MINNESOTA 6, SEATTLE 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 14.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-ninth) and two runs.  Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifteenth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks with six strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ken Phelps was 2-for-4 with a home run (his nineteenth) and a double, scoring twice.  Mickey Brantley was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Harold Reynolds was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.

The game:  Tom Brunansky singled in a run in the second and Randy Bush did the same in the third to put the Twins ahead 2-0.  Each team scored once in the fifth and once in the sixth, leaving the Twins up 4-2.  Gaetti delivered a two-run double in the eighth (with Hrbek scoring from first) to put the Twins in control.  Seattle scored one in the ninth but did not threaten to tie the game.

Of note:  Greg Gagne was again in the leadoff spot...Randy Bush was again in right field and batting second, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden on the bench, although Gladden played in the ninth inning...Gene Larkin was the DH...Blyleven left a pitch up to Phelps but pitched well otherwise...Seattle starter Mike Morgan pitched seven innings, giving up five runs on ten hits and no walks with one strikeout.

Record:  The Twins were 63-54, in first place, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Player profile:  I don't know how many people remember Alvin Davis, but he was a pretty good player for the Mariners for several years.  Born and raised in Riverside, California, he went to Arizona State and was drafted by Seattle in the sixth round in 1982.  He played only two seasons in the minors before becoming the Mariners' starting first baseman in 1984 at age twenty-three.  He batted .284/.391/.497 with twenty-seven homers, made the all-star team that season, won the Rookie of the Year award, and had greatness predicted.  He never quite achieved greatness, but he achieved pretty good-ness for seven seasons (1984-90).  His OPS was over .800 for all of those seven seasons except 1986, when it was .799.  He batted .300 only once (.305 in 1989), but hit in the .280s and .290s consistently.  His OBP was generally between .370-.390, topping .400 twice (1988 and 1989).  His high for home runs was 29, in 1987, but he hit 18 or more six years in a row (breaking the streak with 17 in 1990).  He fell off very quickly--in 1991 he batted just .221 with an OPS of .635.  He signed with California as a free agent for 1992 but was released in late June.  He played in Japan for the rest of 1992 and his playing career was suddenly over.  For his career, he batted .280/.380/.450 with 160 home runs in nine seasons.  Not hall of fame numbers or anything, but he was a fine player for seven years, and that's a long way from nothing.

CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5 with two doubles and an RBI.  Randy Bush was 2-for-5 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  George Frazier pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Jeff Reardon pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Mike Witt pitched eight innings, giving up one run on nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Doug DeCinces was 2-for-5 with a home run (his thirteenth) and two RBIs.  Dick Schofield was 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

The game:  The Angels didn't have any big innings, but just sort of eased out to a good lead and held it.  George Hendrick singled in a run in the first and DeCinces singled one home in the third.  Hrbek hit an RBI double in the bottom of the third, but an RBI single by Gus Polidor and a run-scoring double by Schofield made it 4-1 in the fourth.  DeCinces homered in the seventh to round out the scoring.  The Twins had their chances but stranded twelve runners, eight of them in scoring position.

Of note:  Al Newman replaced Greg Gagne at short and led off...Bush batted second and played right field, with Tom Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup...Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk, making his average .320...Gene Larkin was again the DH...Steve Carlton started for the Twins, pitching seven innings and giving up five runs on ten hits and three walks with three strikeouts.  Memory is a funny thing, but I seem to recall Tom Kelly doing this a few times--using Carlton against another team's ace.  My thought at the time was that TK figured the Twins weren't likely to beat that pitcher anyway, so there was no sense in wasting one of his good pitchers in that game.  Carlton would at least be able to give him five or six innings and keep him from having to blow out the bullpen in a game they weren't likely to win.

