Tag Archives: 1991 rewind

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-four

2 Comments

TEXAS 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN TEXAS

Date:  Sunday, September 15.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 2-for-4.  Gene Larkin was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.  Brian Harper was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Mark Guthrie pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Jose Guzman pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and five walks and striking out five.  Ruben Sierra was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Ivan Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

The game:  The Twins jumped to an early lead.  Larkin led off the game with a double, Chuck Knoblauch walked, and Shane Mack reached on a fielder's choice, loading the bases with none out.  The Twins did not totally cash that in, but a ground out and a sacrifice fly each plated a run to make it 2-0 Twins.

That was as good as it would get.  In the second, Monty Fariss had a one-out single, Mario Diaz walked, a wild pitch moved the runners up, and Rodriguez delivered a two-run double to tie the score.  The Twins put two on in the third and the fourth, but could not score.  The Rangers went ahead in the fifth when Brian Downing singled and scored from first on a Sierra double.

The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the sixth, but a pair of strikeouts ended the threat.  Texas added an insurance run in the seventh when Rodriguez led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on a Sierra single.  The Twins would again put two in the ninth, but a fly out ended the game.

WP:  Guzman (12-5).  LP:  Allan Anderson (5-9).  S:  Jeff Russell (28).

Notes:  Pedro Munoz was in left in place of Dan Gladden.  Larkin was in right field, with Mack moving to center and Kirby Puckett on the bench.  Larkin batted first.  Randy Bush was at DH in place of Chili Davis.  Al Newman was at third in place of Mike Pagliarulo and Scott Leius.

Again there were a lot of bench moves.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Larkin in the seventh.  He stayed in the game in left field, with Munoz moving to right.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Munoz in the eighth.  Gladden replaced him and went to left field, with Brown going to right.  Lenny Webster pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the ninth.  Davis pinch-hit for Chuck Knoblauch in the ninth.

Harper raised his average to .312.  Mack was 0-for-5 and fell to .312.  Webster was 0-for-1 and was batting .381.  Terry Leach pitched a third of an inning and did not give up a run, dropping his ERA to 3.05.

Sorrento was 0-for-1 and was batting .174.

The Twins stranded ten runners and were 0-for-10 with men in scoring position.

The Twins had scored 13 runs in their last five games.  Four of them came in one extra inning.

The White Sox beat California 9-2, so they gained a game on the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 86-58, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Boston won and Toronto lost, so the Blue Jays' lead in the East fell to 3.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-two

MINNESOTA 7, TEXAS 3 IN TEXAS (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, September 13.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5 with a double.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his seventeenth.

Pitching stars:  David West struck out five in four innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits and two walks.  Gary Wayne struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Kevin Brown pitched seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and a walk and striking out five.  Mario Diaz was 3-for-3 with two runs.  Brian Downing was 2-for-5 with a home run, his sixteenth.

The game:  Downing led off the bottom of the first with a home run, giving the Rangers a quick 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the third.  Gladden and Knoblauch hit two-out singles, putting men on first and third, and a pickoff attempt went awry to allow Gladden to score.

Texas went back into the lead in the fifth.  Diaz led off with a single, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly, making it 2-1 Rangers.  The Twins again tied it in the seventh.  Puckett singled and Hrbek walked.  A double play moved Puckett to third and he scored on Randy Bush's pinch-hit single, making it 2-2.

Texas again went back into the lead in the bottom of the seventh.  One-out singles by Diaz and Downing put men on first and third and a ground out made it 3-2 Rangers.  The Twins again tied it in the eighth.  Gene Larkin drew a one-out walk.  Pinch-runner Jarvis Brown stole second and third and scored on a Knoblauch double to tie it at three.

The Twins took their only lead of the game in the tenth.  With one out Lenny Webster singled and Gladden walked.  Puckett's two-out single scored one run and Hrbek delivered a three-run homer to give the Twins a 7-3 advantage.   Texas got only one single in the bottom of the tenth.

