Tag Archives: Magic Number Watch

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-three

OAKLAND 6, MINNESOTA 0 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Monday, September 21.

Batting star:  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up six runs (two earned) on nine hits and five walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Vida Blue pitched a no-hitter, striking out nine and giving up a walk.  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a hit-by-pitch.  Bert Campaneris was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer (his twenty-first), a triple, and two runs.

The game:  Once you've said "Vida Blue pitched a no-hitter", there's not a lot more to say.  The Athletics got on the board in the second when Campaneris tripled and scored on a double play grounder.  The Twins lone baserunner, Killebrew, reached on a two-out walk in the fourth inning.

It was still 1-0 through seven, but Oakland broke it open in the eighth.  Mincher led off with a single and Sal Bando followed with a single-plus-error, scoring Mincher and leaving Bando on third.  With one out, Gene Tenace was intentionally walked.  Dick Green had an RBI single, a bunt moved the runners up, and Campaneris hit a three-run homer, giving the Athletics a 6-0 lead.

WP:  Blue (2-0).

LP:  Perry (23-12).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt went to center field in the eighth, with Cesar Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Perry in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .319.  Tovar was 0-for-4 and was batting .300.

I wondered about Perry throwing a complete game, but it was still 1-0 going to the eighth.  I still don't think it was very smart to have him pitch that much this late in the season, with the playoffs just around the corner, but it was a different time then, and the closeness of the game makes it less egregious.

Blue had come up as a September call-up.  This was his fourth start, and his second complete game shutout.  He had appeared in twelve games in 1969, four of them starts.  He made a total of six starts in 1970, and went 2-0, 2.09, 0.83 WHIP.  He struck out 35 in 38.2 innings and had a FIP of 1.89.  He was only twenty, but I think it's safe to say he was ready for the majors.  This would be the only complete game no-hitter he would have.  He was part of a combined no-hitter in 1975, throwing five innings.

Allison had a batting average of .211.  Perry, whom he pitch-hit for, had an average of .250.  That is not in any way intended to indicate that I think it was wrong to send Allison up there.  I just thought it was interesting.

The loss kept the Twins from clinching the division.

Record:  The Twins were 92-61, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number remained two.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-two

MINNESOTA 8, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Sunday, September 20.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base (his thirtieth), and two runs.  Jim Holt was 3-for-5 with a double.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth), a walk, and two RBIs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and one walk and striking out four.

Opposition star:  Ed Herrmann was 2-for-3.

The game:  Ratliff homered in the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Bill Melton led off the second with a double and scored on Herrmann's single to tie it 1-1.

It was all Twins after that.  In the third Tovar singled, stole second, went to third on a passed ball, and scored on a ground out to put the Twins up 2-1.  In the fourth Harmon Killebrew singled, went to third on a Holt double, and scored on a ground out to make it 3-1.  In the fifth Tovar doubled, Leo Cardenas reached on a sacrifice/fielders' choice, putting men on first and third, Oliva singled in a run, and yet another run scored on a ground out to make it 5-1.

The Twins put it away in the seventh.  With two out Killebrew walked, followed by consecutive singles by Reese, Holt, and Ratliff, bringing in three runs and making the score 8-1.

The White Sox had only one hit after the second inning, and that runner was erased by a double play.

WP:  Blyleven (10-8).

LP:  Gerry Janeski (10-16).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Frank Quilici went to third base in the seventh inning in place of Killebrew.

Oliva was batting .320.  Tovar was batting .302.

Since Carew went out, Bill Rigney's standard defensive move was to put Quilici at second base and move Thompson to third.  In this game, for some reason, he left Thompson at second and put Quilici at third.  Maybe he just wanted to get Quilici a little practice at third base in case a situation came up where he was needed there in the playoffs.  Is it a big deal?  No.  It just seems kind of odd.

This was Gerry Janeski's only full season as a rotation starter.  He went 10-17, 4.77, 1.51 WHIP.  He was only twenty-four, though, and one would think leaving him in the rotation all year meant the White Sox thought he was a promising young player.  Instead, they traded him after the season for Rick Reichardt.  He pitched poorly for them in a half-season, was sent to AAA, and stayed there through 1974, making only four more appearances in the majors.  His career numbers are 11-23, 4.73, 1.55 WHIP.

Oakland lost to California 4-2, so the Twins lowered their magic number by two.  It gave them the chance to clinch the division the next day, when they played at Oakland.

Record:  The Twins were 92-60, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-one

MINNESOTA 5, CHICAGO 3 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Saturday, September 19.

Batting star:  Brant Alyea was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out nine in seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and three walks.  Stan Williams pitched two shutout innings, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifth).  Tommy John pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on five hits and four walks and striking out one.

The game:  The White Sox had men on first and second with one out in the first but did not score.  In the second Alyea doubled and scored on a Rick Renick single to put the Twins up 1-0.

Chicago took the lead in the third when Syd O'Brien walked and Aparicio hit a two-run homer, making it 2-1 White Sox.  The Twins had two on with two out in the fifth and did not score.  In the sixth Duane Josephson doubled and scored on Ken Berry's single to make it 3-1 Chicago.

