Tag Archives: Carl Willis

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 28

Count Sensenderfer (1847)
Ted Lyons (1900)
Tommy Bridges (1906)
Bill Lee (1946)
Aurelio Rodriguez (1947)
John Milner (1949)
Ray Knight (1952)
Zane Smith (1960)
Carl Willis (1960)
Benny Agbayani (1971)
Melvin Nieves (1971)
Einar Diaz (1972)
B. J. Ryan (1975)
Bill Hall (1979)

Count Sensenderfer (given name John Phillips Jenkins Sensenderfer) played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the National Association from 1871-1874.  He holds the record for most at-bats without drawing a walk, 234.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 28 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 28

Count Sensenderfer (1847)
Ted Lyons (1900)
Tommy Bridges (1906)
Bill Lee (1946)
Aurelio Rodriguez (1947)
John Milner (1949)
Ray Knight (1952)
Zane Smith (1960)
Carl Willis (1960)
Benny Agbayani (1971)
Melvin Nieves (1971)
Einar Diaz (1972)
B. J. Ryan (1975)
Bill Hall (1979)

Count Sensenderfer (given name John Phillips Jenkins Sensenderfer) played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the National Association from 1871-1874.  He holds the record for most at-bats without drawing a walk, 234.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 28 →

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 28

Count Sensenderfer (1847)
Ted Lyons (1900)
Tommy Bridges (1906)
Bill Lee (1946)
Aurelio Rodriguez (1947)
John Milner (1949)
Ray Knight (1952)
Zane Smith (1960)
Carl Willis (1960)
Benny Agbayani (1971)
Melvin Nieves (1971)
Einar Diaz (1972)
B. J. Ryan (1975)
Bill Hall (1979)

Count Sensenderfer (given name John Phillips Jenkins Sensenderfer) played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the National Association from 1871-1874.  He holds the record for most at-bats without drawing a walk, 234.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 28 →

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: ALCS Game One

4 Comments

MINNESOTA 5, TORONTO 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, October 8.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-3 with a walk and two stolen bases.  Brian Harper was 2-for-4 with a double.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5.  Chili Davis was 1-for-2 with two walks, two RBIs, and a stolen base.

Pitching stars:  Carl Willis retired all seven batters he faced, striking out two.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Joe Carter was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Kelly Gruber was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base.  John Olerud was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Roberto Alomar was 2-for-4.  David Wells pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mike Timlin pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out two.

The game:  Gladden and Knoblauch started the first inning with singles.  A fly ball and a stolen base moved them to second and third with two out.  Davis then came through with a two-run single to put the Twins up 2-0.  Mack led off the second with a single, stole second, and scored on a Greg Gagne single.  Singles by Gladden and Knoblauch brought home Gagne to make it 4-0.  In the third Davis walked, stole second, and scored on Mack's double to put the Twins up 5-0.

The Blue Jays started their comeback in the fourth.  Alomar singled and Carter doubled, but Alomar was thrown out at the plate.  Carter went to third on the throw, however, and scored on a ground out to make it 5-1.

The Twins loaded the bases in the fifth but did not score.  In the sixth Toronto got five consecutive one-out singles, by Devon White, Alomar, Carter, Olerud, and Gruber, to cut the lead to 5-4.  The Blue Jays had men on first and second with one out, but at that point Jack Morris was replaced by Willis, who retired the next two batters to get the Twins out of the inning.  The Blue Jays had only one baserunner after that, a two-out single by Olerud in the eighth.  The Twins held on to take game one 5-4.

WP:  Morris.  LP:  Tom Candiotti.  S:  Aguilera.

Notes:  Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the fifth inning and stayed in the game at third base.  Junior Ortiz came in to replace Brian Harper at catcher in the eighth.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Leius in the eighth, with Al Newman coming in to play third base in the ninth.

Morris pitched very well for four innings, got out of trouble in the fifth, but could not get out of the sixth.  Five consecutive singles sounds like bad luck, and maybe it was, but four of the five are described as line drives.  Willis really came in and saved the day, as he did so many times in the 1991 season.

I was a little surprised to see that the Blue Jays had gone with Candiotti as their game one starter.  Their other starters were Todd Stottlemyre, Jimmy Key, David Wells, and Juan Guzman.  But in 1991 Candiotti had a 2.65 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP.  He was really good that year, and you can see why Toronto started him in game one.

Both teams hit well with men in scoring position.  The Blue Jays were 3-for-8 and the Twins were 4-for-12.  Toronto stranded four men and the Twins stranded eight.

