Tag Archives: intentional walks

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-nine

MINNESOTA 12, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, August 1.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 4-for-6 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with five RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Dick Woodson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Don Wert was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.  Al Kaline was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and a walk.  Ike Brown was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Mickey Lolich pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out five.

The game:  The Twins got a pair of one-out singles in the first but did not score.  Brown homered in the bottom of the first to put the Tigers on the board, but they also could not take advantage of a pair of one-out singles.  The Twins tied it in the second.  Rich Reese led off with a walk and one-out singles by Tom Tischinski and Kaat loaded the bases.  All the Twins could get, though, was a sacrifice fly, as they again stranded two men.

Detroit put two on in the third and again could not score.  In the fourth, Kaat drew a two-out walk, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Tovar single to put the Twins up 2-1.  The Twins added a run in the fifth when Brant Alyea hit a two-out double and scored on a Reese single.  The Twins again missed a chance for more, as they loaded the bases with two out, but the score stayed 3-1.

The Tigers tied it in the seventh.  Wert led off the inning with a home run.  With one out Jim Price walked, Cesar Gutierrez singled him to third, and a ground out brought home the tying run.  The Twins went back in front in the eighth when Tischinski reached on an error, went to third on a Charlie Manuel single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  Once again, however, the Twins loaded the bases with two out and could not make it pay.  It cost them, as Kaline homered in the bottom of the eighth to tie it 4-4.

The Twins finally broke through in the tenth.  With one out, Tovar singled and scored on a Thompson double.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked, but Tony Oliva delivered an RBI double and Rick Renick hit a two-run double, making the score 8-4.  Reese was intentionally walked, a ground out put men on second and third, and Paul Ratliff was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Bob Allison walked to force in a run, Tovar singled in two, and Thompson finished the scoring with an RBI single.  An eight-run tenth gave the Twins a 12-4 lead.  Detroit tried to rally in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases, but Norm Cash flied out to end the game.

WP:  Ron Perranoski (7-2).

LP:  Fred Scherman (3-3).

S:  Dick Woodson (1).

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tischinski was again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in left field in the seventh.  Manuel pinch-hit for pitcher Stan Williams in the eighth.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Tischinski in the eighth, with Ratliff going behind the plate.  Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the ninth and went to left field.  Allison pinch-hit for Perranoski in the tenth.

Oliva was 1-for-6 and was batting .323.  Killebrew was 1-for-5 and was batting .306.  Tovar was batting .303.  Williams retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 1.57.  Perranoski gave up a run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.91.

Allison was 0-for-1 and was batting .170.

The Twins stranded fifteen men, but were still 7-for-15 with men in scoring position.  The Tigers stranded eight and were 0-for-6 with men in scoring position.

The Twins received three intentional walks in the tenth inning.  I don't know what the record for intentional walks in an extra inning, or in any inning, is, but it seems like it can't be much more than three.  They received a total of ten walks in the game.

Record:  The Twins were 63-36, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of Oakland, who had moved into second place ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-eight

DETROIT 10, MINNESOTA 9 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, July 31.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventeenth.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-5.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5.  Charlie Manuel was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit homer.  Bob Allison was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit two-run homer.

Pitching star:  Tom Hall struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jim Northrup was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twentieth), two runs, and four RBIs.  Dick McAuliffe was 1-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs.

The game:  Cesar Gutierrez led off the third with a single, Mickey Stanley drew a two-out walk, and Northrup hit a three-run homer to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.  It stayed 3-0 until the sixth, when the Twins got six runs.  Thompson singled and Oliva homered to cut the lead to 3-2.  Harmon Killebrew then walked, Reese singled, Alyea hit a two-run single-plus-error, and Cardenas singled to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.  The next two batters went out, but singles by Cesar Tovar and Thompson produced another run, making it 6-3 Twins.

That lead lasted until the seventh, when Detroit got a touchdown of its own.  Don Wert singled and Russ Nagelson walked.  Elliot Maddox had an RBI double and McAuliffe delivered a two-run single to tie it 6-6.  Stanley and Northrup each singled to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead.  Al Kaline drew a walk to load the bases.  Bill Freehan was hit by a pitch to force in a run and Nagelson walked again to force home another run.  Detroit led 9-6 through seven.

The Twins came back again.  Manuel hit a pinch-hit homer in the eighth to cut the margin to 9-7.  In the ninth Oliva led off with a walk, but Killebrew lined into a double play.  Reese then singled, however, and Allison hit a two-run pinch-hit homer to tie it 9-9.

But it was all for naught.  Kaline led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk.  The next two batters grounded out, making two out with a man on second.  Wert was intentionally walked.  Pinch-hitter Ike Brown walked to load the bases, and Maddox walked to force in the deciding run.

WP:  Tom Timmerman (4-3).

LP:  Pete Hamm (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt went to left field in the seventh in place of Alyea.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going behind the plate.  Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the eighth.  Allison pinch-hit for Holt in the in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field.

Oliva was batting .326.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .307.  Tovar slipped under .300 at .299.  Bert Blyleven allowed five runs in six innings and had an ERA of 2.87.  Ron Perranoski allowed four runs without retiring anyone and had an ERA of 1.84.  Hall had an ERA of 2.75.

