MINNESOTA 5, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND
Date: Saturday, May 9.
Batting stars: Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixth), a walk, and a stolen base (his second). Paul Ratliff was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk.
Pitching star: Luis Tiant pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out three.
Opposition stars: Ex-Twin Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-3 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs. Roy Foster was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third. Ex-Twin Dean Chance struck out nine in 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits and six walks.
The game: Uhlaender homered leading off the bottom of the first to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. The Twins stole three bases in the first three innings, but none of it led to a run, so it was still 1-0 after five. Tiant led off the sixth with a double and Oliva hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins the lead 2-1.
Rich Reese led off the Twins seventh with a walk. He was still there with two out, but Chance then walked Ratliff, Tiant, and Cesar Tovar to force in a run and make it 3-1. The Twins scored no more in the inning, however, as Mike Paul came in and got Rod Carew to ground out.
It cost the Twins, as Cleveland tied it in the eighth. Foster led off with a home run, cutting the lead to 3-2. Jack Heidemann then tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly, tying it 3-3. In the ninth, however, Leo Cardenas walked and Ratliff hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins on top 5-3. Tony Horton got a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth and went to second on a passed ball, but could advance no farther.
WP: Ron Perranoski (1-1).
LP: Dennis Higgins (0-2).
S: None.
Notes: Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea. Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald. Frank Quilici replaced Harmon Killebrew at third base in the ninth.
Tiant was 1-for-2 and was batting .438. Oliva took over the team batting lead at .346. Rod Carew was 0-for-5 and was batting .333. Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .322. Tovar was 1-for-3 and was batting .311. Tiant had an ERA of 2.81. Perranoski gave up one run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.99.
Holt was 0-for-4 and was batting .160.
The two teams combined to go 1-for-14 with men in scoring position, with the lone hit being Oliva's two-run homer.
Ex-Twin Graig Nettles was not off to a good start with his new club, batting just .132 at this point.
Jack Heidemann was the starting shortstop for Cleveland, the one year he was a regular. He was found wanting, batting just .211/.265/.292. He started more games than anyone else for the Indians in 1971 as well, but it was only 81. By 1972 Frank Duffy was the starter and Heidemann was back in the minors, playing just ten games in the bigs. He continued to get chances in the majors through 1977, but could never hit well enough to stick.
Record: The Twins were 18-8, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California. As early as it was in the season, it still had to be a little frustrating for the Angels to win four in a row and five of six and not be able to gain on the Twins.