WP:  Terry Leach (1-1).  LP:  Kenny Rogers (9-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  Pedro Munoz was in right field in place of Shane Mack.  Junior Ortiz caught in place of Brian Harper.

The Twins made extensive use of the bench.  Bush pinch-hit for Munoz in the seventh and remained in the game in right field.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Ortiz in the seventh and remained in the game at shortstop.  Larkin pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the seventh.  Brown pinch-ran for him and Webster then came in to catch.  Mack entered the game in the eighth in right field in place of Bush.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth and remained in the game at third base.  I'm going to miss teams being able to make that many moves in September games.

Puckett raised his average to .328.  Mack was 0-for-1 and was batting .313.  Webster was 1-for-1 and was batting .400.

Scott Erickson started for the Twins but pitched just two innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk.  He threw twenty-nine pitches.  I assume he came out because of his elbow.  He would not miss a start, however.

Erickson's ERA went to 3.15.  Leach pitched two-thirds of an inning scorelessly to make his ERA 3.06.  Rick Aguilera similarly pitched two-thirds of an inning scorelessly to make his ERA 2.17.

This was Leach's only win of the season.

Kenny Rogers was primarily a reliever in his first four years in the majors.  In fact, he led the league in appearances in 1992 with 81.  He made just twelve starts in those first four seasons before becoming a full-time starter in 1993.

Diaz was not in the starting lineup.  He batted for Jeff Huson in the fifth inning.

The White Sox defeated California 1-0, but again, time was running out on them.

Record:  The Twins were 86-56, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto and Boston both won, so the Blue Jays remained in the lead by 3.5 games.

 

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-one

TEXAS 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN TEXAS

Date:  Thursday, September 12.

Batting stars:  Chili Davis was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-eighth.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Jack Morris pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks and striking out six.  He threw 113 pitches.  He clearly did not do a good job of pitching to the score.

Opposition stars:  Nolan Ryan struck out nine in seven innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk.  Kevin Reimer was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his seventeenth) and a walk.

The game:  The Rangers got all the runs they needed in the first inning.  They opened the inning with singles by Brian Downing and Julio Franco, and a sacrifice fly scored the first run.  Ruben Sierra singled and Reimer hit a three-run homer to make the score 4-0 Texas.

That was all the Rangers got, but again it was all they needed.  The Twins got on the board in the fourth when Dan Gladden and Chuck Knoblauch singled and Kirby Puckett hit an RBI ground out, but that was it for the inning.  Those were the only hits the Twins got against Ryan.  They scored two in the ninth when Hrbek hit a two-out single and Davis hit a two-run homer, cutting the margin to 4-3.  That was it, though as pinch-hitter Randy Bush grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Ryan (10-6).  LP:  Morris (16-11).  S:  Jeff Russell (27).

Notes:  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the eighth, with Scott Leius then coming in to play shortstop.  Bush pinch-hit for Brian Harper in the ninth.

Puckett was 0-for-4 and was batting .327.  Mack was 1-for-3 and was batting .314.  Harper was 0-for-3 and was batting .311.

Nolan Ryan was forty-four in 1991.  If this wasn't the best season a forty-four year old pitcher ever had, it's pretty darn close.  He made 27 starts, pitching 173 innings.  He went 12-6, 2.91, 1.01 WHIP.  He led the majors in WHIP, in fewest hits per nine innings, and in most strikeouts per nine inning.

Russell gave up two runs in one inning, taking the score from 4-1 to 4-3, and was credited with the save.

The White Sox lost to California 7-4, so another day came off the schedule without them gaining any ground.

Record:  The Twins were 85-56, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Boston won and Toronto did not play, so the Blue Jays' margin fell to 3.5 games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty

1 Comment

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Wednesday, September 11.

Batting star:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Carl Willis pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.  Denny Neagle pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Davis pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out three.  Joel Johnston struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  With one out in the second, Jim Eisenreich singled and Bill Pecota followed with a two-run homer, making it 2-0 Royals.  The Twins did very little on offense in the first four innings, only once getting a man to second (Puckett's two-out double in the fourth).  They got on the board in the fifth when Shane Mack hit a one-out double and scored on a Greg Gagne single.  They got the tying run to third base but did not score him, so it remained 2-1 Kansas City.

