MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA (5 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, April 22.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his second) and two runs.

Pitching star:  Luis Tiant pitched a five-inning complete game, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition star:  Carlos May was 1-for-2 with a double.

The game:  Tovar led off the bottom of the first with a single, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Tony Oliva single.  There were no real threats until the fourth, when Luis Aparicio hit a one-out single and scored from first on May's double, tying it 1-1.  In the fifth, Leo Cardenas hit a one-out single and was bunted to second.  Tovar then hit a two-run homer to put the Twins up 3-1.

The third out was made, the inning ended, and then so did the game.  It doesn't say, but it seems likely that weather ended the game after five innings.  It also seems likely that the White Sox were not very happy about the game ending right after the Twins took the lead.

WP:  Tiant (2-0).

LP:  Joel Horlen (1-2).

S:  None.

Notes:  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate, giving George Mitterwald his first day off of the season.

Brant Alyea was 1-for-2 and was batting .448.  Tovar was batting .372.  Rod Carew was 1-for-3 and was batting .357.  Oliva was also 1-for-3 and was also batting .357.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 and was batting .333.

Rich Reese was 0-for-2 and was batting .148.  Ratliff was 0-for-1 and was batting zero.  Tiant lowered his ERA to 5.02.

Horlen also pitched a five-inning complete game, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out one.

Alyea was caught stealing in the second inning.  He was 3-for-6 in stolen base attempts in 1970.  For his career, he was 5-for-12.

Record:  The Twins were 8-2, in first place in the American League West by percentage points, but tied in games with California.