Allison raised his average to .173.  Hamm allowed one run in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 10.80.

Denny McLain started for Detroit.  He allowed four runs in five innings.

Russ Nagelson presumably tied a record by drawing two walks in an inning.  He drew those walks as a pinch-hitter, which puts into more select company.  I don't know how many guys walked twice in the same inning as a pinch-hitter--I'm sure there are some, but I doubt that it's all that common.

What a frustrating way to lose a game.  Not only do you force in two runs in the seventh with a bases-loaded hit batsman and a bases-loaded walk, but you force in the deciding run with a bases-loaded walk.  And not only that, but the Tigers did not get a hit in the bottom of the ninth--they scored on four walks.

Not that it excuses anything else, but I don't understand the intentional walk to Don Wert.  For his career, he batted .242/.314/.343.  At this point in 1970 he was batting .234/.315/.339.  Yes, it brought up the pitcher's spot, but Bill Rigney had to figure the Tigers would pinch-hit.  The pinch-hitter, Ike Brown, was batting .279/.392/.512.  They did not gain a platoon advantage with this--both Wert and Twins pitcher Hamm were right-handed, as was Brown.  It does not make much sense to me.

The Twins had lost three in a row and five out of seven.

Record:  The Twins were 62-36, in first place in the American League West, 6.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-five

MINNESOTA 12, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 5.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-fourth), two walks, two runs, and two RBIs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams retired all ten men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition star:  Duane Josephson was 2-for-4 with a triple.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second.  Killebrew walked, Rich Reese singled, and Paul Ratliff was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one out.  All the Twins could get out of it was a Cardenas sacrifice fly, leaving them up 1-0.  In the third, though, the offense came alive.  Cesar Tovar and Holt singled, putting men on first and third, and Oliva singled in a run.  A wild pitch scored another, and Killebrew singled to bring home a third.  Singles by Ratliff and Cardenas brought home a run and a sacrifice fly plated one more, making it 6-0 Twins through three.

The Twins added some more runs in the fifth.  Killebrew led off with a home run.  Reese walked and went to third on a stolen base-plus error.  Cardenas walked, Danny Thompson singled in a run, Tovar was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Holt singled in two runs, pushing the Twins' lead to 10-0.

The White Sox got on the board in the sixth.  Jim Kaat had shut them down through five and a third innings on just four singles, but with one out in the sixth Walt Williams walked, Luis Aparicio doubled, Tom McCraw had an RBI double, Carlos May drove in a run with a ground out, and Josephson tripled home a run.  That was as good as it got for Chicago, though, as Williams came in at that point and retired every White Sox batter for the rest of the game.

The Twins added single runs in the sixth and seventh.  In the sixth, Ratliff was hit by a pitch with two out and scored on a Cardenas double.  In the eighth an error, an Oliva single-plus-error, and an intentional walk loaded the bases and Reese was hit by a pitch to bring in the game's final run.

WP:  Kaat (7-6).

LP:  Bob Miller (3-4).

S:  Williams (7).

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Tovar in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the seventh and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Oliva was batting .326.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .311.  Williams had an ERA of 1.67.

Kaat had pitched very well through five innings, but his final line was 5.2 innings, three runs, seven hits, two walks, and no strikeouts.

Ex-Twin Bob Miller started for the White Sox and pitched just two innings, allowing five runs on five hits and a walk and striking out one.

I find it odd that Chicago manager Don Gutteridge would order an intentional walk to Killebrew in the eighth inning.  I mean, yes, he's Harmon Killebrew, but the score was 11-3, it was the eighth inning, and the White Sox had just one more turn at bat.  It just seems like a bit of poor sportsmanship to me.  Not that anything should've been done about it--I'm not saying it was outrageously outrageous or anything.  I just don't see the point of it.  Play the game.  Let the big man hit.

Record:  The Twins were 49-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-five

MINNESOTA 5, WASHINGTON 3 IN MINNESOTA

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his sixteenth), two walks, and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Ron Perranoski struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ed Stroud was 2-for-4.  Frank Howard was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his nineteenth) and two walks.

The game:  The Senators took the early lead, as Stroud hit a one-out single in the first and Howard followed with a two-run homer.  Rod Carew hit a one-out double in the bottom of the first but was stranded at third base.  The Twins got on the board in the third, however, when Cesar Tovar hit a one-out triple and scored on Oliva's two-out single.

Washington got the run back in the fifth.  Jim French led off the inning with a walk.  Stroud drew a two-out walk, putting men on first and second.  Howard was then intentionally walked, loading the bases, and Mike Epstein drew an accidental walk, forcing in a run.  Rick Reichardt grounded out to end the inning, but the Senators led 3-1.

The Twins got one back in the sixth when Killebrew drew a one-out walk, went to third on a Rich Reese double, and scored on a ground out.  They finally took the lead in the seventh.  Tovar was hit by a pitch with one out.  With two down, Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with a three-run homer, putting Minnesota ahead 5-3.  That's where it stayed, as the Senators got only one hit in the last two innings.