In the sixth, Brian McRae led off with a single, George Brett walked, Todd Benzinger reached on a sacrifice/fielder's choice, and Eisenreich delivered a two-run single, making it 4-1 Royals.  That's where it stayed, as the Twins got only one hit after that.

WP:  Davis (5-1).  LP:  Kevin Tapani (14-8).  S:  Jeff Montgomery (28).

Notes:  Paul Sorrento was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Hrbek would be back in the lineup the next day.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Scott Leius in the seventh and stayed in the game at third base.

Puckett raised his average to .330.  Mack was 1-for-4 and was batting .314.  Brian Harper was 0-for-4 and was also batting .314.

Tapani pitched just five innings, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk.  He struck out five.  His ERA was 2.29.  Willis lowered his ERA to 2.44.

Joel Johnston was a September call-up for the Royals.  He would allow just one run on nine hits and nine walks in 22.1 innings, giving him an ERA of 0.40.  There was nothing in his minor league record that suggested he could sustain that, and in fact there was nothing in his minor league record that suggested he deserved a September call-up.  As it turned out, he had a poor year both in AAA and in the majors in 1992, then went to the Pirates.  He pitched poorly in AAA in 1993 but got called up in early July anyway, and surprisingly did very well--2-4, 3.38, 2 saves, 1.07 WHIP.  He started 1994 in the majors, but made just four appearances, the last one a disastrous eight runs in 1.1 innings, before being sent down.  He got a cup of coffee with Boston in 1995 and played in independent ball in 1996.  He really didn't pitch very well in A, in AA, or in AAA, so there was no reason to think he'd pitch well in the majors.  But he had four good months, even if they were spread out over two years.  That's baseball, I guess.

The White Sox lost to Oakland 6-5 in ten innings, so they missed a chance to gain ground on the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 85-55, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto led Boston by four games.

 

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-nine

MINNESOTA 7, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Tuesday, September 10.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his tenth.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Randy Bush was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Pedro Munoz was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Allan Anderson pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out two.  Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Gubicza struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.  Todd Benzinger was 2-for-4 with a double.  Brian McRae was 2-for-5.

The game:  Chuck Knoblauch reached third with one out in the first inning but did not score.  The Twins got the scoring underway in the third when Gladden hit a two-out double and Knoblauch singled him home.  In the fourth Chili Davis doubled and Mack singled him home, making it 2-0.

In the fifth Jorge Pedre led off with a double but nothing came of it.  In the bottom of the fifth Mack hit a two-out single and Munoz followed with a two-run homer to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.  In the sixth, a single and two walks loaded the bases for the Royals, but Jim Eisenreich struck out to end the inning.  In the seventh, Gagne and Gladden led off with singles and Bush hit a one-out double to put the Twins up 6-0.

Kansas City scored both of their runs in the eighth.  McRae led off with a single, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on a George Brett double.  Brett went to third on Benzinger's double and scored on a ground out to cut the margin to 6-2.  That was as much as the Royals would do.  The Twins added a run in the ninth when, with two out, Bush singled, Davis walked, and Brian Harper had an RBI single.

Kansas City did threaten in the bottom of the ninth.  Two walks and a single loaded the bases with none out.  But Aguilera came on to get a short fly ball, a strikeout, and another fly ball to end the game.

WP:  Anderson (5-8).  LP:  Gubicza (8-9).  S:  Aguilera (39).

Notes:  Bush was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Kirby Puckett was also given a day off, with Mack moving to center and Munoz playing right.

Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the eighth, staying in the game to play third base.  Al Newman came in to play second base in the eighth, replacing Knoblauch.

Harper was 1-for-5 and was batting. 317.  Mack raised his average to .315.

