MINNESOTA 3, BOSTON 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 15.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his ninth) and a walk.  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Dan Gladden was 1-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Juan Berenguer started and pitched eight shutout innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.  George Frazier pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Bruce Hurst pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk with five strikeouts.  Wade Boggs was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.

The game:  Boggs homered in the top of the fourth, but two singles and a sacrifice fly tied it in the bottom of the fourth.  Berenguer was brilliant.  Other than the Boggs homer all he gave up was a two-out single in the second, a two-out single in the fourth, and a leadoff walk in the seventh, none of whom got past first base.  In the ninth, Lombardozzi led off with a single and Puckett followed with a walkoff home run.

Of note:  Puckett was now batting .326...Tim Laudner was 0-for-3 and was now batting .056.

Record:  The Twins were 18-17, in fourth place, 1.5 games behind Kansas City.  Only six games separated the first and last place teams in the division.

Notes:  Mark Davidson started in right field, with Tom Brunansky at DH...Laudner started at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Hrbek was apparently just given a day off, as he played in the game prior to this one and would play in the next game.  The Twins would soon call up Gene Larkin to be the reserve first baseman.  Tom Nieto was the catcher...Berenguer would make six starts for the Twins in 1987.  In those starts, he went 2-0, 2.92, 1.30 WHIP.  Given how the Twins were looking for fourth and fifth starters all year, it's somewhat surprising Berenguer wasn't given more a look in the rotation.  One can only assume Tom Kelly thought that he was more valuable in the bullpen, and I don't mean to imply that I think he was wrong.

Player profile:  Bruce Hurst was never a big star--he made only one all-star team--but he was a solid rotation starter for ten seasons.  Born and raised in St. George, Utah, he was drafted by Boston with the twenty-second pick in 1976.  He got brief callups in 1980 and 1981, coming to the majors to stay in 1982.  He didn't do a lot that year, but he went into the rotation 1983 and didn't leave it until 1992.  His won-lost records are nothing to shout about, with the exception of 1988, but he consistently had a better-than-average ERA, made over thirty starts, and pitched more than two hundred innings.  He finished fifth in Cy Young voting in 1988, when he went 18-6, 3.66, 1.33 WHIP, and also finished fourteenth in MVP voting that year.  Other than his won-lost record, though, there's nothing in his numbers for that season that's out of line with what he did for most of his career.  He cashed in on that won-lost record, though, becoming a free agent after 1988 and signing with San Diego.  He continued to pitch well through 1992, then had injury problems.  He made only five starts in 1993, two with the Padres and three with Colorado, to whom he was traded in late July.  He was again a free agent after that season and signed with Texas, but made only eight starts for them and then was done.  He has done some coaching in China, coaching their entry in both the Asian Baseball Championship and the World Baseball Classic.  The baseball field at Dixie State University in his hometown of St. George is named after him.  His son Kyle pitched in the Angels organization from 2008-2012 but made only three appearances above Class A.  He'll never make the Hall of Fame, but for ten years he was a valuable guy to have on your team.

TORONTO 7, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 13.

Batting stars:  Roy Smalley was 2-for-4.  Mark Salas was 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter.

Pitching star:  Joe Klink struck out six in 6.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on five hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Jim Clancy pitched 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits, all singles, and a walk with five strikeouts.  Kelly Gruber was 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen bases, scoring twice and driving in one.  George Bell was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth) and two RBIs.

The game:  The Blue Jays scored all of their runs in the first three innings.  Bell singled in a run in the first, Fred McGriff homered in a two-run second, and Bell homered in a four-run third.  The Twins' only threat came in the eighth, when a single, a walk, and a single loaded the bases with one out.  Tom Henke then came in to replace Clancy, Steve Lombardozzi flied out to short center field, and Randy Bush struck out to end the inning.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-3 with a walk, dropping his average to .321...Tim Laudner was 0-for-3, dropping his average to .065...Twins starter Mark Portugal lasted only 2.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk with one strikeout.

