Tag Archives: 1991 rewind

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Nineteen

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MINNESOTA 8, SEATTLE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, April 28.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third), a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out three.  Steve Bedrosian pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Ken Griffey, Jr. was 3-for-5 with a double and a stolen base, his third.  Pete O'Brien was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Each team scored in the first inning.  For the Mariners, Greg Briley singled, stole second, and scored on Griffey, Jr.'s single.  Puckett homered with two out in the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  Henry Cotto got to third in the second, but did not score.

The Twins took their first lead in the third when Knoblauch tripled and scored on a Puckett single to make it 2-1 Twins.  Seattle tied it in the fourth on singles by Edgar Martinez, O'Brien, and Omar Vizquel.

It stayed 2-2 until the sixth.  Puckett led off with a walk and scored on Hrbek's double.  Davis then delivered an RBI single to make it 4-2.  The Twins put it away in the seventh.  Gene Larkin led off with a single, Greg Gagne had an RBI double, Dan Gladden was hit by a pitch, Knoblauch had an RBI single, a run scored on a ground out, and Davis hit a run-scoring double.  It was 8-2 Twins.  The Mariners never got more than one man on base after that.

WP:  Morris (2-3).  LP:  Scott Bankhead (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was again Larkin in right and Puckett in center.  Shane Mack came in as a pinch-runner in the seventh and stayed in the game in center, with Puckett moving to right.

For some reason, Tom Kelly found it necessary to bring Rick Aguilera into the game with two out and none on in the ninth and an 8-2 lead.  Aguilera hadn't pitched since April 24, and the next day was an off day, but still, why bring him in then?  If he needed the work, why not bring him in to start the inning?  And he wouldn't pitch again until May 3, so they must not have thought Aguilera needed that much work.  It just seems really strange.

Larkin was 1-for-3 and was batting .393.  Puckett raised his average to .355.  Knoblauch raised his average to .343.  Brian Harper was 0-for-2 with two walks and was batting .333.  Davis raised his average to .322.  Gagne was 1-for-3 and was batting .300.  Bedrosian lowered his ERA to 2.53.  Aguilera dropped his ERA to 1.17.

Scott Leius pinch-hit and went 0-for-1, making his average .143.  Mack was 1-for-1 as a reserve and raised his average to .143.  Al Newman was 0-for-1 as a reserve and was batting .167.  Gladden was 0-for-4 and fell to .169.  Hrbek raised his average to .194.  Morris was working on getting his ERA down, but it was still at 5.34.  Mark Guthrie pitched a third of an inning, giving up no runs on a hit and a walk, and had an ERA of 16.88.

Neither side of the Twins third base platoon was batting well, but at least Leius was drawing walks.  Leius was batting .143/.379/.238.  Mike Pagliarulo was batting .205/.205/.227.

The Mariners used Henry Cotto at DH, the only time all season he started at that position.  He seems to be a DH in the proud tradition of Jason Tyner--his lifetime numbers are .261/.299/.370, compared to Tyner's .275/.314/.323.  The one thing you can say in Cotto's defense is that 1991 was his best offensive season.  He batted .305/.347/.463 in 192 plate appearances.  And at the time of this game, he was batting .350.

Record:  After a 2-9 start, the Twins improved to 9-10.  They climbed out of last place in the American League West, moving up to a tie for third with California, although leading Kansas City and Texas by mere percentage points.  They were 3.5 games behind the White Sox.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Eighteen

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MINNESOTA 7, SEATTLE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, April 27.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-3 with two walks and two runs.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Brian Harper was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out four.  Larry Casian pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ken Griffey, Jr. was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two runs.  Edgar Martinez was 1-for-2 with two walks.

The game:  Griffey, Jr. homered in the top of the first to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the first, as Gladden led off with a single and Hrbek hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins a 2-1 advantage.

It stayed there until the bottom of the fifth.  A couple of Twins threats failed to bear fruit--they loaded the bases in the second and had two on in the third--but in the fifth Chili Davis drew a two-out walk followed by Harper's two-run homer to make the score 4-1.  Seattle got one back in the fifth on consecutive two-out singles by Griffey, Jr., Martinez, and Alvin Davis to make it 4-2.

