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Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty

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MINNESOTA 11, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, June 21.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, and three runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Joe Keough was 2-for-4 with a double.  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4.  Al Fitzmorris pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  The Twins opened the scoring in the second.  Allison led off with an infield hit.  While Rick Renick was batting, Allison somehow went to second on an error on the shortstop.  He then stole third and scored on a throwing error on the catcher, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The Twins put two on in the third but did not score.  In the fourth, however, the Twins took control of the game.  Allison reached on an error and Renick walked.  Cardenas delivered a two-run single-plus error, taking second on the play.  Reese singled, putting men on first and third, and George Mitterwald singled home a run.  A bunt moved the runners up and a sacrifice fly brought home one more, making it 5-0 Twins.  Killebrew homered leading off the fifth to make it 6-0.

The Royals had only one hit through the first six innings.  In the seventh, consecutive two-out singles by Bob Oliver, Keough, Piniella, and Ed Kirkpatrick brought home two runs and chased Perry from the game.  Perranoski came in to retire Hawk Taylor and keep the score 6-2.

The Twins put it away with five in the ninth.  Cesar Tovar doubled and scored on a Carew single.  Killebrew walked and Allison was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  An error brought home one run and Cardenas hit a three-run double to bring us to the final score of 11-2.

WP:  Perry (10-5).

LP:  Bill Butler (2-6).

S:  Perranoski (16).

Notes:  Allison was in right field, giving Tony Oliva his first day off of the season.  Renick was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Jim Holt replaced Renick in the seventh inning.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth and stayed in the game at third base.

Carew was 7-for-12 in his last three games and raised his average to .378.  Perry was 1-for-2 and was batting .368.  Killebrew was batting .305.  Perry had an ERA of 2.82.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.82.

I really don't know how Allison got to second in the second inning.  The play-by-play says "Baserunner Advance; Allison to 2B/Adv on E6".  My best guess is that he was trying to steal second and would've been out, but the shortstop dropped/missed the throw.  The catcher should get an assist on that, though, and nothing indicates that he did.

It seems strange to bring your closer into a game in the seventh inning of a 6-2 game, but of course it would not have been nearly has strange in 1970.  Plus, the game was arguably on the line--Kansas City had just scored two runs and had two men on.  On the other hand, the batter was Hawk Taylor, who wasn't exactly Babe Ruth--a career .218 average with a career OPS of .578.  Today they surely would've brought someone else in to pitch the ninth, with the Twins leading 11-2, but that just wasn't the way they did things back then.  At that time, they figured, Perranoski hasn't pitched since June 15, he's all warmed up, he might as well finish it up.

The Royals starter, Butler, would pitch for the Twins in 1974-1975 and 1977.  In this game, he pitched six innings, giving up six runs (three earned) on eight hits and three walks and striking out three.  Kansas City made five errors in the game, leading to four unearned runs.  They had made three errors in yesterday's game and two in the game before that, making ten for the series.  Yet, they won two out of three.

The Twins would now head for Milwaukee for the next leg of their three-city road trip.

Record:  The Twins were 39-21, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-nine

MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Russ Snyder was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his twentieth), a walk, and two runs.  Skip Lockwood pitched a complete game, giving up six runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk and striking out six.

The game:  Cesar Tovar and Rod Carew led off the first with singles, putting men on first and third, and Tony Oliva hit an RBI ground out to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Brewers tied it in the third when Harper drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on Russ Snyder's single.  The Twins went back in front in the fourth.  Oliva reached on an error and scored on a Harmon Killebrew triple.  Reese followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Twins.

Milwaukee came back.  Ted Kubiak led off the fifth with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.  In the sixth Snyder singled and scored from first on Mike Hegan's double to tie it 3-3.  The Brewers took the lead in the seventh when Gus Gil singled, was bunted to second, and scored on Harper's single.

It was the Twins' turn in the seventh.  George Mitterwald reached on an error and was bunted to second.  Tovar reached on another error, sending Mitterwald to third.  With two out, Oliva reached on yet another error, scoring Mitterwald to tie it 4-4.  Killebrew walked to load the bases and Reese delivered a two-run single to give the Twins a 6-4 lead.