Record:  The Twins were 17-16, in fourth place, 1.5 games behind Kansas City and Seattle.

Notes:  Bush was in right field for this one, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden on the bench...At this point, Klink's ERA was 3.18 in 17 innings, and if not for one rough outing in April it would've been 1.80.  Given how desperate the Twins were for fourth and fifth starters, it's a little surprising that they didn't give him a shot at it.  Not that I think he'd have gotten the job done, but when you look at some of the other guys they gave starts to, it's hard to think he'd have done much worse.

Player profile:  It's kind of amazing to me how many guys who were considered pretty good ballplayers at the time have been almost entirely forgotten now.  Kelly Gruber is another one of those.  He was drafted by Cleveland with the tenth pick of the 1980 draft.  He had a solid season in AA in 1983 as a twenty-one-year-old, but the Indians decided to trade for Brook Jacoby and left Gruber unprotected.  The Blue Jays took him in the Rule 5 draft and worked something out so he could stay in the minors for most of 1984 and 1985, then brought him up to stay in 1986.  He shared third base with Garth Iorg and Rance Mullinkis in 1987, although Gruber got more playing time there than either of them.  He became the regular in 1988 and rewarded the Blue Jays with four solid seasons, batting .274 with 85 homers over that span.  He made two all-start teams, one a gold glove, and also won a silver slugger.  His best season was 1990, when he hit .274/.330/.512 with 31 homers and finished fourth in MVP voting.  He slumped in 1992, was traded to California, played the 1993 season there, and was released in September.  He tried to come back in 1997, playing in 38 games in AAA for Baltimore, but while he didn't embarrass himself he wasn't particularly impressive, either.  At last report, Kelly Gruber was living in Austin, Texas (he's a native Texan) and made personal appearances and put on instructional camps.

BALTIMORE 10, MINNESOTA 7 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Tuesday, May 12.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Steve Lombardozzi was 3-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Fred Lynn was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, his fifth homer.  Larry Sheets was 1-for-1 with a three-run homer, his third.  Dave Van Gorder was 1-for-2 with a home run and a walk.

The game:  A walk and four consecutive singles plated four third-inning runs for the Twins.  The lead was cut to 4-3 after five, but Lombardozzi doubled home a run in the sixth and the Twins scored two in the eighth to go up 7-3.  Starter Frank Viola was still pitching into the eighth, but was replaced by Keith Atherton after a leadoff walk.  He retired the first two batters, but a single and a walk loaded the bases and Jeff Reardon came in.  Lynn greeted him with a grand slam to tie the game.  The Twins went down in order in the top of the ninth.  In the bottom of the ninth, with Reardon still pitching, the Orioles opened the inning with a pair of singles.  The next batter flied out, but Sheets hit a pinch-hit three-run homer to win the game for Baltimore.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-5 with a run and an RBI, dropping his average to .328...Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a run and an RBI, raising his average to .071...Viola pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts...Baltimore starter Mike Flanagan pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk with three strikeouts...Reardon was charged with four runs in two-thirds of an inning, raising his ERA to 10.67.

Record:  The Twins were 17-15, in fourth place, a half-game behind California, Kansas City, and Seattle.

Notes:  Al Newman was at shortstop, with Greg Gagne on the bench...Dan Gladden was the DH, with Roy Smalley out of the lineup...Laudner played first base and batted fifth for some reason...Brunansky was in left field, with Mark Davidson in right.