Terry Leach allowed two runs in 1.2 innings to make his ERA 3.10.  Aguilera lowered his ERA to 2.19.

I don't know why Anderson was pulled after five innings.  He made his next start, so injury is probably not a factor (although it's always possible he felt a slight twinge or something).  TK may have started looking at these games as tune-ups for the playoffs, since the Twins already had a big lead, or it could be that he felt like getting five shutout innings out of Anderson was a good thing that shouldn't be pushed.  He had thrown just sixty-six pitches, so it seems unlikely that was an issue.

I'm always a little intrigued when I run across a player I've never heard of.  This was the second career major league game for Jorge Pedre.  His fifth-inning double was the only double of his career.  A catcher, he played in ten games in 1991 and in four for the Cubs in 1992.  For his career he was 5-for-23, batting.217/.308/.348.  He was an eleventh-round draft choice for the Braves in 1986.  He hit well in Class A, but not much after that--.249/.303/.373 in AA, .228/.275/.351 in AAA.  He looks like your stereotypical good defensive catcher--I don't know how good his defense actually was, but you figure he must've done something to justify his presence on rosters.  Wikipedia indicates that he is now working at a refinery on their emergency response team.

The Royals used six pinch-hitters in this game.  Sadly, with expanded bullpens and the severe restrictions on September call-ups, this will probably never happen again.

The White Sox defeated Oakland 3-1 to avoid falling farther behind, but time was running out on them.

Record:  The Twins were 85-54, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto led Boston by four games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-eight

MINNESOTA 10, KANSAS CITY 4 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Monday, September 9.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 3-for-4 with a double.  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-5 with a double.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4.  Shane Mack was 2-for-5 with two stolen bases (his eighth and ninth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Chili Davis was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Lenny Webster was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his third.

Pitching stars:  Tom Edens struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on five hits and three walks.  Gary Wayne pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out three.

Opposition star:  Brian McRae was 3-for-4 with a triple.

The game:  It was close most of the way.  In the first, McRae tripled and George Brett singled to give the Royals a 1-0 lead.  In the second Brent Mayne led off with a double and scored on a pair of ground outs to make it 2-0.

The Twins got it going in the fifth.  Mack singled and Gene Larkin reached on an error.  With one out, Gagne had an RBI single and Dan Gladden delivered a two-run triple.  Knoblauch then singled in a run to make the score 4-2 Minnesota.  In the sixth, Davis and Harper singled and an RBI ground out followed, increasing the Twins lead to 5-2.

Kansas City came back in the bottom of the sixth.  Bill Pecota led off with a walk, but the next two men went out.  Then, however, Jim Eisenreich, Kirk Gibson, and McRae all singled, plating two runs and cutting the Twins' lead to 5-4.

That was as close as they would come, though, and the Twins put it away in the last two innings.  In the eighth, Harper singled and pinch-runner Jarvis Brown scored from first on a Mack single.  Mack then stole second and scored on a Gagne single to make it 7-4.  In the ninth Knoblauch led off with a double, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  Then Davis singled and Webster hit a two-run homer to bring the final score to 10-4.

WP:  Edens (1-1).  LP:  Mike Boddicker (11-11).  S:  Wayne (1).

Notes:  Larkin was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Hrbek pinch-ran for Larkin in the fifth and stayed in the game at first base.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Hrbek in the eighth and stayed in the game at first base.  Brown pinch-ran for Harper in the eighth and was replaced by Webster, who went behind the plate.

Puckett was 0-for-3 and was batting .328.  Harper raised his average to .318.  Mack raised his average to .311.  Webster was now batting .368.  Carl Willis was charged with two runs in two-thirds of an inning to raise his ERA to 2.48.

Sorrento was 0-for-1 to drop his average to .158.  Edens lowered his ERA to 6.00.

Boddicker pitched 5.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks and striking out three.  This was Boddicker's last full year as a starter.  He wasn't bad, going 12-12, 4.08, 1.37 WHIP.  He would make eight starts and twenty-one relief appearances for the Royals in 1992 and ten starts for Milwaukee in 1993.

