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Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-four

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MINNESOTA 5, TORONTO 0 IN TORONTO

Date:  Saturday, September 28.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his second.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5.  Chili Davis was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched a complete game shutout, giving up six hits and three walks and striking out four.  He threw 121 pitches.

Opposition star:  Roberto Alomar was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  There was no score through four.  The Twins had two on with none out in the second, but a double play took them out of the inning.  The Blue Jays had two on with two out in the third and again in the fourth, but could not score.

The Twins broke through in the fifth.  Davis led off with a walk, Shane Mack had a one-out single, and Greg Gagne delivered a two-run double.  The Twins later put men on second and third with two out and Chuck Knoblauch had a two-run single, putting the Twins up 4-0.

That was pretty much it, really.  Toronto drew a couple of walks in the sixth but could do nothing with them.  The Twins added a run in the ninth when Mack was hit by a pitch, was bunted to second, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on Newman's bunt single.

WP:  Morris (18-12).  LP:  Tom Candiotti (13-13).  S:  None.

Notes:  Larkin was in right field, with Mack in left and Dan Gladden on the bench.  Larkin also batted leadoff.  He's obviously not someone you'd think of as a leadoff batter, but in 17 plate appearances there in 1991, he batted .385/.471/.538, and that will certainly work out of the leadoff spot.  For his career, he batted .339/.447/.516 in 76 plate appearances while batting first.  A small sample size, to be sure, but I think I might have put him there more often to see if he could keep it going.

Newman played third base in place of Mike Pagliarulo and Scott Leius.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Larkin in the seventh and stayed in the game in right field.  Pedro Munoz pinch-hit for Kent Hrbek in the ninth.  Paul Sorrento came in to play first base in the ninth.

Puckett raised his average to .322.  Brian Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Mack was 1-for-3 and was batting .306.  Morris lowered his ERA to 3.50.

Leading 4-0 in the ninth, the Twins laid down two bunts.  Apparently back in 1991 the unwritten rules allowed this.  I don't know if they allow it today.  I tried to check, but since the unwritten rules are, well, unwritten, I couldn't find anything.

Toronto used seven pitchers in the game, three of them in the ninth inning.

The White Sox beat Seattle 5-2 to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.

Record:  The Twins were 92-62, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.  They had clinched a tie for the division, and their magic number was now one.

Boston lost, so Toronto continued to lead the East by 3.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-three

TORONTO 7, MINNESOTA 2 IN TORONTO

Date:  Friday, September 27.

Batting star:  Paul Sorrento was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.

Pitching star:  Kevin Tapani pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Juan Guzman struck out nine in eight innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks.  Dave Parker was 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk. Kelly Gruber was 2-for-3 with  a walk, a stolen base (his eleventh), and two runs.

The game:  It was close most of the way.  Devon White led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on Roberto Alomar's single to put the Blue Jays up 1-0.  They later had men on first and third, but could not score again.  The Twins tied it in the fourth.  Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek drew one-out walks and Brian Harper had an RBI single to make the score 1-1.  The Twins had men on first and second, but could not score again.

Toronto took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth.  Gruber singled, Candy Maldonado walked, and Parker delivered an RBI double to make it 2-1 Blue Jays.  They had men on second and third with one out, but could not score again.  The Twins tied it in the seventh when Sorrento led off with a home run, making it 2-2.

Toronto took the lead back in the bottom of the seventh.  Parker led off with a double, was bunted to third, and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2 Blue Jays.  Toronto then put the game away in the eighth.  With two out and none on, John Olerud doubled, Gruber was intentionally walked, and Maldonado was accidentally walked, loading the bases.  Mookie Wilson then delivered a bases-clearing double and came around to score on a Pat Borders single, putting the Blue Jays up 7-2.  The Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Guzman (9-2).  LP:  Tapani (16-9).  S:  None.

Notes:  Randy Bush played right field in place of Shane Mack.  He batted first, with Dan Gladden dropped to the seventh spot.  Sorrento was the DH in place of Chili Davis.  For a change, the Twins did not use their bench at all.

Puckett was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .321.  Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Tapani's ERA went to 2.90.

I had completely forgotten that Dave Parker ended his career in Toronto.  They signed him as a free agent on September 14 and he played thirteen games for them.