Player profile:  1987 was by far the best year Larry Sheets ever had.  He hit .316/.358/.563 for an OPS of .921.  His next best OPS was .805, which he had the year before.  A Virginian, he was drafted by Baltimore in the second round in 1978.  He left baseball after the 1980 season, unsure what he wanted to do with his life.  He returned in 1982 and spent the season in Class A.  He was in AA in 1983 and AAA in 1984, getting a September call-up in '84.  He stayed with the Orioles through 1989.  A left-handed batter, he was a platoon DH through 1986, but gradually played more outfield and was pretty much a regular in the lineup in 1987 and 1988.  His 1988 season, however, fell off sharply from 1987, and when he did not rebound significantly in 1989 he was traded to Detroit after the season.  He did somewhat better as a part-time player for the Tigers in 1990, but was allowed to become a free agent after the season.  He apparently did not play in 1991, played in Japan in 1992, played in AAA for Milwaukee in 1993, and was traded to Seattle in early September of that season.  He did little for the Mariners in September, however, and his playing career came to an end.  His son Gavin was drafted in the thirty-seven round by Atlanta in 2014, but chose to go to Wake Forest and play baseball there instead.  At last report, Larry Sheets was a high school baseball coach in Baltimore.

MINNESOTA 10, BALTIMORE 4 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Monday, May 11.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk, driving in three.  Tom Nieto was 2-for-5 with a three-run home run and a double,   Gary Gaetti was 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Fred Lynn was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Eddie Murray was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.  Cal Ripken was 1-for-4 with a home run, his tenth.

The game:  Nieto hit a three-run homer as part of a four-run second that put the Twins up 5-0.  Brunansky hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 7-1.  The Orioles never got closer than five runs after that.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-5 with an RBI and was batting .333.  Baltimore starter Scott McGregor lasted only 2.1 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits and three walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 17-14, in third place, a half-game behind California and Seattle.

Notes:  Al Newman started at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne, who was used as a defensive replacement late in the game...Mark Davidson was in right field, with Brunansky the DH and Roy Smalley out of the lineup..Solo home runs didn't hurt Blyleven in this game, as he left pitches up to Lynn, Murray, and Ripken to account for the only three earned runs he gave up...This was Blyleven's second complete game in seven starts.  He would have eight on the season...This is another case of a complete game that would never happen in today's game.

Player profile:  Tony Arnold relieved McGregor and pitched 4.2 innings, giving up two runs.  I have absolutely zero memory of him.  He was a Texan, born in El Paso, went to high school in Irving, and attended the University of Texas.  He was a tenth round draft choice of the Orioles in 1981 and remained in their organization through 1987.  A right-hander, he was a starter for most of his minor league career, but when he struggled in AAA he moved to the bullpen.  He made his big-league debut in August of 1986 and pitched well enough for the Orioles in eleven appearances.  He started the 1987 season with Baltimore and was consistently inconsistent, having some good outings but mixing in enough bad ones that one would imagine the Orioles never really felt they could count on him.  After consecutive poor outings in early July he was sent to AAA.  He came back as a September call-up, but never made it back to the majors after that.  He spent 1988-89 in the minors with the Dodgers and then his playing career was over.  He has stayed in baseball as a minor league pitching coach, in the Dodgers organization from 1990-92 and since then with Cleveland.  One suspects he may have had a hand in developing some of the pitchers we've watched in the World Series this year.  He was the pitching coach of the Akron Rubber Ducks in 2016.  Given how long he's been involved in baseball, I feel like I should have heard of him, but if I ever did, I forgot.  He's had a pretty good coaching career, though, so good for him.

NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Roy Smalley was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Joe Klink pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Charles Hudson pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Gary Ward was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second, scoring once and driving in three.  Rickey Henderson was 2-for-5 with three stolen bases ( his fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth), scoring twice.

The game:  Ward had a two-run single and Claudell Washington had an RBI double in the first inning, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead they held the rest of the way.  The lone Twins run came in the fifth, when Al Newman hit a two-out single and scored from first on a Bush double.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 and was batting .339.  Mike Smithson pitched only two innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks.  He also hit a batter and committed a balk.

Record:  The Twins were 16-14, in fourth place, but only a half game behind California, Kansas City, and Seattle, who were all tied for first.

Notes:  Newman was at second in this game, with Steve Lombardozzi on the bench...Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden on the bench...Despite the short start from Smithson, the Twins used only two relief pitchers.  Klink went 2.2 innings and George Frazier pitched 3.1 innings.

