MINNESOTA 7, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MILWAUKEE (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER--11 INNINGS)
Date: Tuesday, September 1.
Batting stars: Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fortieth), three walks, and four RBIs. Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a walk and two RBIs.
Pitching stars: Tom Hall struck out seven in six shutout innings, giving up four hits and three walks. Jim Kaat pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.
Opposition stars: Ted Kubiak was 2-for-4 with a walk. Jerry McNertney was 2-for-5. Al Downing pitched seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and six walks and striking out two. Ken Sanders pitched two perfect innings and struck out one.
The game: Tovar led off the game with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on a Killebrew single, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.
And it stayed 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth. There were threats, of course. The Twins had men on first and second with two out in the third. The Brewers had men on first and second with two out in the fourth. The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the fifth and men on second and third with two out in the sixth. Milwaukee had men on first and second with two in the sixth and loaded the bases with two out in the seventh.
But it was still 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth. The first two Brewers went out, but consecutive singles by Tito Francona, Bob Burda, and Kubiak tied the score 1-1 and we went to extra innings.
Neither team got a man on in the tenth, but in the eleventh. The Twins put it away. Jim Holt walked and Rich Reese singled. Leo Cardenas reached on an error to bring in a run. A bunt moved the runners up and Kaat was intentionally walked. Tovar delivered a two-run single. A force out put men on first and third and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to make it 7-1 Twins. Milwaukee got a leadoff double in the bottom of the eleventh, but could do no more.
WP: Kaat (11-10).
LP: Bobby Bolin (5-11).
S: None.
Notes: Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew. Jim Holt went to center field in the fifth inning, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out of the game. Frank Quilici went to second base in the eleventh inning, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.
Tony Oliva was 0-for-6 and was batting .314. Hall had an ERA of 2.76. Ron Perranoski pitched two-thirds of an inning without giving up a run and had an ERA of 2.27. Stan Williams gave up a run in two innings and had an ERA of 2.09.
Alyea must have been an absolutely awful outfielder, the way Bill Rigney would take him out for defense in the fifth or sixth inning.
I had forgotten that Al Downing pitched for Milwaukee. He was there for less than four months--traded there with Francona for Steve Hovley in mid-June and traded to the Dodgers before the 1971 season for Andy Kosco.
I know Kaat was considered a good hitter, and I know they were trying to set up a double play, but there's no way in the world I intentionally walk Kaat to pitch to Tovar. That makes no sense to me at all. You get Kaat out and then walk Tovar to pitch to Thompson. Manager Dave Bristol made a big mistake there.
The Twins swept the doubleheader, giving up just one run to the Brewers.
Record: The Twins were 78-54, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.