Tag Archives: Brant Alyea

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 8

Jack Rowe (1856)
Jimmy Austin (1879)
Spoon Carter (1902)
Sam Zoldak (1918)
Hank Thompson (1925)
Jim Pagliaroni (1937)
Brant Alyea (1940)
Ed Brinkman (1941)
Ken Roy (1941)
Masahiro Doi (1943)
Alan Foster (1946)
Jeff Grotewold (1965)
Mike Mussina (1968)
Garvin Alston (1971)
Reed Johnson (1976)
Vernon Wells (1978)
Josh Donaldson (1985)

Ken Roy was a minor league umpire for two years before becoming a Catholic priest.  He said that his umpiring career helped him in ministry because it gave him more patience with people and made him a better listener.

Masahiro Doi was a fifteen-time all-star in the Japanese Pacific League, playing from 1962-1981.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s son, HPR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 8 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 8

Jack Rowe (1856)
Jimmy Austin (1879)
Sam Zoldak (1918)
Jim Pagliaroni (1937)
Brant Alyea (1940)
Ed Brinkman (1941)
Ken Roy (1941)
Masahiro Doi (1943)
Alan Foster (1946)
Jeff Grotewold (1965)
Mike Mussina (1968)
Garvin Alston (1971)
Reed Johnson (1976)
Vernon Wells (1978)
Josh Donaldson (1985)

Ken Roy was a minor league umpire for two years before becoming a Catholic priest.  He said that his umpiring career helped him in ministry because it gave him more patience with people and made him a better listener.

Masahiro Doi was a fifteen-time all-star in the Japanese Pacific League, playing from 1962-1981.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s son, HPR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 8 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-seven

MINNESOTA 7, MILWAUKEE 6 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Monday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Brant Alyea was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his fourteenth and fifteenth) and seven RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Dave May was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Bob Burda was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-4.  John Gelnar struck out five in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Ken Sanders struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Brewers starter Lew Krausse for four runs in the first inning.  Cesar Tovar and Rich Reese opened the game with singles.  A ground out put men on second and third.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked to load the bases, which makes perfect sense, but Alyea hit a grand slam to make it 4-0 Twins.

The Brewers tried to come back in the second.  Bob Burda, Mike Hegan, and Roberto Pena all singled, loading the bases with one out.  But Milwaukee could only score once, on a ground out, making the score 4-1.  And in the third, Alyea struck again.  Tony Oliva was hit by a pitch, Killebrew singled, and Alyea hit a three-run homer, making it 7-1 Twins.

From there it was a matter of hanging on.  In the fifth, singles by Pete Koegel and Ted Kubiak put men on first and third with two out.  Then came consecutive singles by May, Burda, and Hegan, resulting in three runs and cutting the lead to 7-4.  In the seventh, Tommy Harper reached on an error, went to third on May's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly, cutting the lead to 7-5.  In the eighth Phil Roof doubled and scored on Kubiak's single to cut the lead to 7-6.

But the Twins held on.  Bernie Smith singled with one out in the ninth, but did not get farther and the Twins prevailed.

WP:  Stan Williams (9-0).

LP:  Krausse (12-16).

S:  Ron Perranoski (28).

Notes:  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Mitterwald replaced Ratliff behind the plate in the eighth.  Frank Quilici came in to play second in the ninth, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.

Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .315.  Williams gave up two runs (one earned) in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.13.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.11.

Neither starter did very well.  Bill Zepp started for the Twins and lasted 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out two.  Krausse lasted just two innings, allowing seven runs on six hits and one walk and striking out three.

As noted above, the strategy of walking Killebrew to pitch to Alyea seems perfectly logical.  It just didn't work.  Alyea was the starting left fielder at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year, but there was a large stretch in the middle where Bill Rigney preferred using Jim Holt.  And when Alyea did start, he was almost always removed for defense midway through the game.  Apparently, Rigney considered Alyea to be absolutely awful on defense.