The Twins put it away in the eighth.  Greg Gagne singled and Larkin reached on an error.  A bunt moved the runners up, Gladden singled one home, and Knoblauch singled home another.  Gladden was then picked off third, but the pitcher threw the ball away and he came in to score the last run of the game.

WP:  Tapani (2-0).  LP:  Brian Holman (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Larkin was back in right field, with Kirby Puckett in center and Shane Mack on the bench.  Mack again entered the game for defense and went to center, with Puckett moving to right.  Al Newman started at shortstop in place of Gagne.  Gagne pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the eighth and stayed in the game at short, with Newman moving to third.

Larkin was batting .400.  Harper was batting .349.  Puckett was 1-for-5 and was batting .342.  Knoblauch went up to .338.  Tapani had an ERA of 2.10.

Hrbek raised his average to .172.  Newman was 0-for-3 and was batting .176.  Gladden raised his average to .180.  After hitting a low of .032, he has gone 10-for-30 in the next seven games.

Holman went six innings, giving up four runs on seven his and six walks.  He struck out two.  The low number of strikeouts and the high number of walks in recent games has really been striking.

The Twins had won four in a row and six of seven.  After being swept in a three-game series in Seattle, they were now on the verge of sweeping the Mariners in a four-game series in Minnesota.

This was the period in which Ken Griffey, Sr. and Ken Griffey, Jr. were both in the outfield for Seattle.  Senior has been batting second and playing left, while Junior has batted third and played center.

Sorry I haven't done any player profiles lately.  I just haven't had the time.  I hope I can get back to it in a week or so.  I don't know how much anyone else enjoys them, but they're fun for me to do.

Record:  The Twins were 8-10, tied for sixth in the American League West, 3.5 games behind the White Sox.  They were one game behind California, Kansas City, and Texas, who were all tied for third.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Seventeen

MINNESOTA 6, SEATTLE 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, April 26.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-4.   Chili Davis was 2-for-2 with a home run (his fourth), two walks, and two RBIs.  Junior Ortiz was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching star:  Scott Erickson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and four walks and striking out one.

Opposition star:  Alvin Davis was 1-for-2 with two walks.

The game:  Each team loaded the bases in the first inning but did not score.  In the second, two out walks to Scott Leius and Greg Gagne were followed by Gladden's two-run double to put the Twins up 2-0.  Davis homered leading off the third to make it 3-0.  In the fourth, a walk to Gladden was followed by two-out singles by Puckett and Davis to make it 4-0.

With one out in the sixth, singles by Knoblauch and Puckett and a walk to Davis again loaded the bases.  A force out scored one run and an Ortiz single brought home another to make it 6-0.

Other than the first inning, the biggest Mariner threat came in the eighth.  Ken Griffey, Jr. led off with a double and Davis singled to put men on first and third with one out.  Pete O'Brien lined back to the pitcher, who turned it into a double play to end the inning.

WP:  Erickson (2-2).  LP:  Randy Johnson (2-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Gene Larkin was at first base, with Kent Hrbek getting the day off.  Ortiz was in the game as Erickson's personal catcher.

Larkin was 1-for-5 and was batting .381.  Puckett raised his average to .353.  Knoblauch was batting .333 and was 7-for-12 in his last three games.  Davis raised his average to .315.  Erickson had an ERA of 2.03.

Shane Mack was back in the lineup in center field but was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .118.  Randy Bush was 0-for-1 and was batting .130.  Carmelo Castillo was 1-for-1 and was batting .143.  Leius was 0-for-3 with two walks and was batting .150.  Gladden raised his average to .155.

Erickson threw 124 pitches in his complete game.  Johnson threw 111 pitches in just five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and seven walks and striking out three.  While Johnson wasn't the star he would ultimately become, he was already a good pitcher and had made the all-star team in 1990.  He just hadn't found his control yet.  1991 was the second of three consecutive seasons in which he would lead the league in walks.

The Twins had played all of their first seventeen games against west coast teams.  It would go to nineteen games before they played their first non-west coast team, Boston on April 30.