The Twins weren't a particularly strong basestealing team, but they stole four bases in this game.  They were 4-for-6.  Candiotti, a knuckleballer, being on the mound probably influenced that.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 1-0.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-four

BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Friday, August 23.

Batting stars:  Junior Ortiz was 3-for-4 with a double.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Chili Davis was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching star:  Carl Willis pitched four innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and two walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Ben McDonald pitched eight innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and three walks and striking out six.  Dwight Evans was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer (his fifth) and a walk.  Chris Hoiles was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Mike Devereaux was 2-for-5.

The game:  With one out in the second, Randy Milligan walked, Evans singled, a sacrifice fly made it 1-0 Orioles.  The Twins came back in the third.  With two out and none on, Dan Gladden singled, Chuck Knoblauch walked, Puckett had an RBI single and Kent Hrbek delivered a two-run double to put the Twins up 3-1.

The lead lasted until the fourth.  Glenn Davis led off the inning with a double, Milligan walked again, and Evans hit a three-run homer to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead.  The Twins tied it in the fifth when Knoblauch led off with a single and scored from first on a Puckett double.  They missed a chance to take the lead when Puckett was caught trying to steal third.

It stayed 4-4 until the ninth.  Ortiz hit a two-out double in the sixth but remained at second.  Baltimore put two on with two out in the sixth and again in the eighth but also did not score.  In the ninth, Hoiles led off with a single.  Pinch-runner Juan Bell was bunted to second and scored on David Segui's two-out single to end the game.

WP:  Gregg Olson (4-3).  LP:  Willis (7-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Ortiz was behind the plate in place of Brian Harper.  Gene Larkin started in right field in place of Shane Mack.  Scott Leius was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  Gagne pinch-ran for Ortiz in the ninth and remained in the game at shortstop.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Gladden in the ninth.  Harper took Bush's place in the lineup and went in to catch.  Mack took Leius' place in the lineup and went to left field.

Puckett raised his average to .331.  Willis' ERA went up to 1.95.  Terry Leach pitched two-thirds of an inning to drop his ERA to 2.75.

Allan Anderson started for the Twins but pitched just four innings, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks and striking out two.  I don't know, but it could be that Tom Kelly started Ortiz with the thought that he'd be better able to help Anderson.  If so, it does not it appear to have worked.

Even though he took the loss, Willis again pitched very well in long relief.  His amazing run was nearing an end--he did not pitch well in September, presumably from being worn down during the season.  But he does not get nearly enough credit for the Twins' 1991 success.

The Twins' nearest rivals both lost, the White Sox falling to Cleveland 4-3 and Oakland losing to Milwaukee 13-4.  So, the Twins margin remained the same.

Record:  The Twins were 74-50, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of Chicago and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nineteen

MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, August 18.

Batting stars:  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Shane Mack was 2-for-4.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Carl Willis pitched five innings of relief, giving up one run on two hits and no walks and striking out four.  Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Dave Stewart pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and five walks and striking out five.  Dave Henderson was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs.

The game:  The Athletics again took the early lead, scoring twice in the first inning.  Rickey Henderson led off with a single and Dave Henderson walked.  The Hendersons then pulled off a double steal-plus-error, with Rickey scoring and Dave going to third.  A ground out scored Dave and gave Oakland a 2-0 lead.  The Hendersons produced another run in the third when Rickey walked and scored from first on Dave's double.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the third when Dan Gladden walked and scored from first on Chuck Knoblauch's double.  The Athletics got the run back in the sixth when Dave Henderson singled, went to third on a Jose Canseco single, and scored on a ground out.  Just like yesterday, Oakland led 4-1.

The Twins got a pair of walks in the sixth but did not score.  In the seventh, however, Mike Pagliarulo walked, Greg Gagne singled, and Dan Gladden was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  A sacrifice fly scored one run and Puckett singled home another, cutting the lead to 4-3.  The Twins continued the comeback in the eighth.  Chili Davis led off with a single and Brian Harper delivered an RBI triple, tying the score.  Mack singled to put the Twins ahead.  He went to third on a Pagliarulo single and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 6-4 advantage.  The Athletics went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Willis (7-2).  LP:  Rick Honeycutt (2-3).  S:  Aguilera (32).

Notes:  Al Newman pinch-ran for Harper in the eighth.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Gagne, also in the eighth.  In the ninth, Newman went to shortstop and Junior Ortiz replaced Larkin and went behind the plate.

Puckett raised his average to .326.  He was 6-for-14 in the series so far.  Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .304.  Willis lowered his ERA to 1.93.  Aguilera's ERA was 2.47.