Player profile:  Charles Hudson had a memorable rookie year, but never quite lived up to the expectations it raised.  He came up with Philadelphia in late May of 1983 as a twenty-four-year-old rookie, was immediately placed in the starting rotation, and went 8-8, 3.35, 1.25 WHIP in 26 starts.  He also got a complete game win in the NLCS, although things did not go as well in the World Series as the Phillies lost to Baltimore.  That would be his best year with the Phils.  He was okay for the next two seasons, had a poor 1986, and was traded to the Yankees after the season in a trade involving Mike Easler.  He was with the Yanks for two seasons.  The first, 1987, was the better of the two, as he went 11-7, 3.61, 1.25 WHIP.  He started that season in the rotation and pitched extremely well through May 15.  He then had four consecutive poor starts and went to the bullpen, where he stayed most of the rest of the season.  His ERA in 1988 was 4.49, but his WHIP was only 1.21, so he perhaps was not as bad as the ERA would show.  In spring training of 1989 he was traded to Detroit for Tom Brookens.  He had bad year for them, broke his leg in a car accident in August, and his playing career was over.  Well, that's not quite true--he got an invitation to spring training with the Cubs in 1995 as a replacement player.  He is one of two players from Ennis, Texas to make the majors (Bob Finley).

MINNESOTA 2, NEW YORK 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double, driving in two.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-2 with a double and a run.  Mark Davidson was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  Les Straker pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks with two strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and two walks.  Jeff Reardon pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up a walk and a hit batsman.

Opposition stars:  Dennis Rasmussen pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Dan Pasqua was 0-for-1 with three walks.  Rickey Henderson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his thirteenth.

The game:  In the third, Lombardozzi doubled, went to third on a groundout, and scored on Newman's squeeze bunt.  In the fifth, Davidson doubled, was bunted to third, and scored on Newman's triple.  The best scoring chance for the Yankees came in the ninth, Willie Randolph led off with a double, bringing Reardon into the game.  A one-out walk to Pasqua and a two-out hit batsman (Gary Ward) loaded the bases.  Mike Pagliarulo then popped up to end the game.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.

Record:  The Twins were 16-13, in third place, a half game behind California and Kansas City.

Notes:  Puckett raised his average to .351...Straker lowered his ERA to 1.45...Newman played shorstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Davidson was once again in right, with Tom Brunansky at DH and Roy Smalley out of the lineup...I seem to remember Dan Pasqua as a better player than he was, although he was decent at his peak.  He came up to the Yankees in 1985 and was never more than a part-time player there, playing mostly as a corner outfielder.  He was traded to the White Sox after the 1987 season and that's where he had his best years.  He posted an OPS of .842 in 1990 and .823 in 1991, hitting a total of thirty-one homers in those two seasons.  He fell off sharply after the 1991 season, never topping .220 in batting average or reaching double-digit homers again.  A left-handed batter, he could not hit left-handed pitching even in his best years.  In fact, it appears that one reason they were his best years is that the White Sox stopped playing him against portsiders.  His career ended after the 1994 season.  b-r.com notes that in his first season in the minors, 1982, he was a teammate of John Elway and in his last, 1994, he was a teammate of Michael Jordan.  It appears he stayed in the Chicago area after his playing days ended.

NEW YORK 11, MINNESOTA 7 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk, driving in three.  Mark Davidson was 2-for-2 with a home run.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his second and third) and a walk, driving in five.  Gary Ward was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his second and third) driving in four.  Rickey Henderson was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventh), a double, and a walk.