This was one of four career saves for Wayne.  He had one in each of 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1993.

Hrbek was being given some time off, presumably due to a minor injury.  This was the only game he would play between September 7 and September 12, and he didn't finish this one.  Larkin presumably came out of the game due to a minor injury as well.  He would not start a game again until September 15, although he would make two pinch-hitting appearances in that time.

The White Sox defeated Oakland 7-1, so the distance between them and the Twins remained the same.

Record:  The Twins were 84-54, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-seven

MINNESOTA 6, NEW YORK 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 8.

Batting stars:  Chili Davis was 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Shane Mack was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his eighteenth) and two runs.  Scott Leius was 2-for-4.  Pedro Munoz was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fourth.

Pitching star:  Mark Guthrie struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Matt Nokes was 3-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-third.  Hensley Meulens was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk  Pat Sheridan was 1-for-1 with a home run, his fourth.

The game:  Each team scored two in the second.  In the top of the inning, Nokes singled, Roberto Kelly tripled, and a sacrifice fly made it 2-0.  In the bottom of the second, Davis singled and Mack hit a home run to tie it 2-2.

The Yankees edged back into the lead.  Nokes homered in the fourth to make it 3-2.  In the fifth, Pat Kelly singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on an error to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.  But in the sixth, Mack  and Davis led off with singles followed by Munoz' three-run homer to put the Twins in front 5-4.

The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but Mack hit into a double play to end the inning.  In the eighth, Gene Larkin walked, Lenny Webster singled, and Gagne hit an RBI double to make it 6-4.  They needed the run, because Sheridan homered leading off the ninth to make it 6-5.  That was it, though, as the next three batters went out and the Twins held on for the victory.

WP:  Scott Erickson (18-6).  LP:  Jeff Johnson (5-10).  S:  Steve Bedrosian (6).

Notes:  Dan Gladden was again out of the lineup, with Mack moving to left and Munoz in right.  Scott Leius batted leadoff.  Larkin was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Junior Ortiz caught in place of Brian Harper.

Webster pinch-hit for Ortiz in the sixth and stayed in the game at catcher.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Leius in the eighth and was pinch-run for by Al Newman.  Newman went to second base because Randy Bush pinch-hit for Chuck Knoblauch in the eighth.  Mike Pagliarulo replaced Bush and went to third base.

Kirby Puckett was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .330.  Mack raised his average to .310.  Webster was 1-for-2 and was batting .333.  Sorrento drew a walk and was batting .167.

Scott Erickson pitched six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 3.13.

Jeff Johnson started for the Yankees and pitched five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks and struck out none.

This was the second consecutive day that Gladden was out of the lineup.  I don't know if he had a slight injury or if he was just being given a couple of days off.

Rick Aguilera was apparently given the day off after being used two days in a row.  Bedrosian gave up the leadoff home run in the ninth but after that got the job done.

Nokes was 6-for-12 with two doubles and a home run in the series.  The Twins swept the series from the Yankees (doesn't that sound good?), but it wasn't Nokes' fault.

The White Sox lost to Texas 7-6, so the Twins gained a game in the standings.

Record:  The Twins were 83-54, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-six

MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 2 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-5.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4 with a double.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched 8.2 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks and striking out five.  Carl Willis struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Pascual Perez pitched six innings, giving up one run on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.  Matt Nokes was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

The game:  The Yankees took the lead in the first inning.  Leadoff batter Bernie Williams walked, stole second, was bunted to third, and scored on a two-out double by Nokes to make it 1-0.  The Twins put two on with one out in the bottom of the first, but Kent Hrbek hit into a double play.  Davis led off the second with a double, but was thrown out at third trying to advance on a short passed ball.  The Twins put two on with two out in the third but again could not score.

The Twins finally broke through in the sixth.  Larkin led off with a double and scored on Knoblauch's single, tying it 1-1.  The Twins again missed a chance, though, as Puckett reached on an error to put two on with none out and nothing came of it.