Milwaukee drew a pair of one-out walks in the eighth but did not score.  The first two Brewers went out in the ninth, but Harper doubled and scored on Snyder's single, cutting the lead to 6-5.  An error on Frank Quilici (in the game as a defensive replacement) put men on first and second, but future Twin Danny Walton flied out to end the game.

WP:  Tom Hall (2-1).

LP:  Lockwood (0-1).

S:  Ron Perranoski (12).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .387.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .329.  Killebrew was batting .328.  Bill Zepp pitched 6.2 innings and gave up four runs, making his ERA 2.78.  Hall did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.59.  Stan Williams gave up a run in 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 1.65.  Perranoski got the last out and had an ERA of 1.64.

This was Zepp's second start of the season.  He would make one more, then go back to the bullpen until July, when he would go into the rotation.

Milwaukee made four errors in the game, and as you can see above, the errors cost them.  Lockwood was allowed to pitch a complete game despite giving up six runs, presumably on the theory that it's not his fault that his fielders couldn't field.  Still, a complete game while giving up six runs is unusual, even if four were unearned.

This was Killebrew's only triple in 1970.  For his career, he hit twenty-four triples.  He only once hit more than two in a season, and that's in 1961, when he hit seven.

Gus Gil somehow managed to play in parts of four seasons and appear in 221 games despite batting .186/.272/.226, for an OPS of .499.  Presumably he was considered a good fielder, but his batting line pretty much defines "futility infielder".

The Twins had played four one-run games in a row, winning two and losing two.

Record:  The Twins were 27-12, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Mazatlan Recap: Game Twenty-three

MAZATLAN 7, LOS MOCHIS 4 IN MAZATLAN

Batting star:  Anthony Giansanti was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Marco Antonio Rivas struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.  Alejandro Soto struck out two in a perfect inning.  Roberto Espinosa struck out two in a perfect inning.  Jesus Pirela pitched a perfect inning, striking out one.

Opposition star:  Isaac Rodriguez Salazar was 3-for-5.

The game:  Mazatlan jumped out to the early lead.  Jose Augusto Figueroa and Ramon Rios led off with walks.  Isaac Paredes had an RBI double and Carlos Munoz hit a two-run single to make it 3-0 Mazatlan.

It stayed 3-0 until the fifth, when Los Mochis struck back.  With one out, Josuan Hernandez and Carlos Soto singled.  A fly out made two down, but Amilcar Gomez singled to load the bases, Esteban Quiroz singled home two, Darick Hall was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, and Leandro Castro delivered a two-run single, making it 4-3 Los Mochis.

It stayed 4-3 until the seventh.  Ricardo Valenzuela led off the bottom of the inning with a walk, but there was still a runner on first with two out.  Then Figueroa delivered an RBI double, tying the score 4-4.  Mazatlan then regained the lead in the eighth.  Isaac Paredes walked and an error put men on first and second with none out.  There was then a double error on a pickoff attempt, putting Mazatlan ahead.  Ricky Alvarez had an RBI double and with two out, Maxwell Leon singled home a run, putting Mazatlan ahead 7-4.  Los Mochis went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Espinosa (2-0).  LP:  Darel Torres (0-2).  S:  Pirela (3).

Notes:  Figueroa is batting .444.  Paredes is batting .391. Italo Mota is batting .348.  Munoz is batting .321.  Giansanti is batting .307.

Espinosa and PIrela each have an ERA of 1.35.

Carlos Morales started for Mazatlan.  He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.  Rafael Ordaz started for Los Mochis.  He pitched five innings, giving up three runs on four hits and two walks and striking out three.

Los Mochis made three errors.  They were all in the eighth inning and came within the space of two batters.

Record:  Mazatlan is 9-14, in eighth place, eight games behind Obregon.

Next game:  Mazatlan hosts Los Mochis again tonight.