The game:  Four singles, accompanied by a couple of stolen bases, produced three first-inning runs for the Twins.  The lead was down to 4-3 after two, but Brunansky hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 6-3.  The Yankees cut the lead to 7-5 after seven.  New York loaded the bases with two out in the eighth, but Jeff Reardon came in to strike out Rick Cerone.  In the ninth, however, a leadoff walk to Wayne Tolleson was followed by Henderson's two-run homer to tie the game.  Willie Randolph then walked and went to third on a stolen base-plus-error.  With one out, Dan Pasqua walked and Dave Winfield was intentionally walked to fill the bases.  Gary Ward struck out, but Pagliarulo hit a walkoff grand slam.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his fifth, making his average .345.  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-4 with a run.  Tim Laudner was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .040.  That was as low as it would get, but it would not get into triple digits for a couple of weeks.  Starter Mark Portugal pitched six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  By allowing six runs in one inning, Reardon's ERA rose to 9.24.  Tommy John started for the Yankees and lasted only 1.2 innings, surrendering four runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.

Record:  The Twins were 15-13, in third place, a half game behind California and Kansas City.

Notes:  Al Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  He led off and went 0-for-5, dropping his OBP to .301.  Gladden was in the number two spot...Davidson was in right field, with Brunansky in right and Roy Smalley on the bench...The winning pitcher for the Yankees was Cecilio Guante, who struck out five in two shutout innings of relief.  He had a pretty successful career as a set-up man and occasional fill-in closer.  He made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 1982 and came up to stay in late May of 1983.  He was with the Pirates through 1986 and did very well, posting a 3.06 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and getting 20 saves.  He was traded to the Yankees after the 1986 season in a multi-player deal that also included Doug Drabek and Rick Rhoden.  Despite how well he pitched in this game he had a poor year which ended in early July due to injury--one wonders if he wasn't dealing with an injury much of the season.  He came back to pitch well in 1988 but was traded to Texas at the end of August.  He did not do as well in 1989, signed with Cleveland for 1990, pitched poorly, and was released in late August.  Boston signed him but he did not play for them, and he was again released in April, ending his playing career.  It was a pretty good one, though:  363 games, 595 innings, a 3.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 35 saves.

MINNESOTA 5, BALTIMORE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 7.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring twice and driving in one.  Gary Gaetti was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Al Newman was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, scoring twice.

Pitching stars:  Frank Viola pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts.  Jeff Reardon struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Cal Ripken was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Alan Wiggins was 3-for-5.  Eddie Murray was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  Gladden had an RBI double and later scored to give the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  It was 2-1 after six, but the Twins took control in the seventh on a double and three singles.  Kirby Puckett singled in one run and Gaetti singled home two.  The Orioles cut the lead to 5-2 in the eighth.  In the ninth, a bloop single and an infield hit brought the tying run to bat with two down, but Reardon struck out Fred Lynn to end the game.

Of note:  Puckett was 0-for-4 to make his average .333...Tim Laudner was 0-for-3 and was now hitting .048.

Record:  The Twins were 15-12 and in second place, a half game behind California.

Note:  Al Newman played shortstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Gladden played center, with Puckett at DH.  Mark Davidson was in left and Roy Smalley was out of the lineup...In the 1965 series, we were profiling players you may only have read about.  In this series, at least for those of a certain age, it's more along the lines of players you may remember but haven't thought about in a long time.  Alan Wiggins is probably one of those.  He made his debut in 1981 with San Diego as a September call-up.  He was with the Padres for about four months in 1982 and became a regular in 1983.  He was an outfielder that season but moved to second base in 1984.  He had a decent OBP but almost no power.  His calling card was stolen bases, as he stole 66 in 1983 and 70 in 1984.  The seventy stolen bases, along with the fact that San Diego reached the World Series, are presumably why he got a few MVP votes in 1984, because his OPS was .671.  He got suspended in late April of 1985 due to cocaine usage, and when he came back in late July he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles, traded for Roy Lee Jackson and a player to be named later (Rich Caldwell).  He was the Orioles second baseman the rest of 1985.  He was the Orioles regular second baseman in 1986 to the extent they had one, but made only 66 starts there.  One assumes Baltimore knew he wasn't really good enough (OPS of .581 that season), but had no one better.  His playing time declined still further in 1987, as he started only 33 games at second.  Oddly, he started 36 games at DH, despite having an OPS of .566.  Rick Burleson and later Billy Ripken took over at second base, and Wiggins was released late in the season, ending his career.  Sadly, it was not too much later that Wiggins contracted AIDS.  He passed away due to complications from the disease in 1991.