The Twins had won three in a row and five of six.

Record:  The Twins were 7-10, in seventh (last) place in the American League West, 3.5 games behind the White Sox.  They one game behind Seattle and Texas, who were tied for fifth.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Sixteen

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MINNESOTA 4, SEATTLE 3 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, April 25.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5.  Chili Davis was 1-for-2 with two walks and a hit-by-pitch.

Pitching star:  Allan Anderson pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and four walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Erik Hanson pitched seven innings, giving up one run on eight hits and three walks and striking out one.  Edgar Martinez was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.  Jay Buhner was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  In the first inning, Ken Griffey, Jr. drew a two-out walk and scored on Martinez' double to give the Mariners a 1-0 lead.  They got a man to third in the second and again in the third, but couldn't score him.  Meanwhile, the Twins did not get a man past first base for five innings.  They threatened in the sixth, putting men on first and third, but remained scoreless.

That changed in the seventh.  Davis and Harper opened the inning with singles and Larkin delivered a one-out single to tie the score.  The Twins would load the bases with two out, but could do no more damage.  Seattle got the lead back in the eighth, as Martinez singled and Buhner had an RBI double.  The Twins tied it in the eighth.  Kent Hrbek singled and Davis was hit by a pitch.  With two out, Mike Pagliarulo came through with an RBI single, but Davis was thrown out at third to prevent the Twins from taking the lead.  It remained 2-2 through ten.

The Mariners took the lead in the tenth without getting a hit.  Martinez was hit by a pitch with one out and Alvin Davis walked.  A ground out moved the runners to second and third, an intentional walk to Pete O'Brien loaded the bases, and a wild pitch brought home the go-ahead run.  But the Twins were not done.  In the bottom of the tenth, Knoblauch singled and Al Newman doubled, putting men on second and third.  An intentional walk to Davis loaded the bases with one out.  A wild pitch tied the score, and when pitcher Mike Jackson missed the return throw from the catcher the winning run scored.  The Twins had scored two runs on a walkoff wild pitch-plus-error to win the game.

WP:  Steve Bedrosian (2-0).  LP:  Jackson (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Shane Mack's slow start and Larkin's hot start meant that Larkin was again in right field, with Kirby Puckett in center.  Mack pinch-ran for Larkin in the ninth and stayed in the game in center, with Puckett moving to right.

Newman was in the game to hit the double in the tenth because he pinch-ran for Hrbek in the eighth.  He played shortstop, with Randy Bush entering the game at first base to replace Greg Gagne.

My recollection is that Larkin was a really bad outfielder.  Memory is a funny thing, of course, but I remember him playing a few steps in front of the warning track, because he couldn't go back on the ball.  He also played somewhat facing the right field foul line, because he couldn't go to his left.

He was batting .438 at this point in the season, though, and .438 will make up for a lot of defensive mistakes.  Harper raised his average to .359.  Puckett was up to .328.  Knoblauch raised his average to .321.  Gagne was 1-for-3 and was batting .302.

Gladden was 0-for-4 and was batting .111.  Bush was 0-for-1 and was batting .136.  Newman was 1-for-1 and was batting .154.  Hrbek was 1-for-4 and was batting .164.

After a 2-9 start, the Twins had won four out of five games.

Record:  The Twins were 6-10, in seventh (last) place in the American League West, 4.5 games behind Chicago, two games behind Kansas City, Seattle, and Texas, who were tied for fourth.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Fifteen

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MINNESOTA 7, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, April 24.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base (his second) and three RBIs.  Junior Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched 7.2 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out six.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Harold Baines was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Lance Blankenship was 1-for-2 with a walk.

The game:  The Twins missed a chance in the first.  With one out, Knoblauch walked and Puckett singled.  With two out, Chili Davis walked to load the bases, but a fly out ended the inning.  Each team put men on first and second in the fourth, but it remained scoreless until the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, Puckett tripled and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Athletics then broke through with four in the top of the sixth.  Willie Wilson doubled and scored on a Jose Canseco single to tie it 1-1.  Baines then tripled to give Oakland a 2-1 lead.  Terry Steinbach singled him home, and singles by Mark McGwire and Blankenship plated another run, making it 4-1 Athletics.

