHICAGO (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Friday, June 12.

Batting stars:  Roy Smalley was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fourth.  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.

Pitching stars:  Frank Viola pitched seven shutout innings, giving up four hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Jeff Reardon struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Ken Williams was 2-for-4 with a run.  Carlton Fisk was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bryan Clark pitched two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.

The game:  It was scoreless until the sixth.  The first two Twins were retired, but Kirby Puckett walked, Kent Hrbek singled, Gaetti singled in a run, and Smalley hit a three-run homer to make it 4-0.  Gagne added a run with a homer in the eighth to make it 5-0.  The White Sox scored twice in the eighth off George Frazier, but Reardon came in to restore order and the tying run never came up to bat.

Of note:  Puckett was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run and was batting .312...Smalley raised his average to .323...Viola's ERA dropped to 3.52...Chicago starter Bill Long pitched seven innings, giving up five runs on eight hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins record was 33-26.  They moved into sole possession of first place by a game over Kansas City.

Notes:  Al Newman played second base in place of Steve Lombardozzi.  He batted ninth, with Gagne batting second.

Player profile:  It's kind of amazing how many guys who had fairly substantial careers I've completely forgotten about.  Bill Long was in his first full season in the majors in 1987, appearing in 29 games and making 23 starts.  He had been a second round draft choice by San Diego in 1981, but had been traded to the White Sox after the 1984 season along with Ozzie Guillen, Tim Lollar, and Luis Salazar for Lamarr Hoyt and minor leaguers Kevin Kristan and Todd Simmons.*  He pitched in four games for the White Sox in 1985 and came up to stay in early May of 1987.  He did okay--8-8, 4.37, 1.23 WHIP.  He led the league in fewest walks per nine innings at 1.5, and while he did not equal that again he always had good control.  He started 1988 in the bullpen but was back in the starting rotation again by mid-June.  He again did okay--8-11, 4.03, 1.32 WHIP.  He was twenty-eight at that point, so he wasn't a young phenom, but he looked like he might be a decent enough fourth or fifth starter.  He started 1989 as a rotation starter, but after a series of rough starts he was back in the bullpen by late June.  He did pretty well there--his overall season numbers don't look that good, but as a reliever he was 2-0, 2.75, 1.33 WHIP.  He was traded to the Cubs early in the 1990, season, and that was kind of the beginning of the end for him.  He had a poor year with them, was released at the end of the season, signed with Montreal for 1991, but made only three appearances for them and ten more in AAA before ending his playing career.  For his career, Bill Long was 27-27, 4.37, 1.37 WHIP in 518.2 innings (159 games, 52 starts).  At last report, Bill Long was a teacher at Gray Middle School in Union, Kentucky.

*For whatever reason, it seems like teams rarely make multi-player trades like this any more.  I miss it.

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, June 10.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-1 with a stolen base (his third), scoring twice.  Mark Davidson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out nine in eight innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks.  Jeff Reardon struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Charlie Liebrandt pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three unearned runs on three hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  Willie Wilson was 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases (his sixteenth and seventeenth), scoring twice.  Bo Jackson was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.

The game:  The Royals scored single runs in the first and third to take a 2-0 lead.  In the sixth, Blyleven left a pitch up to Jackson to make it 3-0.  The Twins had two out and a man on first when Liebrandt walked Gladden and pinch-hitter Tim Laudner to load the bases.  Dan Quisenberry came in and got Kirby Puckett to ground one to first base, but Steve Balboni made an error and all three runs scored to tie the game.  The game went to extra innings.  Gagne led off the tenth with a single off Jerry Don Gleaton and stole second.  Gary Gaetti was intentionally walked, but Gene Larkin lined a single to left to win the game for the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 32-26 and moved into first place, a game ahead of Kansas City.

Notes:  The win completed a sweep of Kansas City and gave the Twins five wins in a row...Al Newman made his fourth consecutive start at shortstop in place of Gagne, who came in as a pinch-runner in the eighth...Larkin made his second consecutive start at first base in place of Kent Hrbek, who presumably had a minor injury...Davidson was in right field, with Brunansky at DH and Roy Smalley out of the lineup.  I had no memory that Davidson played so much in 1987...Sal Butera caught, with Laudner coming in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning...Puckett was 0-for-5, dropping his average to .312...Larkin was 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI and was batting .353.