The Twins took the lead in the eighth.  Puckett hit a one-out single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Davis double.  The Yankees came right back to tie it in the ninth.  Their first two batters went out, but Nokes doubled.  Morris came out of the game and Rick Aguilera came in, but he gave up an RBI single to Roberto Kelly, tying the score at two and sending the game to extra innings.

In the tenth, Puckett again hit a one-out single.  He again went to second on a ground out.  Pedro Munoz pinch-hit and delivered a game-winning single, giving the Twins the victory.

WP:  Carl Willis (8-3).  LP:  Lee Guetterman (3-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Dan Gladden was out of the starting lineup.  Shane Mack went to left, with Larkin playing right.  Larkin batted leadoff.

The Twins made extensive use of the bench.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the seventh.  Al Newman then came in to play shortstop.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Davis in the eighth.  He was officially the DH at that point, but Munoz pinch-hit for him when his spot in the order came up in the tenth.  Gladden came in for defense at the start of the ninth.  He went to left field, with Mack moving to right.  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Puckett raised his average to .332.  Brian Harper was 0-for-4 and was batting .316.  Mack was 1-for-4 and was batting .308.

Aguilera officially pitched a third on an inning and was not charged with a run, lowering his ERA to 2.23.  Willis' ERA fell to 2.26.

Morris threw just 98 pitches in his 8.2 innings.

Steve Howe pitched a scoreless inning.  This was his first year with the Yankees, and it was a really good one--3-1, 1.68, 3 saves, 0.95 WHIP.  This, however, would be the last game he would pitch for the  Yankees this season.  I could not quickly find whether he was injured or if this was one of the numerous times he got into trouble.  He would go on to pitch very well in 1992, struggle in 1993, and pitch very well again in 1994, which was his last good season.

The White Sox defeated Texas 11-6, so the distance between them and the Twins remained the same.

Record:  The Twins were 82-54, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-five

2 Comments

MINNESOTA 3, NEW YORK 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 6.

Batting star:  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.

Pitching stars:  Kevin Tapani pitched eight innings, giving up one run on seven hits and no walks and striking out six.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition star:  Wade Taylor pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks and striking out six.

The game:  The Yankees got a pair of one-out singles in the first, but a popup and a ground out ended the inning.  They scored their run in the third.  A Pat Kelly single and a Bernie Williams double put men on second and third with one out.  Steve Sax then had an RBI fielder's choice, with Williams thrown out trying to go to third.

The Twins had only one hit through three innings.  In the fourth, however, Knoblauch led off with a triple and scored on a Kirby Puckett double.  Kent Hrbek walked, and with one out Brian Harper had an RBI single to put the Twins ahead.  A run-scoring ground out made it 3-1 Twins.

And that was it for the scoring.  New York had just two hits after that, both singles.  Neither man got past first base.

WP:  Tapani (14-7).  LP:  Taylor (7-8).  S:  Aguilera (38).

Notes:  Scott Leius was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne, with Mike Pagliarulo at third.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Leius in the seventh, with Gagne coming in to play short.

Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .331.  Harper was 1-for-3 and was batting .320.  Shane Mack was 1-for-3 and was batting .308.  Tapani lowered his ERA to 2.82.  Aguilera lowered his ERA to 2.24.

This was the one major league season of Wade Taylor's career.  It was not a very good one--he went 7-12, 6.27, 1.69 WHIP in 23 games (22 starts).  He did have a few good starts--three of his starts topped the game score of 57 that he had in this game.  He obviously did not have enough of them, though.  He had injury trouble after this season.  He pitched just thirteen minor league innings in 1992 and thirty in 1993, and then was done.  He pitched pretty well in AAA, and since he was only twenty-five in 1991 he might have figured it out had he stayed healthy, but unfortunately for him, he didn't.  He was a major league scout until 2016, when he lost his job due to salary cutbacks.  He was working for UPS at last report.

I apologize, but the notes section is probably going to be short for a while.  Too much other stuff going on.