The Twins responded in the bottom of the sixth.  Mike Pagliarulo led off with a single.  Singles by Larkin and Greg Gagne loaded the bases with one out.  Dan Gladden singled one home, Knoblauch cleared the bases with a triple to give the Twins the lead, and Hrbek singled him home to provide an insurance run at 6-4.

Oakland did not get a hit the rest of the game.  The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth when Gladden was hit by a pitch, Knoblauch singled, and Puckett hit a sacrifice fly.

WP:  Morris (1-3).  LP:  Dave Stewart (1-2).  S:  Aguilera (4).

Notes:  Puckett started in center, with Larkin in right.  Shane Mack came in for defense in the eighth, playing center with Puckett moving to right.

Larkin raised his average to .417.  Puckett went up to .322.  Knoblauch raised his average to .308.  Gagne was 1-for-4 and was batting .300.

Aguilera had an ERA of 1.23.

Gladden was 1-for-4 and raised his average to .120.  Hrbek was 1-for-5 and was batting .157.  Morris got his ERA down to 5.88.

Morris threw 124 pitches.  Stewart was allowed to give up all seven runs in seven innings. giving up twelve hits and three walks while striking out six.  He threw 134 pitches.  Yes, men were men in those days.

There were three triples in this game.  I'm sure that's nowhere near a record, but it's not exactly common, either.  I would think the Oakland Mausoleum would be conducive to triples, although I didn't look it up to check.

Record:  The Twins were 5-10, in seventh (last) place, five games behind the White Sox, 2.5 games behind sixth-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Fourteen

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OAKLAND 7, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, April 23.

Batting stars:  Brian Harper was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two runs.  Dan Gladden was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer.

Pitching star:  Terry Leach pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jose Canseco was 2-for-3 with two walks, two stolen bases, (his third and fourth), and two runs.  Dave Henderson was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Willie Wilson was 2-for-5 with a triple.  Lance Blankenship was 2-for-5.  Terry Steinbach was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, a hit-by-pitch, and two runs.  Kirk Dressendorfer pitched 5.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and three walks and striking out two.  Steve Chitren pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

The game:  The Athletics jumped on Twins starter Mark Guthrie for three runs in the first inning.  With one out, Henderson doubled, Canseco walked, and Steinbach hit a three-run homer to put Oakland ahead 3-0.  The Twins had a good chance in the second.  Chili Davis drew a one-out walk and Harper singled.  Mike Pagliarulo delivered a single, but Davis was thrown out at the plate.  Randy Bush was caught looking and the inning was over.

The Athletics added to their lead in the third.  Canseco singled, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch.  Mark McGwire walked, and with two out McGwire and Canseco pulled off a double steal of second and home.  The baserunning gave Oakland a 4-0 lead.  It went to 6-0 in the fourth, as Fred Manrique singled, Wilson tripled, and Henderson doubled.

The Twins got on the board in the fourth.  With one out, Kent Hrbek and Davis walked and Harper had an RBI single.  The Twins still had men on first and third with one out.  Pagliarulo hit a fly to left on which Harper somehow took second without Davis scoring.  Perhaps, having been thrown out at the plate once, Davis (or third base coach Ron Gardenhire) did not want to risk having it happen again.  At any rate, Bush then grounded out to end the inning with the score 6-1.

The teams exchanged runs, with Harper singling one home in the sixth and the Athletics answering with a Blankenship RBI single in the seventh.  The Twins tried to get back into it in the bottom of the seventh.  Gagne singled and Gladden homered to cut the lead to 7-4.  Gagne led off the ninth with a homer to make it 7-5, but that was as good as it would get for the Twins.

WP:  Dressendorfer (2-1).  LP:  Guthrie (0-2).  S:  Dennis Eckersley (5).

Notes:  Bush again started in right field, with Kirby Puckett in center.  Shane Mack pinch-hit for Bush in the sixth and stayed in the game in center, with Puckett moving to right.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Mack in the eighth and stayed in the game in right, with Puckett moving back to center.

