BALTIMORE 6, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Saturday, July 25.
Batting stars: Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fifteenth) and two runs. Frank Quilici was 2-for-3. Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a double.
Pitching star: Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Dave Johnson was 3-for-5 with a double. Brooks Robinson was 3-for-5. Boog Powell was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Don Buford was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his twelfth), a walk, and two runs. Dick Hall pitched four innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out one.
The game: The Twins got off to a poor start. In the top of the first Buford was hit by a pitch, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an error. The error put Paul Blair on third base, and he scored on Powell's double to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead out of the gate.
The Twins did not get a baserunner until two out in the third, when starting pitcher Bill Zepp singled. Baltimore loaded the bases in the fourth but did not score. In the bottom of the fourth, the Twins scored four runs to take the lead. Rich Reese and Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with an RBI double. With one out, George Mitterwald was intentionally walked to load the bases. Leo Cardenas followed with a two-run single and Quilici had an RBi single, giving the Twins a 4-2 lead.
It lasted until the sixth. Frank Robinson singled, Brooks Robinson reached on an error, and Elrod Hendricks singled to load the bases with none out. Johnson singled in a run to make it 4-3, and with one out Terry Crowley delivered a pinch-hit single to tie it 4-4. Baltimore took the lead in the eighth when Dick Hall singled and Buford hit a two-run homer.
The Twins got one back in the bottom of the eighth when Oliva led off with a home run. Killebrew followed with a single, but did not get past first base (and oddly, was not pinch-run for). Jim Holt singled in the ninth but was erased on a double play to end the game.
WP: Dick Hall (8-3).
LP: Tom Hall (5-4).
S: None.
Notes: Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea. Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew. Holt went to left in the ninth as part of a double switch, with Renick coming out of the game. Alyea pinch-hit for Quilici in the ninth.
Oliva was batting .323. Killebrew was batting .317. Cesar Tovar was 0-for-5 and was batting .311. Dick Woodson did not give up a run in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.25. Tom Hall gave up two runs in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.48. Perranoski had an ERA of 1.41.
Bill Zepp started for the Twins and pitched five innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks and striking out two. Jim Hardin started for the Orioles and pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.
The pitcher's spot came up for the Orioles with one out in the top of the eighth in a tie game. The pitcher, Dick Hall, had already pitched two innings. He was allowed to hit, and he got a single, eventually scoring the go-ahead run.
It's probably not that uncommon that the winning and losing pitcher had the same last name. I wonder if it's ever happened before that the name was "Hall". Not that Hall is that uncommon, but it's not Smith, either.
Record: The Twins were 60-32, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.