Tag Archives: 1991 rewind

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Seventy

MINNESOTA 5, NEW YORK 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Monday, June 24.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventh), a double, and two runs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth) and two runs.

Pitching star:  Scott Erickson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition star:  Jeff Johnson pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on four hits and a walk and striking out none.

The game:  Through five innings there were only two hits, both by the Yankees.  They put a man on third base in the second, as Matt Nokes doubled and went to third on a wild pitch, but Alvaro Espinoza grounded out to end the inning.  Meanwhile, the first fifteen Twins batters were retired.

Junior Ortiz gave the Twins their first baserunner with a leadoff walk in the sixth.  He was bunted to second, and with two out Dan Gladden got the Twins' first hit, an RBI triple that made it 1-0 Minnesota.  In the seventh, Puckett led off with a home run, followed by Mack's double and a Pedro Munoz RBI single to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  In the ninth, PUckett had a one-out single and Mack hit a two-run homer to make it 5-0.

The Yankees did not get a hit after Nokes' second-inning double.  Their other hit was a single by Don Mattingly in the first.  Their only baserunner after the second was Kevin Maas, who walked leading off the seventh and did not get past first base.

WP:  Erickson (12-2).  LP:  Johnson (1-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Gene Larkin was at first base, as Hrbek remained out.  With Erickson pitching, Ortiz was catching.  Munoz was the DH in place of Chili Davis.  Mack batted in the fourth spot.

Puckett raised his average to .328.  Erickson's ERA went down to 1.39.

Erickson was an incredible pitcher to this point of the season.  12-2, 1.39 ERA, 1.07 WHIP in 116.1 innings.  He would not sustain that, of course, and it was not reasonable to think he could.  In fact, he would never have a half-season like that again.  As we've said before, Tom Kelly rode him pretty hard for a twenty-three year old in his first full season, and he eventually had to pay the price for that.  But for the first half of 1991, he was the best there was.

This was the fourth start of Jeff Johnson's major league career.  He would appear in parts of three major league seasons, all with the Yankees.  He made twenty-three starts in 1991 and went 6-11, 5.95, 1.49 WHIP.  That was as good as it would get for him--he would appear in thirteen games (eight starts) in 1992 and make two more starts in 1993, and his numbers got worse each season.  For his career, he was 8-16, 6.52, 1.63 WHIP.  He had good seasons in AAA at that time--4-0, 2.61, 1.34 WHIP in 10 starts in 1991 and 2-1, 2.17, 1.02 WHIP in 11 starts in 1992.  I don't know why he had so few decisions in that many starts.  I also don't know why he could not translate his AAA success into major league success, but he clearly couldn't.  I wish the Yankees had more pitchers like that these days.  Jeff Johnson has been a minor league pitching coach for several seasons.

Record:  The Twins were 43-27, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.

 

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-nine

1 Comment

NEW YORK 11, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, June 23.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 2-for-4 with two home runs.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his seventh.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Scott Kamieniecki pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.  Roberto Kelly was 5-for-5 with a home run (his eighth), three stolen bases (his thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth), two runs, and three RBIs.  Hensley Meulens was 3-for-5 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Steve Sax was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Bob Geren was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

The game:  The Yankees took control early, scoring six runs in the second.  Consecutive one-out singles by Meulens, Alvaro Espinoza, and Geren plated the first run.  Pat Kelly was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  A ground out scored the second run, an error plated the third, and Roberto Kelly hit a three-run homer, putting the Yankees up 6-0.

The Twins got on the board in the third when Bush hit a home run.  Brian Harper hit a leadoff double in the fourth, but nothing came of it.  New York added a run in the bottom of the fourth when Pat Kelly singled, stole second, and scored on a Roberto Kelly single to make the score 7-1.  The Yankees added three more in the seventh on a two-run double by Meulens and an RBI double by Geren, increasing their lead to 10-1.

Bush hit his second home run in the eighth to cut the lead to 10-2.  New York got the run back in the bottom of the inning on Carlos Rodriguez' RBI single.

WP:  Kamieniecki (2-0).  LP:  Allan Anderson (4-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Surprisingly, Gladden was in the lineup for a day game.  He did well, although it obviously didn't help the Twins much.  Bush was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek, who apparently was dealing with a minor injury, as he would not play again until June 28.  Gene Larkin was in right field, with Shane Mack moving to center and Kirby Puckett out of the lineup.  Junior Ortiz come in to catch in the eighth inning, replacing Harper.