Larkin was 0-for-1 and was batting .375.  Harper raised his average to .343.  Puckett was 0-for-5 and was batting .309.  Gagne raised his average to .306.

Gladden raised his average to .109.  Mack was 0-for-1 and was batting .133.  Bush was 0-for-2 and was batting .143.  Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .152.  Scott Leius was 1-for-2 and was batting .176.

Guthrie lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and three walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 18.00.  Carl Willis saved the bullpen by pitched 4.2 innings of relief.  He gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk and struck out two.  His ERA was 5.79.  Terry Leach lowered his ERA to 5.40.

The 4.2 innings of relief were not the most Willis would pitch in 1991.  Twice he pitched five innings of relief.  He also had a 4.1 inning appearance and three appearances of four innings.  We can safely say he was used as a long reliever.  For the season, he pitched 89 innings over 40 games.  He was very good, posting an ERA of 2.63 and a WHIP of 1.07.

The Twins winning streak ended at just two.

This was Steve Chitren's only full season in the majors.  He had gotten a September call-up in 1990.  He started 1991 very well, not giving up a run in his first eleven appearances (11 innings).  He had nowhere to go but down, and he did.  He had only one month other than April in which he posted an ERA below 4.00, and he had an awful August (9.39).  For the season, he had an ERA of 4.33 with a WHIP of 1.51.  He was born in Tokyo, but appears to have been raised in the United States.  There's a Steve Chitren of about the right age who was on the run from the law for numerous theft charges in Las Vegas.  He apparently had done the thefts to provide money for a gambling addiction.  No article mentions that he was a former big league ballplayer, though, and one would expect that to be something they would mention, so it may well be a different Steve Chitren.

Record:  The Twins were 4-10, in seventh (last) place in the American League West, six games behind the White Sox.  They were 2.5 games behind sixth-place Kansas City.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Eleven

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CALIFORNIA 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Saturday, April 20.

Batting star:  Chili Davis was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second.

Pitching star:  Allan Anderson pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up two runs on four hits and a walk.  He did not strike out anyone.

Opposition stars:  Kirk McCaskill pitched eight innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with two strikeouts.  Dave Gallagher was 2-for-2.

The game:  Not a lot of offense--the two teams combined for just seven hits.  The Angels started the scoring in the third inning, when Donnie Hill doubled, was bunted to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  The Twins did not have any kind of threat for seven innings, but Davis led off the eighth with a home run to tie it 1-1.  It was immediately untied in the bottom of the eighth.  Gallagher singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Luis Polonia single to make it 2-1 California.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  McCaskill (2-1).  LP:  Anderson (1-2).  S:  Bryan Harvey (3).

Notes:  Randy Bush was in right field, with Kirby Puckett moving to center and Shane Mack on the bench.

No Twins batters got out of their slumps in this game, as the team only had three hits.  Puckett was 0-for-3 and was batting .333.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit and went 0-for-1 and was also batting .333.

Dan Gladden was 0-for-4 and was batting .032.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 to raise his average to .125.  Bush was 0-for-3 and was batting .167.

This was the second consecutive game in which a Twins pitcher got a complete game loss.  I wonder when the last time is that happened.

The Twins had lost seven in a row.  They had scored twelve runs in their last six games and four runs in their last four games.  The pitching staff had allowed just eleven runs in the last four games but the team had not won any of them.

Outfielder Dave Gallagher actually had a pretty decent career.  He made the Cleveland roster coming out of spring training in 1987 but lasted only a month.  He was traded to Seattle after the season, released, and signed with the White Sox, He came up to the majors in mid-May and was their starting center fielder through 1989.  He finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting in 1988, when he batted .303.  He only batted .266 in 1989, though, and as he had no power that wasn't good enough.  He was a reserve the rest of his career, but it was a substantial one, lasting through 1995.  He bounced around a lot, playing for Baltimore, California, the Mets, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and California again.  His best average and OPS came in his last season, when he batted .306 with an  OPS of .769.  He was only thirty-five at that point, and you'd think someone would've wanted him, but no one did and his playing career was over.  Over nine seasons he batted .271/.331/.353 in 794 games and 2343 plate appearances.  He coached in high school and community college.  He also invented an instructional device called the Stride Tutor.  He currently operates the Dave Gallagher Baseball Academy in North Trenton, New Jersey.