Player profile:  Willie Wilson is another fine player from the 1980s who has kind of dropped off the radar screen.  He was a first round draft choice in 1974, got September call-ups in 1976 and 1977, and came up to stay in 1978.  He was mostly used as a reserve that year and didn't do much, but he won the starting left field job in 1979 and made the most of it, batting .315 with a league-leading 83 stolen bases.  It may seem odd that a man that fast was in left, but the Royals also had a fine center fielder in Amos Otis.  Wilson had an even better year in 1980, batting .326 and leading the league in runs, hits, and triples.  He finished fourth in the MVP voting that year, winning his only Gold Glove and one of his two Silver Slugger awards.  His best year may have been 1982, when he won his only batting title with a .332 average and again led the league in triples with 15.  He took over the center field job in 1983, when an aging Otis moved to right.  He held the job through 1990, when he became a free agent and signed with Oakland.  Now thirty-five, he really didn't do a lot in his two years with the Athletics.  He went to the Cubs in 1993 but was just a part-time player then until his release in May of 1994.  He had a pretty good run, though, making two all-star teams, getting votes for MVP four times, and leading the league in triples five times.  For his career, he batted .285/.326/.376 with 147 triples and 668 stolen bases (twelfth all time).  He also had thirteen inside-the-park home runs.

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 8.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 1-for-1 with a triple and three RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.  Roy Smalley was 2-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Mike Smithson pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.  Jeff Reardon struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Frank White was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Willie Wilson was 2-for-5.  Bo Jackson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.

The game:  Puckett's homer in the sixth tied the score 2-2.  The Twins opened the seventh with singles by Smalley and Tom Brunansky.  Steve Lombardozzi bunted, but the Royals failed to get an out at third base, loading the bases.  Dan Gladden hit into a force out at home, but Larkin pinch-hit for Al Newman and lined a triple down the right field line to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.  The Royals threatened in the ninth.  They opened the inning with a walk and a single off George Frazier, bringing Reardon into the game.  He struck out the first two men he faced, but Hal McRae singled in a run and Wilson got an infield single to load the bases.  Kevin Seitzer then struck out to end the game.

Of note:  Randy Bush was 2-for-4...Mark Gubicza started for Kansas City and pitched well for six innings, but was charged with five runs in six innings, giving up six hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 30-26, in second place, one game behind Kansas City.

Notes:  As you can see, this was a big series for early June, with the second place Twins playing the first place Royals...Newman was again at shortstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Gladden on the bench...Sal Butera was again the catcher, replacing Tim Laudner...Larkin raised his average to .372...Puckett went down to .316...Smalley raised his average to .318...The Twins pinch-ran for Smalley, the DH, in the seventh inning, meaning that Frazier and Reardon were in the lineup.  Their spot did not come up.

Player profile:  Bo Jackson, of course, was a star football player and was injured in football in 1990.  He tried to come back in baseball, and did play for the White Sox in 1991 and 1993 and actually was pretty decent as a part-time player for California in 1994.  He was never the same player he had been, though.  He got a September call-up with the Royals in 1986 and was a starting outfielder for them from 1987-1990.  He struck out a lot, but he also hit for power and stole a good number of bases.  In addition, he made some spectacular plays in the outfield.  In his four-plus seasons before getting hurt, he hit .250/.309/.474 with 142 home runs and 82 stolen bases.  He made one all-star team, in 1989, famously hitting a home run in the first inning.  He might have come back after the 1994 season--he hit .274/.344/.507 in 201 at-bats that season--but after the players' strike he decided he was enjoying spending the time with his family and elected not to play any more.  He has kept a relatively low profile since then, so much so that many people have forgotten what an incredibly talented and popular athlete he once was.  Still, there's something refreshing in this day and age about an athlete gracefully stepping out of the spotlight.