Harper was 1-for-3 and was batting .340.

Allan Anderson was the Twins starter.  He lasted just 1.2 innings, his shortest start of the season.  He allowed six runs (two earned) on six hits and a walk and struck out none.  His next start would actually be pretty good, but he would make only two more after that before being pulled from the rotation.

Paul Abbott pitched 5.1 innings of relief.  He did quite well until his fifth inning, when he allowed the three-run seventh.  Still, he saved the bullpen, as the only other pitcher used was Terry Leach in the eighth.

Tom Kelly did have a point about Gladden and day games, at least in 1991.  He batted .263/.321/.387 in night games, .192/.257/.250 during the day.  For his career, however, there's not much difference.  He batted .272/.319/.386 in night games, .266/.335/.375 during the day.

This was Kamieniecki's rookie year and just his second major league start.  He made nine starts for the Yankees in 1991 and did pretty well, really:  4-4, 3.90, 1.37.  He was already twenty-seven, but still managed to pitch in the majors for nine seasons.  He was with the Yankees through 1996, with Baltimore from 1997-1999, and with Cleveland and Atlanta in 2000.  For his career he was 53-59, 4.52, 1.49 WHIP in 975.2 innings.  He was never anything great, but he was a fairly solid rotation starter through 1997.

Record:  The Twins were 42-27, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-eight

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 4, NEW YORK 3 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, June 22.

Batting stars:  Chili Davis was 2-for-4.  Gene Larkin was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Kevin Tapani pitched 8.2 innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and no walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Matt Nokes was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mel Hall was 2-for-4 with a double.  Wade Taylor pitched 7.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out six.

The game:  The Twins again scored in the first inning.  Dan Gladden walked and Chuck Knoblauch was hit by a pitch.  A force out put men on first and third, and Davis delivered an RBI single that put the Twins ahead 1-0.

There was not even another baserunner until the top of the fourth, when Larkin got a two-out single.  In the bottom of the fourth Don Mattingly singled and Hall doubled, putting men on second and third with two out, but Nokes grounded out to end the inning.  The Twins increased their lead in the fifth.  Mike Pagliarulo reached on an error, was bunted to second, and scored on a Knoblauch single, making the score 2-0.  They got a couple more in the eighth.  With one out, Kirby Puckett and Davis singled and Brian Harper followed with a two-run double, giving the Twins a 4-0 lead.

The Yankees got on the board in the eighth on an Alvaro Espinoza home run.  With two out in the ninth Hall singled, Nokes doubled home a run, and Jesse Barfield doubled home another run, cutting the lead to 4-3 with the tying run on second.  Roberto Kelly was intentionally walked, putting the potential winning run on base, but Espinoza struck out to end the game.

WP:  Tapani (5-6).  LP:  Taylor (2-2).  S:  Rick Aguilera (19).

Notes:  Larkin was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Al Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .340.  Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .326.  Tapani's ERA was 3.33.  Aguilera lowered his ERA to 2.86.

Newman was 0-for-3 and was batting .196.

Aguilera entered the game with the score 4-2.  He gave up the double to Barfield and the intentional walk to Kelly.  "The book" used to say that you never put the potential winning run on base.  Tom Kelly went against the book and it worked.

This was the only major league season of Wade Taylor's career.  He came up to the majors at the start of June and stayed in the Yankees rotation the rest of the season.  He had pitched quite well in AAA, but could not repeat that success in the majors.  In twenty-two starts, he went 7-12, 6.27, 1.69 WHIP.  He apparently had injury problems after that, as he appeared in just five minor league games in 1992, seven in 1993, and then was done.  He was a scout for many years, working for the Yankees, Washington, the Dodgers, and Arizona.  It appears that he has now become a real estate agent in Oviedo, Florida.

The Twins had now won four in a row, nineteen of twenty, and twenty-two of twenty-four.  That's pretty good.

Record:  The Twins were 42-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-seven

MINNESOTA 5, NEW YORK 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, June 21.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his seventh), and two RBIs.  Dan Gladden was 3-for-5 with a home run (his fourth), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Shane Mack was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Mark Guthrie pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk and striking out five.  Steve Bedrosian struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Carlos Rodriguez was 2-for-3.  Mel Hall was 2-for-4.  Don Mattingly was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Greg Cadaret pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out two.