Wayne Twitchell made his major league debut in this game.  Maybe you say "big deal", and understandably so, but Twitchell played for ten seasons and pitched in 282 games (133 starts).  He career numbers are 48-65, 3.98, 2 saves, 1.43 WHIP.  His best year was 1973, when he went 13-9, 2.50, 1.21 WHIP with five shutouts and ten complete games.  He made his lone all-star appearance that year.  He was traded to Philadelphia after the 1970 season, which is where he spent the bulk of his career.  He also pitched for Montreal, the Mets, and Seattle.  He's not all time great or even an all time very good, but you have to have something on the ball to be able to pitch ten seasons in the big leagues.

Pete Koegel got his first major league hit in this game.  A catcher/first baseman, he played in three major league seasons and got eighty-six at-bats.  His numbers are .174/.268/.244, hitting one home run (off Tommy John).  He was very tall, especially for his time, standing 6'6".

There were nine doubleheaders played on this Labor Day.

The Twins had a four-game winning streak.

Record:  The Twins were 82-55, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Oakland.  California fell to third place, seven games back.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-two

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.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 8

Jack Rowe (1856)
Jimmy Austin (1879)
Sam Zoldak (1918)
Jim Pagliaroni (1937)
Brant Alyea (1940)
Ed Brinkman (1941)
Ken Roy (1941)
Masahiro Doi (1943)
Alan Foster (1946)
Jeff Grotewold (1965)
Mike Mussina (1968)
Garvin Alston (1971)
Reed Johnson (1976)
Vernon Wells (1978)
Josh Donaldson (1985)

Ken Roy was a minor league umpire for two years before becoming a Catholic priest.  He said that his umpiring career helped him in ministry because it gave him more patience with people and made him a better listener.

Masahiro Doi was a fifteen-time all-star in the Japanese Pacific League, playing from 1962-1981.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to AMR’s son, HPR.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 8 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-one

4 Comments

MINNESOTA 11, MILWAUKEE 7 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Saturday, May 16.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4 with a home run, a hit-by-pitch, three runs, and three RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, a stolen base (his eleventh), and four runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), two runs, and four RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5 with a home run, his eleventh.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventh.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Phil Roof was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second), a walk, and two runs.  John Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a home run, his second.  Steve Hovley was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Ted Kubiak was 2-for-5.  Russ Snyder was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer.

The game:  Cesar Tovar walked to open the game, stole second, and scored on a pair of ground outs to put the Twins up 1-0.  They took control of the game in the third when Tovar again started a rally.  He doubled and scored on a Rod Carew single.  Oliva and Killebrew then hit back-to-back home runs to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.

Kennedy homered in the bottom of the third to put the Brewers on the board.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the third as Tovar again stated a rally.  He walked and Carew followed with a two-run homer, making it 7-1.

Tovar started one more rally in the sixth.  He doubled and Carew was hit by a pitch.  Oliva had an RBI single, Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly, and Alyea hit a two-run homer, bringing the score to 11-1.

Milwaukee tried to make a game of it.  In the sixth Hovley doubled and Max Alvis singled him in to make it 11-2.  In the seventh, Roof singled, Kubiak moved him to third, and Snyder hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 11-5.  It did not kill the rally--Hegan doubled and future Twin Danny Walton singled, bringing the score to 11-6.  Roof homered in the eighth to cut the lead to 11-7, but that was all the Brewers could do.

WP:  Dave Boswell (1-5).

LP:  Gene Brabender (1-5).

S:  Ron Perranoski (9).

Notes:  Paul Ratliff remained behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in left in the sixth inning.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third in the eighth.

Carew was batting .408, the first time all year (and maybe in his career) that he was over .400.  Oliva was batting .333.  Killebrew was batting .330.  Alyea was batting .302.  Stan Williams gave up two runs in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.80.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.69.

Boswell pitched 6.1 innings, giving up five runs on ten hits and a walk and striking out three.  His ERA was 6.37.

Brabender started for Milwaukee.  He pitched just two innings, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks and striking out two.

