MINNESOTA 7, WASHINGTON 3 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Tuesday, June 16.
Batting stars: Leo Cardenas was 4-for-4 with a double and three runs. Jim Perry was 3-for-4. George Mitterwald was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and two walks. Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his eighth.
Pitching star: Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks and striking out five.
Opposition star: Aurelio Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a home run (his ninth), a double, two runs, and two RBIs.
The game: The Senators scored first, getting two runs in the second. Mike Epstein walked and scored from first on Rodriguez' RBI double. Eddie Brinkman then followed with a run-scoring single, making it 2-0 Washington. The Twins got the runs back in the fourth on singles by Cardenas and Perry and a two-run triple by Cesar Tovar.
The Twins took the lead with a two-out rally in the fourth, as Cardenas singled and Mitterwald followed with a two-run homer. The Senators had two on with one out in the sixth, but did not score. The Twins made them pay for it, as Cardenas hit a two-out double and Perry delivered an RBI single, putting the Twins ahead 5-2. They added to the lead in the seventh, as Rod Carew walked and Oliva hit a two-run homer to make the score 7-2.
That was pretty much it. After their threat in the sixth, Washington got only one more hit, a two-out homer by Rodriguez in the ninth to bring the final score to 7-3.
WP: Perry (9-5).
LP: Joe Grzenda (2-4).
S: None.
Notes: Rick Renick was at third base, with Harmon Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese going to the bench. Reese came in at first base in the seventh, with Killebrew moving to third. Apparently, Bill Rigney considered Renick to be worse at third than Killebrew. Jim Holt replaced Brant Alyea in left field, also in the seventh. Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third in the ninth.
Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .367. Perry was batting .361. Oliva was batting .335. Killebrew was batting .319. Perry had an ERA of 2.83.
This was the third and last start Grzenda made in 1970, as he went back to the bullpen after this game. In fact, it was the last start of his career, as he pitched exclusively in relief after this. He pitched four innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out one.
Lots of Twins connections with Senators players in this game. Bernie Allen was at second base and was 1-for-4. Grzenda is detailed above. Jim Shellenback replaced Grzenda on the mound and gave up a run in two innings. Johnny Roseboro pich-hit for Shellenback and was 0-for-1. Dick Such pitched the last two innings, giving up two runs.
Perry had nine wins in the middle of June. The Twins' team leader for all of 2021 had nine wins (Michael Pineda).
Rodriguez hit nineteen home runs in 1970. That would be his career high. He hit 124 in his career.
Record: The Twins were starting to put some space between them and second place California. They were 38-18, in first place in the American League West, 5.5 games ahead of the Angels.