The game:  Gladden led off the game with a home run, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Knoblauch followed with a double, but the Twins could do no more in the first inning.  The Yankees came back in the second.  Hall hit a one-out single, Alvaro Espinoza reached on an error, and RBI singles by Bob Geren and Rodriguez put the Yankees up 2-1.

The Twins got the lead back in the fourth.  They started the inning with consecutive singles by Chili Davis, Brian Harper, and Mack, tying the score.  A pair of fly outs followed, but then came a double by Gladden and a single by Knoblauch to give the Twins a 5-2 advantage.

There was no more scoring until the seventh.  With two out, Steve Sax walked and Mattingly hit a two-run homer, cutting the margin to 5-4.  They threatened to take the lead in the eighth.  Pat Sheridan had a one-out single and Espinoza had a two-out single, putting men on first and third, but pinch-hitter Matt Nokes struck out to end the inning.  The Yankees went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Guthrie (5-3).  LP:  Scott Sanderson (7-3).  S:  Aguilera (18).

Notes:  The Twins went with a pretty standard lineup.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game to play short.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the ninth, with Scott Leius coming into the game at third base.  As you were going to put Leius in the game anyway, I don't know why you wouldn't rather use him as a pinch-hitter than Newman against the left-handed Greg Cadaret, but Newman walked, so I guess you can say it worked.

Harper went 1-for-4 and was batting .342.  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .327.  Steve Bedrosian lowered his ERA to 3.47.  Aguilera's ERA fell to 2.88.

This was the only two-hit game Carlos Rodriguez had in 1991.  He was twenty-three that year, and wasn't ready yet.  He appeared in just 15 games and batted .189.  He was in the minors for two more years, then went to the Boston organization.  He was with the Red Sox for half of 1994 and batted .287/.330/.397 as a part-time player.  He got a September call-up in 1995 and batted .333/.394/.400.  Then, however, he had rotator cuff surgery and went into coaching.  He eventually did some more playing, too, appearing in twenty-four games in 1999 and playing regularly in the Mexican League from 2002-2003.  He currently owns "The Strike Zone", a youth baseball training facility in Winchester, Ohio.  If not for his injuries, he might have had a decent career.

The Twins had now won three in a row, eighteen of nineteen, and twenty-one of twenty-three.

Record:  The Twins were 41-26, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-six

1 Comment

MINNESOTA 8, BALTIMORE 4 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Wednesday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5 with a double.  Chili Davis was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his sixteenth.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on six hits and three walks and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Jeff Robinson pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks and striking out five.  David Segui was 2-for-3.  Leo Gomez was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his third), two walks, and two runs.

The game:  The Twins again jumped out to an early lead with a two-out first inning rally.  Kirby Puckett was hit by a pitch, Hrbek singled, and Davis hit a three-run homer to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  The Twins threatened to blow it open early, as in the second they put men on second and third with one out, but a short fly ball and a strikeout ended the threat.  The failure allowed the Orioles to get back into the game, as Joe Orsulak drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the second and Gomez followed with a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 3-2.

Baltimore threatened to tie it in the fifth, as Gomez led off with a walk and Segui singled, but a long fly out and a double play ended the threat.  The Orioles did more than threaten in the seventh.  With one out Orsulak singled and Gomez walked.  Consecutive RBI singles by Segui and Ernie Whitt put Baltimore ahead 4-3.  The score remained there through eight innings.

But in the ninth the Twins came back, with plenty of help from the Orioles.  They began the inning with singles by Brian Harper, Gene Larkin, and Pagliarulo to tie it 4-4.  With one out, a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, resulting in an intentional walk to Randy Bush.  A wild pitch-plus-error scored two runs and yet another wild pitch scored a third run, making the score 7-4.  Shane Mack then singled and scored from first on Puckett's single, making it 8-4.  Baltimore went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

WP:  Morris (9-5).  LP:  Olson (0-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Al Newman replaced Chuck Knoblauch at second base, and his .286 OBP was placed in the leadoff spot.  He went 0-for-4.  Mack was in left in place of Dan Gladden and batted second.  Pedro Munoz started in right.

The Twins made a bunch of changes in the ninth inning.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Munoz.  Knoblauch then pinch-ran for Larkin and went to second base.  Gladden pinch-ran for Harper and stayed in the game in left field, with Mack moving to right.  Bush pinch-hit for Newman.

Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .344.  Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .328.

As I go through Morris' games, I wonder if Tom Kelly was a little intimidated by him.  Maybe not, maybe Kelly just had that much confidence in him.  But Morris was allowed to stay in games much longer than any other pitcher would have been, even in 1991, and this is one example of that.  Morris had pitched well for six innings and the Twins led 3-2.  He struck out the first batter he faced, but then he gave up a hit.  Then he walked a batter.  His pitch count was approaching a hundred.  But he stayed in the game.  Then he gave up another hit, tying the score and putting men on first and third.  Still, he stayed in the game.  He gave up another hit, losing the lead.  Still, he stayed in the game.  He got a double play to end the inning, then cruised through the eighth and ninth.  The Twins came back and won, so it worked out, but there's no other pitcher who would've been allowed to stay in the game through the seventh inning.

This was Davis' seventh home run in June.  He would go on to hit ten in June, more than a third of his season total and twice as many as he would hit in any other month.  His other June numbers were not particularly outstanding--in June he batted .253/.345/.596, his season numbers were .277/.385/.507.  I don't know that we can contribute his June homers to anything but coincidence, but it's kind of interesting.

The Twins had now won seventeen of eighteen and twenty of twenty-two.

Record:  The Twins were 40-26, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-five

MINNESOTA 9, BALTIMORE 2 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Tuesday, June 18.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixth), two walks, and two runs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5.  Junior Ortiz was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Scott Erickson pitched six shutout innings, giving up one hit and five walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Bob Melvin was 2-for-4.  Paul Kilgus pitched 2.1 innings, giving up an unearned run on no hits and two walks and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins took the lead early, scoring two in the first inning.  With two out, Puckett singled and scored on Hrbek's double.  A wild pitch sent Hrbek to third and a balk scored him to make it 2-0.  In the third, Mack singled and scored on a Mike Pagliarulo double.  Ortiz followed with an RBI single to make it 4-0. With one out a walk and a single loaded the bases.  A force out scored one run and Hrbek singled in another to increase the lead to 6-0.

There were no more hits by either side until the sixth, when Ortiz singled.  He was caught stealing (!), but with two out Gladden singled, stole second, and scored on Knoblauch's single.  It went to 8-0 in the eighth when the Twins scored on an error, a walk, and a sacrifice fly.

The Orioles got on the board in the bottom of the eighth.  A pair of walks and a fly ball put men on first and third with one out.  A ground out scored one and Leo Gomez singled in another to make it 8-2.  A Mack home run in the ninth closed out the scoring.

WP:  Erickson (11-2).  LP:  Roy Smith (3-1).  S:  Carl Willis (1).

Notes:  With Erickson pitching, Ortiz was catching.  The Twins made some late-game changes with the big lead.  Pedro Munoz pinch-ran for Puckett in the sixth and went to right field, with Mack moving to center.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Pagliarulo in the seventh and went to third base.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Hrbek in the eighth and went to first base.

Puckett was batting .329.  Erickson's ERA went down to 1.51.  Willis got a three-inning save, giving up two runs.  His ERA was 3.14.

Baltimore's starter was ex-Twin Roy Smith.  He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing seven runs on eleven hits and three walks and striking out one.

This was one of two saves for Willis in 1991, with the other coming August 4.  He had thirteen saves in his career, with a high of five in 1993.  The Twins had five pitchers with saves in 1991--Rick Aguilera (42), Steve Bedrosian (6).  Mark Guthrie (2), Willis (2), and Gary Wayne (1).

Despite the end of their winning streak yesterday, the Twins had won sixteen of seventeen and nineteen of twenty-one.  Could they start a new streak?

Record:  The Twins were 39-26, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-four

3 Comments

BALTIMORE 6, MINNESOTA 5 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Monday, June 17.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 3-for-4.  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-5 with two doubles and a stolen base, his third.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with a double.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5.   Chili Davis was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifteenth.

Pitching stars:  Allan Anderson pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.  Steve Bedrosian pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Cal Ripken was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourteenth), a double, a walk, and two runs.  Mike Devereaux was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth) and a double.  Randy Milligan was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Brady Anderson was 2-for-4 with two runs.

The game:  Each team missed a chance in the first inning.  Puckett hit a two-out double and was stranded, while the Orioles had men on second and third with one out and the bases loaded with two out.  Davis homered in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead, but home runs by Devereaux and Ripken put the Orioles up 2-1 in the fourth.