The White Sox defeated Texas 11-6, so they did not lose any more ground to the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 81-54, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-four

CLEVELAND 8, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 4.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his sixteenth.

Pitching stars:  Allan Anderson pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Mark Guthrie struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Alex Cole was 4-for-5 with a double.  Albert Belle was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-fifth), a double, and five RBIs.  Willie Blair pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and one walk and striking out one.

The game:  With one out in the first Chuck Knoblauch and Puckett singled and Hrbek followed with a three-run homer to put the Twins ahead 3-0.  That was as good as it got for them.  In the third, a walk, an error, and a bunt single loaded the bases for the Indians with none out.  A force out followed, but Carlos Baerga was hit by a pitch to force in a run and Belle followed with a bases-clearing double to give Cleveland a 4-3 lead.

The Indians added a run in the fourth when Jim Thome led off with a single, went to third on a pair of productive outs, and scored on Cole's single.  In the fifth Baerga led off with a single and Belle hit a two-run homer to make the score 7-3.  In the seventh, singles by Jose Gonzalez, Carlos Martinez, and Thome brought home another run to make it 8-3.

Meanwhile, the Twins did not get a man past first base in innings two through seven.  Puckett hit a two-out double in the eighth.  The Twins tried to get back into it in the ninth.  Singles by Davis and Brian Harper and a walk to Shane Mack loaded the bases with none out.  Mike Pagliarulo then hit into a double play, scoring a run but pretty much taking the Twins out of the inning.

WP:  Blair (2-2).  LP:  David West (4-4).  S:  Shawn Hillegas (7).

Notes:  The Twins used their standard lineup.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the seventh.  Al Newman then went in to play shortstop.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Newman in the ninth.

Puckett raised his average to .331.  Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Mack was 0-for-2 with two walks and was batting .308.

West started for the Twins.  He pitched well for two innings.  His line was 2.1 innings, four runs (three earned), two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts.  It seems like a pretty quick hook--again, the sequence in the third was walk, error, bunt single, ground out, hit batsman, double.  Only one hard-hit ball, although obviously the walk and the hit batsman weren't helpful.  Still, with a big lead in the division, Tom Kelly might have given West more of a chance to work out of trouble.  As it happened, the Twins burned through five relievers, including Carl Willis and Terry Leach, in a game they didn't win anyway.

Willis allowed two runs in one inning to raise his ERA to 2.29.  Leach gave up a run in one inning to make his ERA 2.88.

Tom Edens gave up a run in 1.2 innings to raise his ERA to 7.20.

People have forgotten what an awesome hitter Albert Belle was.  He had a reputation for being a jerk, and he way have been, but the jerk could hit.  1991 was his first season as a regular, and it was the first of ten consecutive seasons in which he hit twenty-three or more home runs.  He had eight consecutive seasons in which he hit thirty homers or more, and in three of them he hit forty-eight or more.  He had an OPS of over 1.000 four times and an OPS of over .900 two more times.  Injuries forced him to retire in 2000, after his age-thirty-three season, but his career numbers were .295/.369/.564 with 381 home runs in basically ten seasons.  Whatever else he may have been, Albert Belle was a great batter.

This was the last save of Shawn Hillegas' career.  He had ten total, seven of them in 1991.  Steve Olin is listed as the closer, but he had just seventeen saves, and Hillegas and Dave Otto each had seven.  He was not a particularly good pitcher:  in 181 major league games (62 starts) he was 24-38, 4.61, 1.47 WHIP.  He was substantially better as a reliever, although not a star or anything:  9-12, 3.77, 1.37 WHIP.  Given his lack of success as a starter, I don't know why teams kept giving him starts rather than putting him in the bullpen, but they did.  There was obviously something about him that convinced teams he could be a successful starting pitcher, even though the stats provide no evidence to back it up.

Chicago defeated Kansas City 4-1 and Oakland lost to Milwaukee 2-0, so the White Sox moved back into second place.

Record:  The Twins were 80-54, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto took a three game lead over Detroit.