2019 Twins Game Recaps

2019 Recap: Game One Hundred Twenty-two

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MINNESOTA 4, TEXAS 3 IN TEXAS

Date:  Friday, August 16.

Batting stars:  Marwin Gonzalez was 3-for-4.  Jonathan Schoop was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his seventeenth.  Max Kepler was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his thirty-third.

Pitching stars:  Sam Dyson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.  Taylor Rogers struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.  Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Minor pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk and striking out five.  Nomar Mazara was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Willie Calhoun was 2-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  The Twins got two on in the first inning, but couldn't do anything with them.  The Rangers got two in the second, but a double play took them out of it.  The Twins broke through with one out in the fourth.  Miguel Sano reached on an error and Kepler followed with a two-run homer.  Texas immediately got one back in the bottom of the fourth on singles by Elvis Andrus and Calhoun and a wild pitch by Odorizzi.  Still, it was 2-1 Twins through four.

The lead lasted until the sixth.  Shin-Soo Choo led off with a double.  He had only made it to third with two out, but Calhoun then walked an Mazara delivered a two-run double, giving the Rangers a 3-2 advantage.

That lead lasted until the next half-inning.  With one out in the seventh, Gonzalez singled and Schoop followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-3.

Texas threatened after that, but could not put the tying run across.  They had men on first and third with one out in the seventh, but a double play ended the inning.  They had men on first and third with two out in the eighth, but a strikeout ended the inning.  They got a one-out double in the ninth, but again could not score him.  The Twins held on for the victory.

WP:  Dyson (5-1).  LP:  Minor (11-7).  S:  Romo (20).

Notes:  Luis Arraez was in left field, with Eddie Rosario given the night off.  Rosario came in for defense late in the game, with Arraez moving to second and Schoop coming out of the game.  Jorge Polanco was at designated hitter in the absence of Nelson Cruz, with Ehire Adrianza playing shortstop.  Kepler remained in center and Gonzalez in right in the absence of Byron Buxton.

Arraez was 1-for-4 and is batting .353.  Rogers has an ERA of 2.63.

The Twins did not make any errors and only threw one pitch to the backstop.  Improvement!

The game featured a matchup between Odor and Odorizzi.  Odor walked once and flied out.

It may have been mentioned during the broadcast, but Kepler's home run gave him the record for most home runs in a season by a European-born player.  He broke the record of thirty-two set by Bobby Thomson in 1951.

When the Twins went down 3-2 in the sixth, I was confident that they were going to get the lead back.  I was not confident that they would keep it, but I was confident that they would get it back.  I can't tell you why, I just was.  And, of course, they did.

I did not hear an explanation for why Rogers pitched the eighth and Romo pitched the ninth, rather than the other way around.  There may have been some matchups that influenced Rocco's thinking.  Rocco has never said that Rogers is the closer, even though he's been using him that way.  As we observed early in the season, if you don't announce that someone is your closer, then you don't have to explain why you didn't use them in that role.

We've talked about the Twins losing winnable games.  One might say that here, the Twins won a loseable game.  The only scored two runs in the first six innings, and only had four total.  They lost the lead in the sixth.  The Rangers had men all over the bases in the last three innings but did not tie the score.  They went just 1-for-11 with men in scoring position, while the Twins went 0-for-2 in that situation.  The Twins had more runs at the end, and that's all that matters.

Record:  The Twins are 74-48, in first place in the American League Central, 1.5 games ahead of Cleveland.

Projected record:  We're still on track for 114-48!

2012 Twins Game Recaps, Minnesota Twins, MLB

Game 16 Recap: Minnesota 2, Tampa Bay 6

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I had a full day planned so I recorded todays tilt on the old DVR. Maybe my technology has a heart because when I went to review the game this evening, it hadn’t been recorded after all. At first I was annoyed, but then I checked out the box score… yuck. After committing 3 errors in last night’s ballgame, the Twins cleaned it up today and didn’t commit a single one. That’s about the only positive thing I saw. Continue reading Game 16 Recap: Minnesota 2, Tampa Bay 6 →