Baltimore lengthened their lead in the fifth.  Anderson singled, went to third on an error, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-1.  The Twins tied it in the fifth.  Mike Pagliarulo led off with a double, followed by singles by Newman and Chuck Knoblauch to cut the margin to 3-2.  A pair of ground outs scored another run to make it 3-3.

The Twins took the lead in the seventh when Puckett hit a two-out double and scored on Hrbek's single.  It went to 5-3 in the fifth when Harper singled, pinch-runner Dan Gladden was bunted to second, and Newman delivered a two-out RBI single.

Rick Aguilera came in to pitch the ninth.  He gave up singles to David Segui and Anderson.  A bunt moved the runners to second and third.  Joe Orsulak's sacrifice fly made it 5-4, but also provided the second out.  Ripken was intentionally walked, but Milligan wrecked that strategy with a two-run double that ended the game and the Twins' winning streak.

WP:  Mark Williamson (1-2).  LP:  Aguilera (2-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Shane Mack replaced Gladden in left field, with Pedro Munoz in right.  Knoblauch moved up to the leadoff spot, with Mack batting second.  As shown above, Gladden was used as a pinch-runner and stayed in the game in left field, with Mack moving to right.  With Harper removed, Junior Ortiz came in to catch.  Newman started at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the eighth, and Gagne came in to play shortstop, with Newman moving to third base.

Harper raised his average to .347.  Puckett went up to .327.  Munoz was 1-for-3 and was batting .300.

Aguilera gave up three runs in two-thirds of an inning to raise his ERA to 2.97.

You may remember that yesterday we questioned using Aguilera in the eighth inning for no apparent reason.  He ended up pitching three innings in that game.  It came back to bite the Twins in this game.  Despite having thrown three innings the day before, Tom Kelly brought Aguilera into this game in the ninth.  He clearly did not have much left, and really should not have been expected to.  Yes, it's easy to criticize after the fact, and yes, times have changed since 1991.  Still, it does not seem very smart to have brought Aguilera into this game.

Kelly clearly loved Al Newman.  To this point in the season he had played in 49 of the Twins' 64 games.  Yes, a fair number of those were when he was used as a defensive replacement, but that's still a lot of playing time for a guy whose OPS is around .500 and whose batting average is around the Mendoza line.  Many of those defensive replacement games were at third base.  I've admitted before that I don't understand defensive stats very well--was Newman clearly superior to Pagliarulo and Scott Leius at third base?  I'm skeptical of that, but I don't have anything to base that on other than memories.

So the winning streak came to an end at fifteen.  The Twins had still won eighteen of twenty, which is obviously pretty good.  They would try to start another winning streak the next day.

Record:  The Twins were 38-26, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Sixty-three

MINNESOTA 4, CLEVELAND 2 IN CLEVELAND (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 3-for-5 with a double.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eighth) and two runs.  Brian Harper was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched seven innings, giving up an unearned run on four hits and no walks and striking out three.  Rick Aguilera pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Greg Swindell pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Mike Aldrete was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Felix Fermin was 2-for-5.

The game:  Harper hit a one-out double in the second and went to third on Larkin's two-out single, but the Twins did not score.  There was no other threat until the fourth, when Fermin led off with a single and scored on a single-plus-error by Aldrete.

In the fifth, Shane Mack led off with a walk, Larkin singled, and Scott Leius reached on a sacrifice bunt/error, loading the bases with none out.  But a strikeout, a foul out, and a fly out followed, keeping the Twins off the board.  The Twins finally broke through in the sixth, however, as Puckett led off with a home run to tie the score 1-1.

The Twins took the lead in the seventh.  Larkin led off with a double and was still on second with two out, but Al Newman came through with an RBI single to make it 2-1 Minnesota.  Aguilera came in to start the eighth, despite the fact that Tapani had retired twelve of the last thirteen batters and had thrown just 82 pitches.  He walked Carlos Baerga and gave up one-out singles to Alex Cole and Fermin to tie the score 2-2.

Not to worry,  In the tenth, Newman drew a one-out walk and Puckett followed with a single, putting men on first and third.  Chili Davis hit a sacrifice fly to put the Twins in front and Harper had an RBI single for an insurance run.  Mark Lewis drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the tenth, but a double play followed and the win was secured.