The White Sox lost to Seattle 10-8, so the Twins crept closer to clinching.

Record:  The Twins were 91-62, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.  The Twins' magic number was two.

Boston lost to Milwaukee, so the Blue Jays now led the East by 3.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-two

CHICAGO 6, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 25.

Batting star:  Brian Harper was 3-for-4.

Pitching stars:  David West struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Tom Edens pitched a perfect inning.  Rick Aguilera pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Alex Fernandez pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on eight hits and six walks and striking out seven.  He threw 135 pitches.  Bo Jackson was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  With two out and none on in the second, Lance Johnson walked and Mike Huff and Scott Fletcher hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead.  In the bottom of the second, Kent Hrbek doubled, Chili Davis walked, and Harper singled, loading the bases with none out.  Shane Mack struck out but Mike Pagliarulo singled.  One run scored, but Harper was trapped off third and that pretty much killed the rally with the Twins still trailing 2-1.

Chicago put the game out of reach in the fourth.  A walk, a single, and a ground out put men on second and third with one out.  A sacrifice fly scored one, then Tim Raines had an RBI double, Robin Ventura walked, Frank Thomas reached on an error to score a run, and Jackson had an RBI single.  It was 6-1 White Sox, and that was where it would stay.  The Twins had two on in the third, two on in the fourth, two on in the fifth, and two on in the eighth, but they did not score again.

WP:  Fernandez (9-12).  LP:  Allan Anderson (5-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the eighth, but after a pitching change Pedro Munoz pinch-hit for Bush.  Al Newman went to shortstop in the ninth.

Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .321.  Harper raised his average to .315.  Mack was 0-for-4 and was batting .306.

Carl Willis gave up two unearned runs in 1.2 innings.  His ERA went to 2.43.  Aguilera's ERA was 2.10.  Edens lowered his ERA to 5.57.

The Bo Jackson here is post-injury Bo Jackson.  He missed most of 1991, playing six minor league games and getting a September call-up.  He did not play at all in 1992, then was a part-time player in 1993 and 1994 before having to give it up.

Anderson pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks and striking out two.  He got a pretty quick hook--he was pulled in the fourth with the score 2-1, runners on second and third, and one out.  His line looks worse because Willis allowed both of the runners to score.

This was Alex Fernandez' first full year in the majors.  He's pretty much been forgotten about now, but he was a really good pitcher for several years.  From 1993-1997 he was 74-46, 3.53, 1.23 WHIP, averaging 220 innings per year.  He then got injured, missed all of 1998, and was able to make just 32 more starts from 1999-2000 before his career ended.  For five years there, though, he was about as good as anyone.

Record:  The Twins were 91-61, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

Toronto won and Boston did not play, so the Blue Jays' lead in the East was 2.5 games.

 

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-one

MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, September 24.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base (his eleventh), two runs, and three RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his nineteenth.

Pitching stars:  Scott Erickson pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on one hit and three walks and striking out four.  He threw 88 pitches.  Mark Guthrie pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Wilson Alvarez pitched 5.1 innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits and two walks and striking out two.  Dan Pasqua was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer, his sixteenth.

The game:  The Twins scored early and often.  With one out in the first, Knoblauch singled and scored from first on a Puckett double.  Gene Larkin delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 2-0 Twins.  In the second, again with one out, the Twins got consecutive singles from Gagne, Dan Gladden, and Knoblauch to make it 3-0.  A ground out scored one run and Hrbek delivered a two-run homer to put the Twins up 6-0.  The game was pretty much over at that point.

They played the full nine innings, of course.  The Twins added a run in the fourth when Gagne singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a pair of infield grounders.  Meanwhile, the White Sox did not even get a baserunner until the sixth, when Craig Grebeck walked.  In the seventh, Robin Ventura walked and, with one out, Pasqua hit a two-run homer, Chicago's first hit of the game, to make the score 7-2.

The Twins added two more runs in the ninth.  Scott Leius singled, was bunted to second, and went to third on a wild pitch.  With two out Gladden walked, and RBI singles by Knoblauch and Puckett followed.

WP:  Erickson (19-7).  LP:  Jack McDowell (17-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  Larkin started in right field in place of Shane Mack.  Junior Ortiz was behind the plate in place of Brian Harper.