Carew was 12-for-18 over his last four games, raising his average from .328 to .408.  He was 16-for-33 over his last eight games,

Bill Rigney must have considered Alyea to be an awful outfielder.  He has frequently done what he did here, replacing him with Holt in the sixth inning when he knew that spot in the batting order would have to come up at least one more time.

The Brewers used five pinch-hitters:  Hank Allen, Greg Goossen, Mike Hershberger, Jerry McNertney, and Ted Savage.  These days, of course, teams don't even have five substitutes available.

Record:  The Twins were 21-10, in first place in the American League West by winning percentage, but tied with California in games.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-one

MINNESOTA 4, BALTIMORE 3 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Sunday, May 3.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks and striking out one.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Merv Rettenmund was 2-for-4 with a home run, a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Paul Blair was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his eighth.  Jim Palmer struck out eleven in a complete game, giving up four runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk.

The game:  There wasn't even a baserunner until the bottom of the third, when Dave Johnson walked.  The next two men went out, but Rettenmund hit an RBI double and Mark Belanger followed with a run-scoring single, making it 2-0 Orioles.

It stayed 2-0 until the sixth.  Frank Quilici led off the inning with a single and Cesar Tovar doubled with one out, putting men on second and third.  They were still there with two out.  Oliva then hit a ground ball to second.  Johnson booted it, then threw it away, making two errors on the same play and allowing both runners to score, tying it at 2-2.

The Orioles put men on second and third in the seventh, but did not score.  Rettenmund homered leading off the eighth, putting Baltimore up 3-2.  Oliva singled with one out in the ninth, and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer, giving the Twins their first lead of the game at 4-3.  Baltimore went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Kaat (4-1).

LP:  Palmer (3-2).

S:  Perranoski (6).

Notes:  Quilici remained at second base in the continuing absence of Rod Carew.  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Pitcher Steve Barber pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the ninth.  Mitterwald then went behind the plate as part of a triple switch, with Jim Holt going to left and Perranoski replacing Ratliff in the batting order.

Alyea was 0-for-3 and was batting .349.  Oliva was batting .333.  Killebrew was batting .324.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .318.  Kaat had an ERA of 2.40.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.62.

Rich Reese was 0-for-4 and was batting .182.

Alyea was now 0-for-10 in May, with his average going from .415 to .349.

After getting five days off, Perranoski had now appeared in three out of four games, pitching five innings.

Rettenmund was batting leadoff for the Orioles.  I don't think of him as a leadoff-type batter, but he stole 13 bases in 1970.  More important to Earl Weaver, I'm sure, is that he batted .322 with an OBP of .394.  He was basically a utility outfielder in 1970, playing 44 games in center, 36 in right, and 30 in left.

Having taken two out of three from Baltimore, the Twins would now continue their eastern trip with three in Detroit.

Record:  The Twins were 14-7, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighteen

MINNESOTA 4, CLEVELAND 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, April 30.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second) and a double.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Luis Tiant pitched 5.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk and striking out three.  Stan Williams pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-4 with a double.  Graig Nettles was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Bob Miller pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins got two singles in the first but did not score.  The Indians got on the board in the fourth on Nettles' homer, taking a 1-0 lead.  The Twins countered in the bottom of the fourth.  Killebrew homered to tie it, Rich Reese singled, and Alyea hit a two-run homer to make it 3-1 Twins.  Cardenas homered in the fifth to make it 4-1.

Cleveland threatened in the sixth.  Uhlaender led off with a double.  He was still on second with two out, but then Tony Horton walked and Roy Foster singled, loading the bases.  But Ray Fosse grounded out to end the inning.  The Indians again threatened in the eighth when Uhlaender led off with a single and Nettles walked, but they never moved off of first and second.  Well, they did once the inning was over, but you know what I mean.  Cleveland went out in order in the ninth.

WP:  Tiant (4-0).

LP:  Steve Hargan (1-2).

S:  Perranoski (4).

Notes:  Paul Ratliff was again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was at second in the continuing absence of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field.  Minnie Mendoza replaced Killebrew in the ninth.