Record:  The Twins were 2-9, in seventh (last) place in the American League West, 5.5 games behind California and Oakland, and three games behind sixth-place Texas.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Ten

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CALIFORNIA 2, MINNESOTA 0 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, April 19.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had just two hits.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Chuck Finley pitched a complete game shutout, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out nine.  Wally Joyner was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Junior Felix was 2-for-3.

The game:  For the first six innings only one man got as far as third base.  That happened in the third, when Felix singled, was bunted to second, and advanced to third on a ground out.  The game stayed scoreless, however, until the seventh.  The first two Angels went out that inning, but singles by Donnie Hill, Jack Howell, and Felix made the score 1-0.  California added a run in the eighth when Joyner led off with a double, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Twins did nothing on offense the entire game.  The only man to reach second base was Greg Gagne, who hit a one-out double in the sixth.  He did not advance.

WP:  Finley (3-0).  LP:  Morris (0-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Dan Gladden was back in the lineup in left field.  Shane Mack remained in center and Kirby Puckett in right.

Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .359.  Brian Harper was 0-for-3 and was batting .333.  Gagne was 1-for-3 and was batting .304.

Gladden was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .037.  Kent Hrbek was 0-for-3 and was batting .108.  Mack was 0-for-3 and was batting .143.  Scott Leius was 0-for-2 with a walk and was batting .154.  I did not remember that so many regulars started off the season in batting slumps.

Morris had a fine game, but his ERA was still a very high 6.38.  Also, while again it was a fine game, it was not even in his top ten for the season as judged by game scores.

Not only did each pitcher throw a complete game, but neither team substituted at all.  The same ten players started and ended the game for each team.  That's pretty much unheard of today, but I suspect it was rather unusual even then.

It was the sixth straight loss for the Twins, in their last five games, they had scored just eleven runs and had been shut out twice.

Record:  The Twins were 2-8, in seventh (last) place in the American League West, 5.5 games behind Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Nine

SEATTLE 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN SEATTLE (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, April 17.

Batting stars:  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Brian Harper was 2-for-5 with two doubles.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani struck out seven in seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks.  Steve Bedrosian pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Edgar Martinez was 3-for-5.  Ken Griffey, Sr. was 2-for-4 with a double.  Jay Buhner was 1-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Scott Bankhead pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on nine hits and two walks and striking out three.  Mike Jackson pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up only a walk.

The game:  The Twins put two on with two out in the first, but nothing came of it.  In the second, Haper doubled and scored on a Mike Pagliarulo single.  Pagliarulo was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double, but Shane Mack doubled, went to third on an error, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.  The Twins added to their lead in the fifth.  Chuck Knoblauch singled, took second on a ground out, and scored on a two-out single by Kent Hrbek to make it 3-0.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it would get for Minnesota.  Buhner led off the bottom of the fifth with a home run.  With one out, Dave Valle singled, Jeff Schaefer doubled, a ground out made it 3-2, and Griffey, Sr. singled to tie the score.

The Twins had chances.  They got a two-out double from Randy Bush in the seventh and a one-out double from Harper in the eighth, but neither man advances past second.  Seattle loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but a strikeout and a fly out turned them aside.

Neither team threatened again until the eleventh.  Davis led off with a single and was pinch-run for by Henry Cotto, who stole second.  Buhner walked, Pete O'Brien struck out, and Scott Bradley delivered an RBI single to win the game for the Mariners.

WP:  Jackson (1-1).  LP:  Rick Aguilera (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bush was again in left in place of Dan Gladden.  Gladden pinch-ran for Bush in the seventh and remained in the game in left field.  Mack was again in center and Kirby Puckett in right.

Harper raised his average to .381.  Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .371.  Knoblauch was 1-for-4 and was batting .313.  Greg Gagne was 0-for-3 and was batting .300.  Tapani had an ERA of 1.64.  Bedrosian had an ERA of 2.84.  Aguilera pitched 1.1 innings, giving up a run on two hits and two walks and striking out two.  His ERA was 2.25.