BALTIMORE 6, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 6.

Batting star:  Tom Nieto was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Scott McGregor pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and three walks with one strikeout.  Cal Ripken was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his ninth.  Ray Knight was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  An RBI groundout put the Orioles up 1-0 in the second, in the third, the first three Baltimore batters singled, making it 2-0, and Ripken followed with a three-run homer to make it 5-0.  Twins starter Bert Blyleven settled down after that, and the Orioles did not score again until the ninth.  Unfortunately, the Twins could do nothing against McGregor.  The only man to advance past first base was Steve Lombardozzi, who led off the fourth with a single, was bunted to second, and advanced to third on a ground out.  Tom Brunansky lined to first to end the inning.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .337...Blyleven recovered from the poor start to pitch 8.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk.  He only struck out one, but he pitched well other than the pitch he left up to Ripken.

Record:  The Twins were 14-12, tied for second with Kansas City, a game behind California.

Notes:  Tim Laudner was the designated hitter in this game.  He came in batting .067.  He went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .056...Scott McGregor is another fine pitcher that people seem to have forgotten about.  He spent his entire major league career with the Orioles, coming to the organization in a mammoth trade in 1976 in which McGregor, Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May went to Baltimore and Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson went to the Yankees.  He made his Orioles debut as a September callup in 1976 and came up to stay early in 1977.  He joined the rotation in 1978 and stayed there through 1987.  He posted double digit wins from 1978-86 and ERAs in the threes seven times in that period.  His best years were 1980 (20-8, 3.32, 1.24 WHIP) and 1983 (18-7, 3.17, 1.22 WHIP).  By 1987, though, he was on his last legs.  This and a game against Cleveland in April were his only good starts, and by June he was out of the rotation.  He would appear in four games in 1988, then his career was over.  He was not a superstar--he only made one all-star team (1981) and only twice received Cy Young consideration--but he was a rotation starter for Baltimore for nine years.  His final record was 138-108, 3.99, 1.29 WHIP.

BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 5.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his eighth.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Tom Nieto was 1-for-3 with a run.

Pitching star:  Juan Berenguer pitched 3.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Eric Bell pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.

The game:  Jim Dwyer hit a two-run homer in the third and Eddie Murray homered in a two-run sixth to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.  They added what appeared to be a meaningless run in the ninth on a John Shelby single to go up 5-0.  In the bottom of the ninth, however, an error, a single, and a ground out put men on second and third with one down.  Lombardozzi singled in a run and Puckett hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4.  A pair of singles, a ground out, and an intentional walk to Randy Bush loaded the bases.  The small crowd (8891) was probably in an uproar, but pinch-hitter Roy Smalley popped up to third to end the game.

Of note:  Puckett's average fell to .351...Mike Smithson started and pitched five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 14-11 and were tied for first place with California, although they were ahead on percentage points.

Notes:  Mark Davidson started in left field, with Dan Gladden at DH and Smalley on the bench.  Davidson was near the beginning of a two-week stretch in which he was pretty much a regular, starting in either left or right.  At the start of the stretch, he was batting .263, but with no extra bases hits, for a line of .263/.263/.263.  At the end of it, on May 15, he was batting .250/.265/.333...This would be the only season in which Eric Bell was a member of a major league starting rotation.  He had made four starts in 1986 and would make only one more start after this season, with Cleveland in 1992.  He had a few excellent games in addition to this one, getting complete game wins against Kansas City in July and California in August and going 8.2 innings in another win against Kansas City in July.  For the most part, though, he was not very good:  10-13, 5.45, 1.53 WHIP.  He would spend 1988-1990 in the minors before going to Cleveland.  He got a September call-up in 1991 and pitched very well in relief.  He started 1992 with the Indians, but did poorly and was sent down in early May.  He started 1993 with Houston, but again was sent down in early May.  He pitched in AAA through 1996, then was done.