Alyea was batting .415.  Ratliff was batting .357.  Killebrew was batting .317.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.  Tiant had an ERA of 2.79.  Williams still had an ERA of zero.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.98.

All three of the Indians designated as "stars" are ex-Twins.

If you were asked "Who led the Twins in homers in the first month of 1970", your default answer would probably be Killebrew.  If you were told that was wrong, you'd probably say "Oliva".  You might even say "Rich Reese".  But unless you're really familiar with the 1970 club, you probably wouldn't say "Brant Alyea".  But that's who it was, with five home runs.  Those five home runs represent thirteen percent of his career total.

Ratliff was batting nearly two hundred points higher than the Twins' "regular" catcher, Mitterwald.  He obviously wouldn't sustain that, but I would assume there were some who thought Ratliff should be the regular catcher.  If so, Bill Rigney didn't listen to them, because Ratliff would get just 149 at-bats.  This was the only good offensive season Ratliff had, as he batted .268 with an OPS of .806.  In fact, not only was it his only good offensive season, it was the only season in which he batted over .200 or had an OPS over .700.

This game closed out a ten-game homestand.  The Twins would now go on a nine-game road trip, traveling to Baltimore, Detroit, and Cleveland.

Record:  The Twins were 12-6, in first place in the American League West by winning percentage, but tied with California in games.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twelve

DETROIT 8, MINNESOTA 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, April 24.

Batting stars:  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-1 with a home run (his third), four walks, and three runs.

Pitching stars:  Stan Williams struck out two in 1.2 innings, giving up one hit.  Ron Perranoski struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Al Kaline was 5-for-5 with two doubles.  Bill Freehan was 2-for-3 with a home run (his second), two walks, and three RBIs.  Cesar Gutierrez was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Dick McAuliffe was 1-for-5 with a home run, his third.  John Hiller pitched 5.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and three walks and striking out three.

The game:  McAuliffe led off the game with a home run.  Gutierrez singled and scored on Kaline's double, making the score 2-0 Tigers before an out was recorded.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the first.  Tovar doubled, and walks to Jim Holt and Killebrew loaded the bases.  With two out, Alyea delivered a two-run double, making the score 2-2.

Detroit went back ahead in the third.  Singles by Gutierrez, Kaline, and Norm Cash loaded the bases with none out.  Willie Horton struck out, but Jim Northrup's ground ball was booted by second baseman Tovar, resulting in all three runs scoring and Northrup ending up at second base.  Freehan's RBI single made it 6-2 Tigers.

The Twins again came back.  Tony Oliva doubled, Killebrew walked, and with two out Alyea again hit a two-run double, making it 6-4 after three.  In the fourth Tom Hall singled and Tovar tripled, cutting the lead to 6-5.  Killebrew homered leading off the sixth, tying the score 6-6.

But in the seventh, the Tigers went into the lead to stay.  Northrup drew a one-out walk and Freehan hit a two-run homer, making it 8-6.  The Twins put two on with two out in the seventh, but never got a man past first base after that.

WP:  Hiller (1-0).

LP:  Tom Hall (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar was at second base, rather than in center field, with Rod Carew out of the lineup.  Holt went to center field.  Minnie Mendoza pinch-hit for Holt in the seventh and stayed in the game at second, with Tovar moving to center.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Williams in the eighth.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.

Alyea was batting .429.  Tovar was batting .385.  Killebrew was batting .343.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .327.  Williams had an ERA of zero.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.31.  Jim Perry started and gave up six runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks in three innings and had an ERA of 2.57.  Hall gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in 3.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.84.

Reese raised his average to .194.  George Mitterwald was 0-for-4 and was batting .167.

Joe Niekro started for Detroit and pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on six hits and three walks.  He struck out none.  No other players with Twins connections played for the Tigers in this game.

Despite the fact that Twins were trailing late, Perranoski appeared for the fifth time in six games.  He had pitched 9.2 innings in those games.  It would be six days before he pitched again.

Alyea was really tearing it up early, batting .429/.474/.857 in the season's first twelve games.  He had three doubles, four home runs, and twenty RBIs.