Willie Banks started for the Twins but pitched just three innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 6.28.

I've written about this before, but Carl Willis was an incredibly valuable pitcher for the Twins in 1991.  Time after time, he came in and pitched multiple innings out of the bullpen.  He either retained a lead or kept the Twins in the game over and over again, and saved the rest of the bullpen.  He would wear down and have a poor September, but I think it's safe to say the Twins might well have not won the division without him.

Rick Honeycutt came up in 1977 with Seattle and had a fine career as a starter through 1986.  He then moved to the bullpen and had a fine career as a reliever through 1996.  For his career, he posted an ERA of 3.84 and a WHIP of 1.35 in 268 starts.  He posted an ERA 3.36 and a WHIP of 1.22 in 529 relief appearances.  He came up at age 23 and was in the majors until age 43.  He made two all-star teams and led the league in ERA in 1983.  Not a Hall-of-Famer or anything, but still, that's a career to be proud of.

Oakland entered this series trailing the Twins by four games.  They now trailed by seven.  The White Sox defeated the Yankees 11-3, so the gap between those two teams remained the same.

Record:  The Twins were 71-48, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred One

MINNESOTA 9, DETROIT 7 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 30.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 4-for-5 with two doubles.  Scott Leius was 3-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-3 with two walks.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-6 with a triple, a double, and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Carl Willis pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief, giving up three hits and no walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Lloyd Moseby was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three runs.  Mickey Tettleton was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Tony Phillips was 2-for-5.

The game:  It was wild early.  With one out in the top of the first, Scott Livingstone singled, Moseby doubled, and Cecil Fielder hit a two-run double to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead.  The Twins came back with three in the bottom of the first.  Dan Gladden walked, Knoblauch singled, Puckett hit a two-run triple, and a wild pitch gave the Twins a 3-2 lead.  It went to 4-2 in the second when Greg Gagne doubled, went to third on Gladden's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

Detroit went back in front in the third.  Moseby and Tettleton singled, Travis Fryman had an RBI double, and Rob Deer hit a two-run single to give the Tigers a 5-4 advantage.  The Twins got the lead back in the bottom of the third.  Larkin singled and scored from first on Leius' double.  An RBI single from Knoblauch put the Twins up 6-5.  They added two more in the fourth.  Mack singled and went to second on a wild pitch.  With two out, Leius singled and Junior Ortiz tripled to make it 8-5 Twins.  There was no more scoring until the seventh, when Chili Davis walked and scored from first on a Mack double, putting the Twins up 9-5.

The Tigers tried to mount a comeback in the ninth.  Tony Phillips led off with a single.  With one out Moseby had an RBI double to make it 9-6.  A wild pitch moved him to third and he scored on a ground out to cut the lead to 9-7.  But the tying run did not come to bat, as Tettleton grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Willis (6-2).  LP:  John Cerutti (1-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Larkin was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Junior Ortiz was behind the plate in place of Brian Harper.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Leius in the eighth and stayed in the game at third base.

Puckett was batting .332.  Leius raised his average to .303.  Willis lowered his ERA to 2.16.

There were no Great Scotts in this game, as neither starter lasted long.  Scott Erickson pitched three innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out one.  His ERA went to 2.34.  Detroit starter Scott Aldred went only one-third on an inning, allowing three runs on three hits and two walks and striking out one.

Willis was really an unsung hero for the 1991 Twins.  When we think of that team, we think of Morris and Tapani and Erickson.  We think of Puckett and Hrbek and Chili Davis.  But Willis had fifteen games in which he pitched three innings or more out of the bullpen.  In those fifteen games, he allowed one or zero runs in twelve of them, two runs in two, and three runs in one.  In other words, in those fifteen games in which pitched three or more innings, he had an ERA of 1.95.  Saving the bullpen, keeping the Twins in games, allowing them to win some games they would not otherwise have won.  I'm not saying he was the team MVP, but he was certainly an important contributor.

The White Sox defeated Toronto 8-7, so the Twins did not gain any ground.

Record:  The Twins were 60-41, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of Chicago.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Ninety-four

DETROIT 6, MINNESOTA 3 IN DETROIT

Date:  Tuesday, July 23.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-3.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Carl Willis pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Frank Tanana pitched six innings, giving up two runs on four hits and no walks and striking out two.  Lou Whitaker was 2-for-3 with two runs.  Cecil Fielder was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth) and five RBIs.  Tony Phillips was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Scott Leius and Chuck Knoblauch opened the game with singles.  Puckett bunted them up and a ground out scored a run, putting the Twins up 1-0.  That lead didn't last long.  In the bottom of the first, Whitaker singled and Fielder hit a two-run homer, putting the Tigers ahead 2-1.