WP:  Aguilera (2-2).  LP:  Shawn Hillegas (2-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Newman was at second base, replacing Chuck Knoblauch.  He batted second despite having an OBP of .279 and an OPS of .488.  He went 1-for-4 with a walk, a run, and an RBI, so maybe Tom Kelly was right to bat him there.  Or maybe he just got lucky.

Gene Larkin was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  That was probably just to give Hrbek a day off, but again, it worked very well.

Pedro Munoz pinch-ran for Harper in the tenth inning.  Munoz stayed in the game in right field, with Mack moving to center and Junior Ortiz coming in to catch and batting in Puckett's spot.  It's interesting that Kelly apparently thought the better defense was with Mack in center and Munoz in right, rather than just substituting Ortiz in Harper's spot and leaving Puckett and Mack in center and right, respectively.

It's also interesting that Kelly removed Tapani after just seven innings and 82 pitches, and even more interesting that he brought in Aguilera for what at best would be a two-inning save.  Aguilera had not pitched since June 11, when he was at the end of a streak in which he had pitched in seven of eight games.  Tapani would not miss a start, so I assume he was not injured.  There may have been a good reason for doing that, but I don't know what it was.

We previously went through Felix Fermin's struggles as a batter.  Minnesota Twins fans, however, could've been forgiven for thinking he was an all-star.  Against the Twins that year, he batted .378/.452/.405.  For his career against the Twins, he batted .344/.393/.439.  Again, his career batting numbers were .259/.305/.303 and in 1991 he batted .262/.307/.302.

The Twins had now won fifteen in a row and eighteen of nineteen.  The first two wins were against Kansas City.  They had swept Baltimore, Cleveland, the Yankees, and Cleveland again.  None of those teams were very good, but it's not easy to win fifteen in a row against anybody.  The winning streak had carried them from sixth place to first place.  They would next travel to Baltimore.  Could they keep the streak going?

Record:  The Twins were 38-25, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-two

MINNESOTA 11, CLEVELAND 7 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Saturday, June 15.

Batting stars:  Scott Leius was 3-for-4 with four RBIs.  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-5 with two runs.  Dan Gladden was 3-for-5.  Brian Harper was 2-for-3 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Paul Abbott pitched 6.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and five walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Felix Fermin was 3-for-4 with a walk.  Chris James was 2-for-5 with a double.

The game:  Chili Davis' RBI single got the Twins on the board in the first inning.  The Indians came back in the bottom of the first.  Singles by Mike Huff and Fermin, a sacrifice fly, a walk to Brook Jacoby, and Jeff Manto's two-run double gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead.  In the second a walk, an error, and RBI singles by Fermin and James made it 5-1 Indians, and the Twins' winning streak appeared to be in serious trouble.

Not to worry.  The Twins put up a six-spot in the third and went into the lead to stay.  With one out, Gladden and Knoblauch singled and Kirby Puckett delivered a two-run triple.  Davis walked, followed by Harper's RBI single.  Kent Hrbek walked, a force out brought home a run to tie it, and Leius came through with a two-run single to put the Twins up 7-5.

The Twins added to their lead in the fifth.  Davis walked, Harper doubled, a ground out scored one run, and Leius had another run-scoring single to make the score 9-5 Twins.  The Indians got one back in the bottom of the fifth on two walks and two ground outs, cutting it to 9-6, but the Twins took control in the seventh.  Harper was hit by a pitch and Shane Mack got a one-out double.  Leius singled home another run and a sacrifice fly made it 11-6.  Cleveland got a run in the ninth on a double play to round out the scoring.

WP:  Abbott (2-0).  LP:  Jeff Mutis (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was a standard lineup, but the Twins made numerous late changes.  Pedro Munoz pinch-hit for Puckett in the eighth and went to right field, with Mack moving to center.  Lenny Webster went in to catch in the eighth, replacing Harper, and Al Newman went to short in the eighth, replacing Greg Gagne.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Hrbek in the ninth and stayed in the game at first base.

Harper raised his average to .341.  Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Davis was 1-for-3 and was batting .301.  Abbott dropped his ERA to 1.98.

Bush went 0-for-1 and was batting .193.  Twins starter Mark Guthrie pitched just 1.1 innings and allowed five runs (three earned), raising his ERA to 5.60.  He would struggle through two more starts, then be dropped from the rotation.

