DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Tuesday, July 21.
Batting stars: George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and a double. Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his twenty-first.
Pitching stars: Dick Woodson struck out three in two perfect innings. Dave Boswell pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.
Opposition stars: Dick McAuliffe was 4-for-5 with a stolen base, his fifth. Willie Horton was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his seventeenth) and a walk. Norm Cash was 2-for-3 with a walk. Denny McLain pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.
The game: The Twins had two on in the first and the Tigers had two on in the second, but there was no score until the third. McLain and McAuliffe led off with singles, and an error scored the game's first run. Detroit would take control of the game in the fifth. Singles by Cesar Guiterrez, McAuliffe, and Mickey Stanley plated one run. A wild pitch put men on second and third, a sacrifice fly scored a run, and Horton hit a two-run homer, giving the Tigers a 5-0 lead.
The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, as Rich Reese singled and Mitterwald hit a two-run homer. But that was it for the scoring, as 5-2 is where it stayed. Mitterwald hit a two-out double in the seventh, and the Twins opened the eighth with singles, but the score remained 5-2.
WP: McLain (1-2).
LP: Bill Zepp (5-1).
S: Tom Timmerman (16).
Notes: Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .321. Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .320. Tovar was batting .316. Woodson had an ERA of 2.30.
Boswell had an ERA of 6.00. This was his second relief appearance of the season.
Jim Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to second base in place of Rod Carew. Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea. Danny Thompson and Paul Ratliff were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.
Zepp pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out three. This was his second consecutive poor start, after having made two very good starts.
McLain had been suspended for the first three months of the season, so this was only his sixth start. After winning the Cy Young award in 1968 and 1969, he would never have a good season again. His ERA after this game was 4.78. Despite getting a hit in this game, he was not a good batter: his career numbers are .133/.166/.153.
The Twins had started their homestand 1-2.
Record: The Twins were 57-31, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.