Puckett raised his average to .321.  Erickson's ERA went to 3.32.

This was pretty much the White Sox' last stand.  They were already eight games out, so they had to sweep to have any kind of chance at the division, and even then it would have been a long shot.  They had their ace, Black Jack McDowell, on the mound.  And the Twins came out and made him look like a bush leaguer.  His line was 1.2 innings, six runs, seven hits, one walk, and one strikeout.  This wasn't the official clincher, but it was officially just a matter of time at this point.

With the Twins leading 7-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Leius led off with a single and Ortiz followed with a sacrifice bunt.  That would seem like a huge violation of an unwritten rule.  I don't know if anyone cared--enforcement of unwritten rules is pretty random and capricious.  But I would think that someone at least made mention of it.

This was, at the time, a rare good start for Erickson.  He would continue to pitch well the rest of the season, although the rest of the season obviously was not very long.

Record:  The Twins were 91-60, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Chicago.  The magic number was three.

In the East, Toronto won and Boston did not play, so the Blue Jays' lead went up to two games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty

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MINNESOTA 9, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 22.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 3-for-3 with a stolen base, his eleventh.  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a triple.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out six.  Terry Leach pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Geno Petralli was 2-for-3.  Dean Palmer was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

The game:  In the second Kent Hrbek and Davis led off with singles and Brian Harper was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with none out.  A sacrifice fly scored one run and Gagne singled home another, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.  In the top of the third Jack Daugherty had a two-out double and Julio Franco had an RBI single, cutting the lead to 2-1, but the Twins got the run back in the bottom of the third when Chuck Knoblauch doubled and later scored on an error, making the score 3-1.  In the fourth, Pagliarulo doubled, went to third on a Gagne single, and scored on a sacrifice fly to put the Twins up 4-1.

The Rangers put men on second and third with one out in the seventh, but the score stayed 4-1 until the eighth, when the Twins put the game out of reach.  Davis hit a one-out triple and scored when Harper reached on an error.  Shane Mack singled and Pagliarulo had a two-run single.  Randy Bush and Al Newman followed with RBI singles to increase the Twins lead to 9-1.

Palmer hit a three-run homer in the ninth to make the final score look better for the Rangers, but they never came close to getting back into the game.

WP:  Morris (17-12).  LP:  Hector Fajardo (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Dan Gladden was out of the lineup.  Mack went to left, with Gene Larkin playing right and batting leadoff.

The Twins again made a lot of substitutions.  Newman replaced Knoblauch at second base in the eighth.  Gladden came in to play left field in the eighth, with Mack moving to right and Larkin coming out of the game.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Davis in the eighth and went to center field, with Kirby Puckett coming out of the game and the Twins losing their DH (no pitcher came to bat).  Bush pinch-hit for Gagne in the eighth.  Scott Leius came in to play shortstop in the ninth.

Puckett was 0-for-5 and was batting .320.  Harper was 0-for-3 and was batting .311.  Mack was 1-for-3 and was batting .309.  Bush was 1-for-1 and was batting .302.  Leach lowered his ERA to 2.98.

This was Davis' only triple of the year.  He had 30 for his career, with a high of six in 1982 and again in 1984.  He actually had some speed early in his career--he had 142 career stolen bases, with a high of 24 in his rookie year of 1982.  He was not a good percentage base-stealer, however, going 142-240 for a percentage of 59.2%.  In his high stolen base year, 1982, he was 24-for-37, a percentage of 64.9%.

Texas starter Hector Fajardo pitched 7.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks and striking out two.  This was his first season and his first start for the Rangers--he had appeared in one game in relief for them and had started two games for Pittsburgh in August.  He was not good as a major league pitcher:  5-9, 6.95, 1.54 WHIP in 124.1 innings (30 games, 17 starts).  He did pitch very well in AAA:  7-1, 2.39, 1.19 WHIP in 83 innings (28 games, 9 starts).  It looks like he struggled with injuries--he appeared in just 11 games in 1992 and 8 in 1993.

The White Sox lost to California 4-2, so the Twins moved closer to clinching the division.

Record:  The Twins were 90-60, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.  The Twins' magic number was five.

In the East Toronto won and Boston lost, increasing the Blue Jays' lead to 1.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-nine

MINNESOTA 8, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 21.