Record:  The Twins were 62-54, in first place, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Player profile:  He couldn't sustain it, but there were a few years when Mike Witt was about as good a pitcher as anybody.  He was born in Fullerton, California, went to high school in Anaheim, and was drafted by California in the fourth round in 1978.  He was in Class A through the middle of 1980, went to AA for the rest of 1980, and despite the fact that he didn't pitch very well there he jumped to the big leagues in 1981 and stayed there the rest of his career, other than some rehab assignments.  In his first two seasons, he produced ERAs well under four but only went 16-15.  He did finish tied for fifth (with Dave Engle and Shooty Babitt)  in Rookie of the Year voting in 1981.  After three poor starts in 1983 he was moved to the bullpen, not getting back to the rotation until late July.  He came back in 1984 and had three consecutive excellent years.  From 1984-86 he went 48-30, 3.28, 1.21 WHIP.  He averaged 255 innings in those seasons.  The best of them was 1986, when he went 18-10, 2.84, 1.08 WHIP and finished third in Cy Young voting.  That year, though, seems to have taken something out of him, because while he remained a rotation starter for three more seasons, and even made the all-star team in 1987, he was clearly not the same pitcher.  He never had an ERA under four again and never had a WHIP under 1.3 again.  He continued to make every start, though, averaging nearly 250 innings from 1987-89.  He started the 1990 season in the Angels' bullpen but was traded to the Yankees in mid-May for Dave Winfield.  He went into their rotation, but the change of scenery didn't particularly help him.  Injuries got him after that--he made only four starts (two in the minors) in 1991, three minor league starts in 1992, and twelve starts (three in the minors) in 1993, calling it a career after that.  His career numbers don't look all that impressive:  117-116, 3.83, 1.32 WHIP.  But for a few years there, he could hold his own with anybody.

CALIFORNIA 8, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-eighth) and a walk.  Roy Smalley was 1-for-3 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  George Frazier pitched two shutout innings, giving up only a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ruppert Jones was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his seventh.  Gus Polidor was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in three.  Kirk McCaskill struck out seven in 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks.

The game:  It was over pretty early.  Polidor's two-run single put the Angels up 2-0 in the second, Devon White's RBI single made it 3-0 in the third, and a three-run fourth, aided by two wild pitches, put the Angels up 6-0.  Hrbek had a solo home run in the fourth and Smalley had one in the seventh, but those solo home runs didn't hurt the Angels.

Of note:  Al Newman again played second and batted second...Puckett was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .321...Twins starter Les Straker lasted just 3.2 innings, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks with one strikeout...The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 62-53, in first place, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Player profile:  Center fielder Ruppert Jones started out well, but never really improved.  He was born in Dallas, went to high school in Berkeley, and was drafted by Kansas City in the third round in 1973.  He reached the majors with the Royals on August 1 of 1976 and didn't do a lot.  Left unprotected in the expansion draft, he was the first choice of the new Seattle Mariners.  In 1977 he made the Mariners look good, hitting .263/.324/.454 with 24 homers and making the all-star team at the age of twenty-two.  Big things were expected, but he never really progressed from that point.  He had an off year in 1978, due at least partly to injuries, then had a year similar to 1977 in 1979.  Still only twenty-four, he was traded to the Yankees, did poorly (again due at least partly to injuries), and was traded to San Diego after the season.  He was their mostly-regular center fielder for the next three seasons, but often sat against left-handers, for good reason.  He came back in 1982 to make his second all-star team, batting .283 with a .798 OPS.  He went back down in 1983, became a free agent, and signed with Detroit.  He did pretty well for the Tigers as a reserve outfielder, hitting twelve homers in 215 at-bats and posting an OPS of .862.  He became a free agent again after the season, though, and signed with California, where he stayed from 1985-87.  He was a semi-regular for them, not getting very high batting averages but hitting some homers and drawing some walks.  1987 would be his last year in the majors.  He would play for two more seasons, splitting 1988 between Japan and AAA for the Rangers and spending all of 1989 in AAA for the Rangers.  For his career, he batted .250/.330/.416 with 143 home runs in 4415 at-bats.  He played for twelve seasons, and he wasn't a bad player by any means, but he never became what he was expected to be.  At last report, Ruppert Jones was an insurance salesman in the San Diego area.

MINNESOTA 7, CALIFORNIA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 11, 1987.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fourth) and two runs.  Mark Davidson was 2-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.

Pitching stars:  Frank Viola pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and one walk with six strikeouts.  Keith Atherton pitched a perfect inning with two strikeouts.

Opposition star:  George Hendrick was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in two.

The game:  An RBI double by Brunansky and a two-run double by Davidson put the Twins up 3-0 in the second.  Greg Gagne tripled home a run in the fourth to make it 4-0.  Hendrick had a two-run double in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2, but Gaetti homered leading off the seventh to make it 5-2.  RBI singles by Al Newman in the seventh and Brunansky in the eighth rounded out the scoring.  Viola started the ninth inning, but after giving up a walk and a single to the first to batters was replaced by Atherton.

Of note:  Dan Gladden was back in the leadoff spot and was apparently recovered from whatever was wrong with him...Newman batted second and played second in place of Steve Lombardozzi...Gene Larkin was at first base, replacing Kent Hrbek...Brunansky was the DH, with Davidson in right field...John Candelaria started for California, going five innings and giving up four runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout...The win was the Twins' fifth in a row...This was the third consecutive series the Twins played against one of their top two challengers.