The Twins tied it in the fourth, but could've had more.  Puckett singled and Davis doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Brian Harper hit a sacrifice fly to make it 2-2, but a strikeout and a fly out ended the inning.  Once again, the Tigers went right back in front.  In the bottom of the fourth, Rob Deer walked and scored from first on a Travis Fryman double to give Detroit a 3-2 advantage.

The Tigers took control in the fifth.  Phillips and Whitaker singled and Fielder hit a three-run homer, making the score 6-2.  The Twins got one back in the eighth.  Chuck Knoblauch walked, Puckett singled, and Davis had an RBI single.  The tying run was at bat with one out, but Harper and Shane Mack each grounded out to end the threat.

WP:  Tanana (7-6).  LP:  Allan Anderson (4-8).  SL  Mike Henneman (14).

Notes:  Mack remained in left field in place of Dan Gladden.  Gene Larkin was in right.  Leius batted first.

In the seventh, Randy Bush pinch-hit for Greg Gagne, but due to a pitching change Al Newman pinch-hit for Bush.  He stayed in the game at shortstop.  Mike Pagliarulo pinch-hit for Leius in the ninth.

Puckett raised his average to .331.  Harper was 0-for-3 and fell to .321.  Willis lowered his ERA to 2.44.  Rick Aguilera pitched a third of an inning to drop his ERA to 2.93.

Jack Morris started, but pitched just 1.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 3.47.  I assume he came out due to injury.  The play-by-play on the play before he came out says "Single (line drive to P's right).  I don't know if it went off him or if perhaps he tweaked something trying to field it.  At any rate, he did not miss a start.  Anderson came in and pitched the next 3.1 innings, doing well until the three-run homer in the fifth.

It seems strange that, after starting the game with two singles, Puckett would then bunt.  My guess is that he did that on his own, but it still doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  They had a chance for a big inning, and he was at least arguably their best batter.  Bunting, even if he was bunting for a hit, does not seem like a good strategy at that point.

Willis came in to start the sixth.  He had gotten into some trouble int he seventh, but a double play ended the inning.  He then retired the first two batters in the eighth, and was removed for no obvious reason in favor of Aguilera.  Aguilera hadn't pitched since July 19, so I could understand the idea that he might need some work.  But then, why not give him an inning, rather than bringing him in with two out and none on in the last inning?  He threw six pitches, and could very well have just thrown one.  That's getting him some work?  It really seems strange.

The Twins did pretty well against  Frank Tanana for his career.  His record against them was 19-20, 4.49, 1.37 WHIP.  For his career he was 240-236, 3.66, 1.27 WHIP.  In 1991, however, Tanana did well against the Twins in two starts:  1-1, 3.86, 1.07 WHIP.  His season in 1991 was 13-12, 3.77, 1.36 WHIP.

Texas and Chicago each won, so they remained tied for second and each gained a game on the Twins.

Record:  The Twins were 55-39, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of Chicago and Texas.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Eighty-two

MINNESOTA 5, CHICAGO 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Brian Harper was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fourth.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Carl Willis pitched three shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Rick Aguilera pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Frank Thomas was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourteenth) and a double.  Robin Ventura was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his sixth) and a walk.  Ramon Garcia pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and three walks and striking out two hits.

The game:  There was really no threat to score (well, technically, every time someone comes to bat there's the threat of a score, but you know what I mean) until the fourth, when Thomas led off the inning with a home run.  In the fifth, Craig Grebeck drew a one-out walk and Tim Raines drew a two-out walk, followed by Ventura's three-run homer, putting the White Sox up 4-0.

The Twins came back in the seventh.  Randy Bush led off with a single, but was still on first with two out.  Chili Davis then walked and Harper delivered a three-run homer, cutting the margin to 4-3.  The homer was followed by a couple of two-out singles, but the Twins could not get even.

Not to worry.  With two out in the eighth Kirby Puckett singled and Hrbek hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins ahead 5-4.  Chicago did not go quietly, however.  Dan Pasqua hit a two-out double in the eighth but was stranded at second.  In the ninth Warren Newson hit a one-out single and stole second.  A ground out and a fly out followed, and the Twins held on to win.

WP:  Willis (3-2).  LP:  Scott Radinsky (2-3).  S:  Aguilera (22).