Batting stars:  Brian Harper was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his fourteenth.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighteenth.

Pitching star:  Kevin Tapani pitched a complete game, allowing four runs on eight hits and no walks and striking out six.  He threw 105 pitches.

Opposition stars:  Rafael Palmeiro was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-fifth), a double, and two runs.  Julio Franco was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his thirtieth.  Jack Daugherty was 1-for-4 with a home run.

The game:  With two out in the first inning, Puckett singled and Hrbek followed with a two-run homer.  It stayed 2-0 until the fourth, when Franco singled and Palmeiro doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Ruben Sierra singled in a run and another run scored on a double play, tying the score 2-2.

The Twins took the lead right back in the bottom of the fourth.  Chili Davis had a one-out single and stole second (!).  Harper doubled him home and later scored on a Mike Pagliarulo single to put the Twins up 4-2.  The Twins added two more in the fifth.  With one out, Chuck Knoblauch walked, Puckett singled, and Hrbek walked, loading the bases.  A force out scored one run and a Harper double brought home another, increasing the Twins' lead to 6-2.

The Rangers never really got back into the game.  Palmeiro homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-3, but in the seventh Scott Leius delivered a two-out two-run double to put it up to 8-3.  Daugherty homered in the eighth to make it 8-4, but that was as close as Texas would come.

WP:  Tapani (16-8).  LP:  Jose Guzman (12-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Leius pinch-hit for Pagliarulo in the seventh and stayed in the game at third base.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Puckett in the eighth and stayed in the game in center field.

Puckett raised his average to .323.  Harper went up to .313.  Shane Mack was 1-for-4 and was batting .309.  Tapani's ERA went up to 2.87.

Guzman started for the Rangers and pitched 6.2 innings.  He allowed eight runs on ten hits and four walks.  He struck out three and threw 125 pitches.  I don't know if the Texas bullpen was overtaxed, so they needed him to fill up innings, but that seems like a lot of pitching when you're not pitching that well.

By this time in his career, Gladden was not that much of a base stealer any more.  He would end the year with fifteen, the lowest total of his career to that point.  He would play two more seasons, but would steal only twelve more bases.  In his best years he was a decent, but not great, percentage base stealer.  For his career he was 222-315, which is 70.4%.

I remembered Julio Franco as a good ballplayer, but not as a basestealer.  1991 was his best year, with 36, but he topped thirty three other times.  He was 281-388 for his career, which is 72.4%.

This was Daugherty's only home run in 1991 and one of ten for his career.  Six of them came in 1990, which was the only time he got over 150 at-bats in a season.

The White Sox lost to California 4-3, increasing the Twins lead and getting us all to start thinking of magic numbers, if we weren't doing so already.

Record:  The Twins were 89-60, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of Chicago.  The Twins' magic number was seven.

In the East, Toronto lost and Boston won, dropping the Blue Jays' lead to just a half game.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-eight

MINNESOTA 6, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 20.

Batting stars:  Chili Davis was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Shane Mack was 2-for-4 with a double.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Denny Neagle pitched four innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Julio Franco was 3-for-5 with a double.  Dean Palmer was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his eleventh and twelfth) and three RBIs.  Jack Daugherty was 2-for-4.

The game:  Singles by Chuck Knoblauch, Hrbek, and Davis plated a run for the Twins in the first inning.  While each team missed a good chance, the score stayed 1-0 until the fourth, when Palmer homered to tie it 1-1.  The Rangers took the lead in the fifth when Brian Downing walked, went to third on Franco's double, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Twins went back in front in the sixth.  Hrbek walked, Davis singled, Brian Harper had an RBI single, and Mack had a run-scoring double.  A wild pitch brought home one more run to give the Twins a 4-2 advantage.  That advantage lasted until the next half-inning.  Franco singled and Palmer hit a two-out two-run homer to once again tie the score, this time a 4-4.

The Twins finally took the lead to stay in the eighth.  Mack led off with a single, followed by a sacrifice/fielder's choice and a walk to Randy Bush which left the bases loaded with one out.  With two down, Puckett delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 6-4.  Texas went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Gary Wayne (1-0).  LP:  Wayne Rosenthal (1-3).  S:  Aguilera (40).