Detroit manager Mayo Smith apparently decided Killebrew was not going to beat them in this game, as he walked four times.  It's not that there was always a base open--he walked in the first with men on first and second, walked in the third with a man on second, walked in the seventh with the bases empty, and walked in the ninth with the bases empty.  The one time they pitched to him he led off the fifth with a home run.  The walks were not intentional, but it seems clear the Tigers were trying hard not to give Harmon much to hit.

Hall pitched better than his line looks.  He pitched three scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer to Freehan.  One could argue that he was left in the game too long, but on the other hand, Freehan was a fine batter (200 career home runs), so it's possible that he simply hit a good pitch.

The Twins had won four, lost two, won four, and lost two.  We'll see if they could start another four-game winning streak.

Record:  The Twins were 8-4, tied for first in the American League West based on winning percentage, but a half game back of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Four

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MINNESOTA 8, CALIFORNIA 2 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Wednesday, April 15.

Batting stars:  Brant Alyea was 1-for-2 with a grand slam (his third homer) and a walk.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-5 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4 with a home run.  Alex Johnson was 2-for-4 with a stolen base.

The game:  The Angels put two on with two out in the first, but nothing came of it.  They broke through in the fourth, though.  Johnson singled and stole second.  Johnstone had an infield single and Roger Repoz grounded out, bringing Johnson home for a 1-0 Angels lead.

That changed in the sixth.  The Twins had managed only one hit through the first five innings, but Tovar led off the sixth with a home run to tie it 1-1.  Rod Carew reached on a two-base error and scored on Tony Oliva's single to put the Twins up 2-1.  Harmon Killebrew walked, Rich Reese was hit by a pitch, and Alyea hit a grand slam to make it 6-1 Twins.  The grand slam did not kill the rally, although it did knock starter Andy Messersmith from the game.  Mel Queen came in and gave up a single to George Mitterwald and a two-run homer to Cardenas to increase the lead to 8-1.

That was pretty much it.  Jim Fregosi hit a one-out double in the sixth but was stranded at second.  Johnstone led off with a homer in the seventh to make it 8-2.  But that was the last baserunner California got, and it ended 8-2.

W:  Perry (2-0).

L:  Messersmith (2-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in left field in the sixth.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the seventh and stayed in the game at third base.

Alyea was batting .600.  Carew was 1-for-5 and was batting .375.  Mitterwald was 1-for-4 and was batting .375.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .350.  Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .333.  Holt was 0-for-1 and was batting .333.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .308.

Perry had an ERA of 1.00.

Reese was 0-for-3 and was batting .133.

Alyea must have been endearing himself to Twins fans with that kind of start.  6-for-10 with three home runs and eleven RBIs.  Hard to do much better than that.

I wonder, though, if Alyea was a butcher in the field.  In all three of those games he was replaced for defense with Holt.  It's a long time ago, of course, and to be honest I don't understand defense stats very well.  But I certainly don't recall Holt being regarded as some sort of defensive wizard.  I don't doubt that he might have been better than Alyea--I'm just thinking that might have been a low bar, sort of like when Pedro Munoz replaced Gene Larkin for outfield defense under Tom Kelly.

The Twins did not keep to their one-day-on, one-day-off schedule.  Instead, they had three days off before their fourth game.  I assume it was some combination of bad weather and planned off days.

It's very early, obviously, but this was a matchup between the first and second place teams in the division.

Wally Wolf pitched a scoreless ninth for the Angels.  It was one of 7.2 major league innings that he pitched.  2.1 of them were in 1969 and 5.1 in 1970.  He would appear in three more major league games one in April and two in May.  He had basically topped out in AA--his career AAA numbers are 1-12, 6.66, 1.81 WHIP in 104 innings.  He had a strong AA season in 1969, which got him a September call-up and a chance to open 1970 in the majors, but that was as good as it would get for him.  1970 was his last professional season.  But, hey, he got 7.2 major league innings, which is 7.2 more than I'll ever get.

Record:  The Twins were 4-0, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.