Cleveland starter Jeff Mutis pitched just 2.2 innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and two walks.  This was his major league debut, and it obviously didn't go quite like he dreamed.  He made two more starts for the Indians in 1991 and continued to struggle.  He was with them again briefly in 1992 and was actually in their rotation at the start of 1993, but never had success in the majors.  He was in the Florida bullpen in 1994 but fared no better there.  For his career, he was 4-11, 6.48, 1.76 WHIP in 143 innings.  He appeared in 58 games, 18 of them starts.  He wasn't very good in AAA, either, going 17-16, 4.72, 1.49 WHIP.  He was with teams who were desperate for pitching, and there was apparently something about him teams liked, but there was really no reason for him to get that many chances in the major leagues.  His wikipedia entry closes with "In 1994, on December 15th, he birthed a beautiful child, named Carolyn Mutis".  At last report, he was living in Ontario and was a software engineer.  We hope he has more success in his current occupation.

So the Twins had made it fourteen in a row and seventeen of eighteen.  How long could they keep it going?

Record:  The Twins were 37-25, in second place in the American League West, a half-game behind first-place Oakland.  They led third-place Texas by three games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixty-one

3 Comments

MINNESOTA 7, CLEVELAND 0 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Friday, June 14.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 3-for-4 with a grand slam (his fifth homer), a double, and five RBIs.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched seven shutout innings, giving up three hits and five walks and striking out four.  He threw 120 pitches.  Carl Willis pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition star:  Jesse Orosco pitched a perfect inning.

The game:  The Twins put men on second and third with one out in the second, but did not score.  No problem.  In the third, Chuck Knoblauch drew a one-out walk and Hrbek followed with a two-out two-run homer, putting the Twins up 2-0.  The Indians got a couple of walks in the bottom of the third but did not score.  In the fourth, Randy Bush tripled and scored on Mack's single to make the score 3-0.

The Twins put the game out of reach in the fifth.  Kirby Puckett was hit by a pitch with one out.  With two out, Harper singled and Bush was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Cleveland starter Jeff Shaw was then replaced by Rod Nichols, whose first pitch was hit over the fence for a grand slam by Mack to make the score 7-0.

The Indians' biggest threat came in the sixth, when they put men on second and third with two out.  They also put two men on in the seventh.  But the shutout held and it was another victory for the Twins.

WP:  Morris (8-5).  LP:  Shaw (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bush was the DH in place of Chili Davis.  The Twins made a number of defensive changes in the eighth inning.  Gene Larkin went to first base in place of Hrbek.  Al Newman went to second, replacing Knoblauch.  The two flip-flopped in the batting order, with Newman batting in Hrbek's spot and Larkin taking Knoblauch's spot.  Pedro Munoz replaced Puckett and went to right field, with Mack moving to center.

Harper raised his average to .335.  Puckett was 1-for-3 and went to .321.  Munoz was 0-for-1 and was batting .303.  Willis dropped his ERA to 2.81.

Bush was 1-for-3 to raise his average to .196.

Morris' ERA was 3.69, the lowest it had been all season.  One wonders if he tried to convince Tom Kelly to leave him in the game to pitch the eighth, even though the outcome was not in doubt and he had thrown 120 pitches.

This was the first major league appearance of the season for Jeff Shaw, and his only start of the season.  He would make one more start in 1992, make eight starts for Montreal in 1993 (and forty-seven relief appearances), then go to the bullpen for good.  He was really a fairly mediocre pitcher through 1995, but then he signed with Cincinnati and his career took off.  He went 8-6, 2.49, 1.22 WHIP with four saves in 1996.  He then became the closer and led the league in saves with 42 in 1997.  He stayed with Cincinnati until July 4, 1998, when he was traded to the Dodgers.  He stayed there and was their closer for the rest of his career.  He had a down season in 2000, but came back to make the all-star team in 2001.  There's no apparent reason he could not have pitched for at least a few more years, but he retired after the 2001 season instead.  He had 203 saves for his career and averaged 39 per season once he became a closer.  If he'd had three or four more good years, he might have had a case for the Hall of Fame.  He chose not to do that, though, there's certainly nothing wrong with that.

The Twins had now won thirteen in a row and sixteen out of seventeen.  That's pretty impressive.  How long could they keep it going?

Record:  The Twins were 36-25, in second place in the American League West, one game behind Oakland.  They were two games ahead of second place California.