Notes:  Al Newman started at short in place of Greg Gagne.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for him in the eighth.  Bush pinch-hit for Dan Gladden in the eighth.  Gagne pinch-ran for him and stayed in the game at shortstop.  Jarvis Brown replaced Sorrento and went to right field, with Mack moving to left.

Puckett raised his average to .322.  Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .311.  Mack raised his average to .310.

Carl Willis allowed two runs in three innings to raise his ERA to 2.47.  Terry Leach pitched a third of an inning and allowed no runs to make his ERA 3.03.  Wayne retired both men he faced to make his ERA 3.38.  Aguilera's ERA fell to 2.13.

Newman was 1-for-15 and 2-for-26, dropping his average to .197.

The losing pitcher, Wayne Rosenthal, was with Texas for a little over half of 1991 and also appeared in six games in 1992.  That was his entire major league career.  His numbers were 1-4, 5.40, 1.56 WHIP in 42 games (75 innings).  He didn't pitch very well in AAA, either:  7-12, 4.36, 1.45 WHIP.  He was a reliever his entire career and pitched well at lower levels, but topped out at AA.

This would be Wayne's only win in 1991. He would have fourteen of them for his career.

This was the first time in Aguilera's career that he reached forty saves.  He would do it again in 1992, the only two seasons of his career in which he had forty saves.

The White Sox defeated California 3-2 in eleven innings to avoid losing ground, but as we've observed before, time was running out on them.

Record:  The Twins were 88-60, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto lost and Boston won, so the Red Sox cut the Blue Jays' lead to 1.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-seven

KANSAS CITY 10, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 18.

Batting stars:  Gene Larkin was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Willie Banks pitched three innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jorge Pedre was 2-for-3.  George Brett was 2-for-4 with a double.  Todd Benzinger was 2-for-5 with a triple and two runs.  Kurt Stillwell was 2-for-5 with a double.

The game:  It was scoreless through three, with each team managing only one hit.  In the fourth, however, Brett had a one-out double, Danny Tartabull walked, and Jim Eisenreich delivered a two-run triple.  Eisenreich was then picked off third, but Twins catcher Junior Ortiz threw the ball away, allowing him to score and making it 3-0 Royals.

The Twins came back to tie it in the fifth.  Chili Davis walked, Shane Mack was hit by a pitch, and Larkin walked, loading the bases with none out.  Pagliarulo singled in two and a ground out brought home a third to make it 3-3.  The tie only lasted until Kansas City batted in the sixth.  Stillwell doubled and scored on a Tartabull single.  Benzinger drove in Tartabull with a triple and Bill Pecota followed with an RBI double.  David Howard singled to put men on first and third, and Pedre then circled the bases on a three-run single-plus-error, giving the Royals a 9-3 advantage.

It was pretty much over at that point Mike MacFarlane had an RBI single in the eighth to make it 10-3 and Greg Gagne had an RBI double in the ninth to make the final 10-4.

WP:  Luis Aquino (8-3).  LP:  Scott Erickson (18-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Mack was in left and Larkin in right with Dan Gladden on the bench.  Gagne moved into the leadoff spot.  Ortiz was behind the plate in place of Brian Harper.

Lenny Webster came in to catch in the seventh, replacing Ortiz once Erickson was out of the game.  Pedro Munoz pinch-hit for Pagliarulo in the ninth.

Kirby Puckett was 0-for-5 and was batting .321.  He was 1-for-16 and 5-for-34 since September 8.  Mack was 0-for-3 and was batting .308.  Webster was 0-for-1 and was batting .391.

Erickson continued to try to pitch through his injury, and it continued to not work very well.  He did well for three innings, but his line was 5.2 innings, seven runs (six earned), eight hits, one walk, four strikeouts.  His ERA was up to 3.34, still quite good but nowhere near what it had been earlier in the season.

Carl Willis gave up two unearned runs in a third of an inning, making his ERA 2.34.

This was the fifth big league appearance of Banks' career, and his last of 1991.  He would go on to pitch for the Twins through 1993 and would be in the big leagues through 2002.

I mentioned a few days back that Jorge Pedre played in fourteen major league games, going 5-for-23.  Three of his five hits came against the Twins.  He was 3-for-5 with a double against the Twins, for a slash line of .600/.600/.800.  Against everyone else, then, he had a slash line of .111/.238/.222.  Maybe if he'd played against the Twins more, he'd have had a longer career.