Record:  The Twins were 62-52, in first place, 4.5 games ahead of California and Oakland.

MINNESOTA 7, OAKLAND 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, August 9.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his twenty-seventh.  Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his fourteenth.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-third) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts.  Keith Atherton struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Alfredo Griffin was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.  Carney Lansford was 2-for-5 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in two.  Tony Bernazard was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.

The game:  Oakland got on the board in the first, but Hrbek hit a three-run homer in the third to put the Twins ahead 3-1.  Brunansky homered in the fourth to make it 4-1.  Oakland got one back in the fifth, but Laudner hit a two-run homer in the sixth to put the Twins ahead 6-2.  Oakland scored one in the seventh to cut the lead to 6-3, but Gaetti got the run back with a home run in the eighth.  Carney Lansford hit a two-out two-run homer in the ninth to bring the tying run up to bat, but Jose Canseco grounded out to end the game.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a run to raise his average to .324...Randy Bush was in right field and in the leadoff spot, with Brunansky in left...Steve Ontiveros pitched a complete game, giving up seven runs on seven hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  I'm sure that's nowhere near the record, but seven runs is a lot to give up in a complete game...This gave the Twins a four-game sweep of Oakland.  The two teams had been tied for first going into the series.

Record:  The Twins were 61-52, in first place, 3.5 games ahead of California.

MINNESOTA 9, OAKLAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, August 8.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 4-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and two doubles, scoring four times and driving in two.  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-4 with a triple, scoring once and driving in two.

Pitching star:  Steve Carlton pitched 8.2 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Steve Henderson was 2-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Alfredo Griffin was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Luis Polonia was 1-for-3 with a triple and a run.

The game:  The first four batters for the Twins reached, as Dan Gladden walked, Greg Gagne singled, Puckett doubled, and Gaetti tripled.  It would've been really cool if Brunansky had followed with a home run, but he had an RBI ground out instead.  Still, it was 4-0 after one inning and Oakland never threatened to get back into the game.  They did not score until the ninth.  Carlton had retired eleven in a row going to the ninth inning, but with one out Oakland got a triple and three singles, scoring once and loading the bases.  Mark McGwire struck out, but when Henderson walked to force in a run Tom Kelly decided it was time for Carlton to come out, with George Frazier getting Reggie Jackson on a fly ball to end the game.

Of note:  Gagne batted second and was 2-for-5 with two runs...Puckett raised his average to .323...Gene Larkin was again the DH...Carlton had three complete games for Cleveland earlier in the season, but this was as close as he would come to getting one for the Twins...Oakland starter Curt Young pitched six innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 60-52, in first place, three games ahead of Oakland.

MINNESOTA 9, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 7.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-sixth) and three runs.  Greg Gagne was 3-for-5 with a triple and a run.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.

Pitching stars:  Joe Niekro pitched eight innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts.  Dan Schatzeder pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Carney Lansford was 1-for-4 with a stolen base (his twenty-second), scoring once and driving in one.  Mike Davis was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Terry Steinbach was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Oakland starter Dennis Lamp for four runs in the first inning, helped by a two-run error on what might have been a double play grounder.  Hrbek homered leading off the third to make it 5-0.  Oakland got on the board with two in the fifth, getting an RBI single by Lansford and a sacrifice fly by Mark McGwire, but the Twins put the game out of reach with three in the eighth, scoring on a run-scoring double by Brunansky and RBI singles by Steve Lombardozzi and Sal Butera.

Of note:  Randy Bush was again in the leadoff spot in right field, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup...Gagne batted second...Gene Larkin was again the DH...Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run, dropping his average to .316...Lamp lasted only a third of an inning, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and a walk...I don't know if Niekro was appealing his suspension or if it hadn't been announced yet, but it clearly had not yet taken effect...In the matchup of two teams tied for first, the Twins took the first two games, each by the score of 9-4.

Record:  The Twins were 59-52, in first place by two games over Oakland.

We will try to get back to player profiles next week.

MINNESOTA 9, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 6.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fifth), a triple, and a walk, scoring twice.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, driving in three.  Al Newman was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring twice.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and six walks with four strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Steve Henderson was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Mike Gallego was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second.  Jose Canseco was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk.