At the other end, Carmelo Castillo was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and was batting zero.  Gladden was 0-for-1 and was batting .042.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Gagne, went 0-for-2, and was batting .111.  Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .118.  Mack was 1-for-5 and was batting .160.  Scott Leius was 0-for-1 and was batting .182.

It was the fifth consecutive loss for the Twins and gave them sole possession of last place.  They had the worst record in all of baseball.  Given that they had finished last in 1990 this probably wasn't a huge surprise, but it must have been a disappointment.  They added Jack Morris, Chili Davis, and Steve Bedrosian, they still had Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek, and yet they seemed to be the same old last-place Twins.

This was only the third game for Aguilera.  He had saved the Twins' first win, and was used in a mopup role in one of their losses to California.

If you're wondering, this is the same Mike Jackson who would pitch for the Twins in 2002.  He was twenty-six at this time, and would play until he was thirty-nine.

Record:  The Twins were 2-7, in seventh (last) place in the American League West, six games behind Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Eight

8 Comments

SEATTLE 3, MINNESOTA 0 IN SEATTLE

Date:  Tuesday, April 16.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had five hits, all singles.

Pitching stars:  Scott Erickson pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and five walks and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Brian Holman pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and two walks and striking out three.  Ken Griffey, Jr. was 2-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.  Alvin Davis was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Jeff Schaefer was 2-for-4.  Pete O'Brien was 1-for-4 with a home run.

The game:  Chili Davis and Mike Pagliarulo opened the second with singles, but Davis was picked off second.  Shane Mack followed with a single, but the Twins did not get anyone past second.  Three of the Twins' five hits came in the same inning, but they still did not score and would not threaten again.

The Mariners got on the board in the third.  They had one-out singles by Schaefer and Harold Reynolds and two-out singles by Griffey, Jr., and Edgar Martinez to take a 2-0 lead.  They added a run in the eighth on O'Brien's two-out home run.  And that was that.

WP:  Holman (1-1).  LP:  Erickson (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Randy Bush was in left field, replacing Dan Gladden.  Junior Ortiz was behind the plate, replacing Brian Harper.  Al Newman was at short, replacing Greg Gagne.  Shane Mack remained in center, with Kirby Puckett in right.

As I recall, Ortiz served as Erickson's catcher in 1991.

Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .387.  Chuck Knoblauch was 0-for-4 and was batting .321.  Erickson's ERA was 2.45.

Ortiz was 0-for-2 with a walk and was 0-for-9 on the season, so his batting average was the same as his uniform number.  Kent Hrbek was 0-for-4 and was batting .100.  Mack was 1-for-3 to raise his average to .150.  Bush was 1-for-4 to raise his average to .182.

I hadn't remembered that the Twins got off to such a slow start.  They were in a stretch of "when we hit we can't pitch and when we pitch we can't hit".  As you can see, they had a lot of good batters who were not hitting.  They also had some pitchers who were not pitching well.  The schedule didn't do them any favors, either, not so much because of the teams but because of the travel.  Train in Florida, open with three in Oakland, come home for three with California, then back to the west coast for three in Seattle and three in California.  That's a lot of travel and a lot of time-zone changes.  Yes, they're professional ballplayers and they have to deal with it, but they're still human beings, and that's not easy.

Brian Holman was a fairly good pitcher for four seasons.  He came up with Montreal at mid-season of 1988 and went 4-8, but with an ERA of 3.23.  He was traded to Seattle in late May of 1989 with Gene Harris and Randy Johnson for a player to be named later (Mike Campbell) and Mark Langston.  He was in the Mariners rotation through 1991 and went 32-35, 3.73 over 80 starts.  He was only twenty-six at that point and looked like he would be around for a long time.  Unfortunately, he tore his rotator cuff and would never pitch again.  He went through a lot of rehab, but finally gave up in 1994.  He does not seem to have let it get him down, however, as he has had a successful career as a financial advisor, a motivational speaker, and a high school baseball coach.

Record:  The Twins were 2-6, tied for sixth with Seattle in the American League West, five games behind the White Sox.