WP:  Zepp (3-0).

LP:  Joe Coleman (5-4).

S:  Perranoski (16).

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Frank Quilici replaced him and went to third base as part of a double switch, with Perranoski replacing Killebrew in the lineup.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .370.  Oliva was batting .336.  Killebrew was batting .326.  Tom Hall gave up no runs in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.45.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.97.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.91.

Manuel was 0-for-1 and was batting .188.  Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .167.  Dave Boswell allowed three runs in four innings and had an ERA of 7.09.

Coleman struck out nine in 7.1 innings, giving up five runs on nine hits and three walks.

This was Boswell's tenth start of the season, and he had yet to have a game score as high as fifty.  He'd gone 20-12, 3.23 the year before.  He clearly wasn't right, but Bill Rigney continued to run him out there.  It would be another month and a half before Boswell finally left the rotation, and he never had a good season again.

Some interesting managerial decisions regarding the other team's big slugger in this game.  In the fifth, Washington had men on first and second with two out, leading 2-1.  Despite the fact that the only open base was third, Rigney ordered an intentional walk to Frank Howard, moving two men into scoring position.  It backfired to an extent, as Epstein walked to force in a run, but that was the only run the Senators got and it was better than having Howard hit a three-run homer.  In the seventh, the Twins also had men on first and second with two out, trailing 3-2.  Washington manager Ted Williams had his pitcher pitch to Harmon Killebrew, who hit a three-run homer to provide the margin of victory.  That's not to say Rigney was right and Williams was wrong--strategy is one thing, and how well you execute the strategy is another.  It's just interesting that managers went opposite ways in a similar situation in the same game.

Record:  The Twins were 37-18, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Thirty-five

5 Comments

MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 1 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, May 17.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, and two runs.  Junior Ortiz was 2-for-4 with two doubles and a walk.  Pedro Munoz was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and two RBIs.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Scott Erickson pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and five walks and striking out three.  Steve Bedrosian pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Tony Phillips was 1-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base, his fourth.  Mickey Tettleton was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  Davis and Munoz singled to open the second inning.  A double play looked like it might kill the rally, but Ortiz came through with an RBI double to put the Twins up 1-0.  Detroit tied it in the bottom of the second on singles by Tettleton and Dave Bergman and a Travis Fryman sacrifice fly.

It stayed 1-1 until the fifth, when the Twins took control of the game.  Ortiz led off with a double, followed by a Greg Gagne RBI single.  Dan Gladden then hit into a fly ball double play, with Gagne thrown out trying to advance to second, and it looked like that might be it for the inning.  But Chuck Knoblauch doubled, Puckett singled, and Hrbek doubled, leading to a three-run inning and a 4-1 Twins lead.  The Tigers tried to respond in the bottom of the inning, opening with singles by Phillips and Lou Whitaker, but a pair of pop ups, a walk, and a fly out stranded three runners.

The Twins scored a run in the seventh on three walks and a passed ball (Twins Baseball!).  The Detroit again tried to respond, loading the bases with one out on a single, a hit batsman, and a walk, but a pop up again ended the threat.

The Twins put it away in the ninth.  With one out, Puckett walked, singles by Hrbek and Davis plated one run, and a triple by Munoz brought home two more to bring the total to 8-1.

WP:  Erickson (6-2).  LP:  Bill Gullickson (4-2).  S:  Bedrosian (2).

Notes:  In memory, Shane Mack was the starting right fielder for the Twins all year, but as we've already seen that's not how it was.  He began the season in center, and then moved to the bench for a while.  Munoz was the starting right fielder in this game.  We'll see when Mack actually took over the right fielder job.

With Erickson pitching, personal catcher Ortiz was behind the plate.

Munoz raised his average to .333.  Knoblauch was 1-for-5 and was batting .315.  Davis raised his average to .308.  Puckett went up to .306.  Erickson's ERA went to 1.44.  Bedrosian lowered his ERA to 2.82.

Scott Leius was used as a pinch-hitter and stayed in the game to play third.  He went 0-for-1 with a walk and was batting .156.  I didn't remember that Leius got off to such a poor start.  Pagliarulo was batting .241 by this point--I wonder if there were people thinking Pagliarulo should be the full-time third baseman.  If so, those people were wrong.  Leius would start hitting, but even at this point, he had a .400 on-base percentage because he was drawing walks.  His OPS was .713, compared to Pagliarulo's .540.

Ortiz had just five doubles in 1991, making it even more odd that two of them would come in the same game.  He would have another on the last day of May, and then not another one until August 23.  His final double of the season came on September 2.  He also somehow had a triple on July 30 in Detroit.  For his career he had 71 doubles, with a high of 13 for Cleveland in 1993.  He had four triples, never having more than one per season.

The walk to Davis was an intentional walk, his fifth intentional walk of the season.  He would end the year with thirteen.

The Twins were now 5-1 against the Tigers.  The would go 8-4 against them for the season.

Record:  The Twins were 18-17, tied for fifth with California, but just two percentage points behind Chicago.  They trailed first-place Seattle by three games.