The game:  The Twins scored two runs without a hit in the first inning, as three walks filled the bases, a hit batsman brought one home, and a ground out scored the second.  Alfredo Griffin got one back in the second for Oakland with an RBI single, but Hrbek homered leading off the third to make it 3-1 Twins.  The Twins took control of the game in the fourth.  A single, an error, and a walk loaded the bases and Kirby Puckett delivered a three-run double, later scoring on Gaetti's RBI single.  The Athletics got solo homers by Gallego in the sixth and Henderson in the seventh, but as we all know, solo home runs don't hurt you.  Oakland never got closer than four runs the rest of the game.

Of note:  This was a big series, as the two teams were tied for first going into the game...It was also an excellent pitching matchup, with Viola going up against Dave Stewart...Newman batted leadoff and placed second in place of Steve Lombardozzi...Randy Bush batted second and played right field, with Tom Brunansky moving to left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup.  Bush was 0-for-1 with four walks, scoring twice...Gene Larkin was again the DH...Puckett was 1-for-5, dropping his average to .317...Stewart lasted only 3.1 innings, giving up seven runs (five earned) on four hits and five walks with four strikeouts...Viola walked six for only the second time this season.  The other time also came against Oakland, on April 13...Viola had excellent control, walking just 2.4 men per nine innings in 1987 and 2.7 for his career.  Yet, there were nineteen walks in this game, eleven by the two starters.  Rich Garcia was the plate umpire--one wonders if he had a tight strike zone...The triple was Hrbek's only triple of the season.  He had eighteen triples in his career, but twelve of them came in his first three full seasons (1982-84).  He would hit only two more triples in his career after this, one in 1991 and one in 1993.

Record:  The Twins were 58-52, in first place by one game over Oakland.

We hope to resume player profiles next week.

CALIFORNIA 6, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Wednesday, August 5.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a double.  Dan Gladden was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a run.

Pitching stars:  George Frazier pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit while striking out one.  Dan Schatzeder pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.  Keith Atherton pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  John Candelaria struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up two hits and no walks.  Bill Buckner was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his third) and a double, scoring twice.  Gus Polidor was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The game:  Polidor's sacrifice fly in the second put the Angels on the board 1-0.  RBI singles by Polidor and Mark McLemore in the fourth made it 3-0.  With two on and one out in the fifth, Twins starter Bert Blyleven left a pitch up to Buckner, making it 6-0.  The Twins' lone run came in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Tim Laudner.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4, making his average .318...Greg Gagne was in the number two spot...Gene Larkin was the DH...Dan Gladden was back in the lineup for this game, but would only make one more start before August 11, when he would resume his regular spot in the lineup...Blyleven pitched five innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts...Schatzeder had pitched 5.2 innings just two days earlier.

Record:  The Twins were 57-52, tied for first with Oakland (the Athletics were slightly ahead on winning percentage, .5234 to .5229).

We hope to get back to player profiles sometime next week.

CALIFORNIA 12, MINNESOTA 3 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Tuesday, August 4.

Batting stars:  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a walk.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Gary Gaetti was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Doug DeCinces was 3-for-5 with a home run (his twelfth) and a double, driving in three.  Bob Boone was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring three times.  Gary Pettis was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in two.

The game:  It was close for four innings.  Bill Buckner singled in a run in the first and the Angels rallied for three in the third to go ahead 4-0.  Lombardozzi hit a three-run homer in the fourth to get the Twins back into the game at 4-3.  California put together a five-run fifth, though, making the score 9-3 and putting the game out of reach.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 to make his average .319...Randy Bush was again your leadoff batter and right fielder, with Tom Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden out of the lineup.  Gladden was perhaps bothered by a minor injury--he was used as a pinch-hitter and would play the next game, but then would get a couple more days off and wouldn't return to the lineup regularly until August 11...Gene Larkin was again the DH, with Roy Smalley out of the lineup...This was the Twins debut of Steve Carlton, who came from Cleveland for a player to be named later (Jeff Perry).  It had been obvious all season that he was no longer the Hall of Fame pitcher he had been, and the change of scenery did not help him any.  As we will see, he did have a couple of good games for the Twins, but for the most part did not do much for them.  In this game he pitched 4.2 innings and allowed nine runs on eleven hits and four walks with one strikeout...Angels starter Don Sutton pitched six innings, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks with three strikeouts...Sutton and Carlton were each forty-two years old when this game was played.  It would be interesting to know what the record is for oldest starters being matched against each other, if someone had the time to look it up.

Record:  The Twins were 57-51, in first place, one game ahead of Oakland.

We hope to resume player profiles either later this week or early next.