The White Sox defeated Oakland 6-0 to come a game closer to the Twins.  The lead was not in serious jeopardy, but I suspect at least a few Twins fans were thinking "you never know..."

Record:  The Twins were 87-60, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto and Boston both won, keeping the Blue Jays' lead at 2.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-six

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, September 17.

Batting stars:  Paul Sorrento was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and five walks and striking out six.  He threw 126 pitches.  Steve Bedrosian pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Bret Saberhagen pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk and striking out six.  Kurt Stillwell was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his third.  George Brett was 2-for-4 with a home run (his tenth) and a walk.

The game:  Dan Gladden created the Twins' lone run in the first inning.  He got an infield single, went to second on a ground out, stole third, and scored on another ground out, putting the Twins up 1-0.  It stayed 1-0 through three innings, but in the fourth Bill Pecota drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on a Stillwell single to tie it 1-1.

The Royals took the lead in the sixth, and again it happened with two out.  Stillwell walked and stole second and Brent Mayne delivered a single to make it 2-1 Kansas City.  Brett homered in the third to increase the lead to 3-1.  The Twins threatened in the eighth, putting men on first and third with two out, but a ground out ended the inning.  The Royals added their final run in the ninth when David Howard walked, Brett had a two-out single, and Jim Eisenreich singled in the run.

WP:  Saberhagen (11-8).  LP:  Morris (16-12).  S:  Jeff Montgomery (29).

Notes:  Sorrento played first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Scott Leius was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Leius in the eighth, with Gagne going in at short.

Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .324.  Brian Harper was 0-for-4 and was batting .311.  Shane Mack was 0-for-4 and was batting .310.

The White Sox defeated Oakland 1-0 to take a game off the Twins' lead.

Record:  The Twins were 87-59, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto lost to Seattle and Boston defeated Baltimore, so the Blue Jays' lead was down to 2.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-five

MINNESOTA 9, KANSAS CITY 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, September 16.

Batting star:  Brian Harper was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer (his tenth) and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out seven.  Paul Abbott struck out three in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Bill Pecota was 2-for-4.  Storm Davis struck out three in three innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits.

The game:  Singles by Dan Gladden and Chuck Knoblauch put men on first and third with none out.  Gladden scored on a sacrifice fly.  Knoblauch then went to third on a stolen base-plus-error and scored on a ground out, making it 2-0 Twins.  In the fourth, Kent Hrbek and Chili Davis started the inning with back-to-back doubles.  Harper singled and Shane Mack was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  A pair of sacrifice flies made it 5-0.

Meanwhile, the Royals did not get a hit for the first four innings.  They got a pair of singles in the fifth, but nothing came of it.  The Twins put the game out of reach in the bottom of the fifth when Hrbek and Davis walked and Harper followed with a three-run homer, making it 8-0.  In the eighth, Lenny Webster doubled and Mike Pagliarulo singled to bring the final to 9-0.

WP:  Tapani (15-8).  LP:  Mark Gubicza (8-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  The box score looks like a spring training game, with Pagliarulo the only Twin to play the whole game.  Sadly, with the roster restrictions, we won't see this any more.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the sixth and stayed in the game at shortstop.  Paul Sorrento replaced Kent Hrbek at first base in the seventh.  Al Newman replaced Knoblauch at second base in the seventh.  Pedro Munoz replaced Gladden in left field in the seventh.  Gene Larkin replaced Mack in right field in the seventh.  Jarvis Brown replaced Kirby Puckett in center in the eighth.  Lenny Webster replaced Harper at catcher in the eighth.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Davis in the eighth.

Puckett was 0-for-3 and was batting .324.  Harper raised his average to .314.  Mack was 1-for-2 to make his average .313.  Webster was 1-for-1 and was batting .409.  Tapani lowered his ERA to 2.83.

Sorrento was 0-for-1 and was batting .167.

Tapani's game score of 77 was his second-highest of the year.  It was topped only by an 82 in a complete game shutout on April 12, his first start of the season.

The White Sox did not play, so the Twins gained a half-game.

Record:  The Twins were 87-58, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto lost to Seattle 6-5 but Boston lost to Baltimore 9-2, so the Blue Jays' lead remained 3.5 games.