Notes:  Pedro Munoz was in left, replacing Dan Gladden.  Bush was in right, replacing Shane Mack.  Chuck Knoblauch led off, with Bush batting second.

Tom Kelly again used a lot of his bench.  Mack pinch-hit for Bush in the eighth and stayed in the game in left field, with Munoz moving to right.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.  Jarvis Brown pinch-ran for Harper in the ninth, with Junior Ortiz coming in to catch.

Harper raised his average to .332.  Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .315.  Willis dropped his ERA to 2.95.  Aguilera's ERA fell to 2.75.

Paul Abbott's second start did not go nearly as well as the first.  He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on three hits and five walks and struck out two.  Of course, two of the hits were home runs.  I suppose you could argue that he did well other than the home runs, but that doesn't help a whole lot.  He would go back to the bullpen after this start, making just one more start in 1991, on August 1.

Given how the Twins were flailing around to try to fill the back end of the rotation, it's a little surprising that they never gave Willis a start.  He had started only two games in his major league career, both in 1984, so you can understand why they didn't.  But he made thirteen relief appearances of three innings or more, seven of four innings or more, and one of five innings.  He generally did quite well in those long relief appearances, although I suppose that's skewed because if he hadn't done well he wouldn't have been left in the game that long.  I'm not saying he'd have been the solution to their starting pitching problems.  I'm not even saying it was a mistake not to use him as a starter.  I'm just saying that it might have been an option, and for whatever reason Kelly did not use it.

Texas defeated California 4-3, so the Twins did not increase their lead.

Record:  The Twins were 47-35, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of Texas.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Seventy-two

TORONTO 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, June 26.

Batting stars:  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his eighteenth) and a double.  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Carl Willis pitched four innings of relief, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out four.  Terry Leach pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  David Wells pitched eight innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.  Joe Carter was 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Glenallen Hill was 3-for-4 with a double.  Devon White was 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, a stolen base (his eighteenth) and two runs.  Roberto Alomar was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and two RBIs.

The game:  This time it was the Blue Jays who jumped out to an early lead.  White started the game with a double and stole third.  Alomar then tripled and Carter doubled, putting Toronto up 2-0 after the first three batters of the game.  Twins starter Mark Guthrie then settled down, and there was no more scoring until the fourth.  With two out Hill singled, White tripled, and Carter singled to make the score 4-0.

The Twins got a man to second base in the first, fourth, and fifth, but could not score.  The Blue Jays added one more run in the sixth.  Manny Lee singled, stole second, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on an Alomar single, increasing the lead to 5-0.

The Twins again got a man to second in the seventh and did not score.  They finally got on the board in the eighth when Knoblauch singled and Davis hit a two-out two-run homer.  After that, however, all the Twins could do is a single by Shane Mack in the ninth.  The score remained 5-2.

WP:  Wells (9-4).  LP:  Guthrie (5-4).  S:  Tom Henke (13).

Notes:  Gene Larkin was again at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Al Newman pinch-hit for Scott Leius in the ninth.  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the ninth.  The pinch-hitters the Twins used had batting averages of .202 and .210, respectively.

Brian Harper was 0-for-4 and was batting .333.  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .324.  Willis lowered his ERA to 3.03.  Leach's ERA went down to 3.26.

Guthrie allowed four runs in 3.2 innings on eight hits and two walks, striking out one.  His ERA was 5.66.

This was Guthrie's last start of the season.  He would be replaced in the rotation initially by Paul Abbott.  He would do much better out of the bullpen, going 2-1, 2.51, 1.37 WHIP with two saves in 43 innings (29 games).  He would make only two more starts in his major league career, both in 1994.  In his career as a starter, he was 13-18, 4.95, 1.52 WHIP.  As a reliever, he was 38-36, 3.75, 1.36 WHIP with 14 saves.

This was the second-longest stint of Willis' season to date, topped only by his 4.2 innings on April 23.  In August he would twice pitch five innings.  He would have a very good season, going 8-3, 2.63, 1.07 WHIP.  He would be about as good in 1992, going 7-3, 2.72, 1.06 WHIP.  He started to slip a little in 1993, although he was still pretty good.  After that he didn't get much accomplished, but from 1991-1993, he was a very effective relief pitcher.

This game is as good a place as any to declare the Twins' hot streak over.  It was a pretty good one, though.  From May 28 through June 25, the Twins won twenty-four out of twenty-seven.  They went from sixth place to first place.  They would not do that again, obviously, but they would continue to have winning months the rest of the season.

Record:  The Twins were 44-28, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.