The Twins came back in the eighth.  Walks to George Mitterwald and Danny Thompson were followed by a Bob Allison RBI single.  An error tied the score and a walk to Leo Cardenas loaded the bases.  Harmon Killebrew hit a sacrifice fly to put the Twins ahead and Alyea hit a run-scoring single to make it 5-3 Minnesota.

Josephson drew a leadoff walk in the ninth, bringing the tying run to the plate.  The next three batters went out, however, and the Twins had the win.

WP:  Hall (9-6).

LP:  Tommy John (11-16).

S:  Williams (15).

Notes:  Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.

Rick Dempsey pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the eighth.  Tom Tischinski came in to catch.  Allison pinch-hit for Hall in the eighth, with Herman Hill pinch-running for Allison.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the eighth and stayed in the game in center field, with Cesar Tovar moving to left.  Rich Reese went to first base in the eighth, replacing Killebrew.  Frank Quilici went to third base in the eighth, with Renick coming out as part of a double switch.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .318.  Tovar was 0-for-5 and was batting .300.  Alyea was batting .300, his first time at .300 since May 17.  Hall had an ERA of 2.58.  Williams had an ERA of 1.99.

I couldn't figure out a quick way to find this out, but I suspect this is one of a very few times in his career that Rick Dempsey was used as a pinch-runner.  I had assumed, when I first saw that, that he was chosen to pinch-run so he could go in to catch, but then Tischinski went in to catch instead.  Surely, with expanded rosters, the Twins had a better pinch-runner than Dempsey available.

You look at Tommy John's 11-16 record, and you think he must had had a bad year.  But he had an ERA of 3.27 with a 1.31 WHIP.  He had ten complete games and three shutouts.  The White Sox had a poor offense that year, and one assumes that they simply didn't score very many runs for him.

The Athletics defeated California 2-1, so the Twins were only able to take one game off their magic number.

Record:  The Twins were 91-60, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number was four.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty

4 Comments

MINNESOTA 5, CHICAGO 4 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Friday, September 18.

Batting stars:  Jim Holt was 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Bill Melton was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-ninth) and two runs.  Don Eddy struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up a walk.

The game:  The Twins came out firing in the first.  Tovar led off with a single, Leo Cardenas walked, and Oliva delivered an RBI single.  The next two batters went out, but Holt hit a two-run triple, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead before the White Sox came to bat.

Chicago did come to bat, of course, and in the second they got back in the game.  Melton was hit by a pitch and went to third on Syd O'Brien's one-out double.  A ground out scored one run and Knoop single home another, cutting the Twins lead to 3-2.  But the Twins got the runs back in the third.  With two out Rich Reese singled and Brant Alyea and Holt walked, loading the bases.  George Mitterwald then delivered a two-run single to make it 5-2 Twins.

The White Sox got one back in the bottom of the third when Luis Aparicio tripled and scored on a ground out.  They had two on with two out in the fourth but did not score.  They had a man on second with none out in the seventh but did not score.  Melton homered in the eighth to make it 5-4.  Chicago had the tying run on second with two out in the eighth and on first with two out in the ninth, but neither reached home plate and the Twins had the victory.

WP:  Zepp (9-4).

LP:  Bart Johnson (3-6).

S:  Perranoski (31).

Notes:  Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to third base and Harmon Killebrew again out of the lineup.  I don't know if Killebrew was injured or ill or was simply given a little time off with the division nearly settled.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Steve Brye went to left field in the seventh in place of Alyea.

Oliva was batting .318.  Tovar was batting .302.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.30.

Brye was 0-for-1 and was batting .143.

Johnson was the starter for Chicago.  He pitched seven innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on eight hits and four walks and struck out four.

This was the start of a nine-game road trip:  three in Chicago, three in Oakland, and three in Kansas City.  It appeared likely that the Twins would clinch on the road.

Oakland defeated California 3-2, so the Twins' magic number was only reduced by one.

Record:  The Twins were 90-60, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number was five.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-nine

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, September 17.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk and striking out two.  Stan Williams pitched 1.2 innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Tony Gonzalez was 2-for-4.  Lloyd Allen pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

The game:  Tovar led off the bottom of the first with a triple and scored on a Cardenas single to put the Twins up 1-0.  In the third Tovar drew a one-out walk.  Cardenas followed with an RBI triple and Tony Oliva followed that with a run-scoring double, giving the Twins a 3-0 lead.  In the fourth George Mitterwald hit a one-out double and scored on a Danny Thompson single to make it 4-0.

The Angels did not advance a man past first base in the first five innings.  In the sixth Mickey Rivers drew a one-out walk and got to second on Gonzalez' single, but that was as far as he'd go.  In the seventh, California did get on the board, but missed a chance for more.  Alex Johnson was hit by a pitch and Jim Spencer doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  Jay Johnstone hit an RBI ground out, but a strikeout and a foul out followed, so the Twins still had a 4-1 lead.

In the eighth, Bill Voss led off with a single and Gonzalez singled with one out.  Jim Fregosi followed with an RBI double and Johnson hit a sacrifice fly, making it 4-3 with the tying run on second.  Spencer flied out to end the inning.  In the ninth Mel Queen delivered a two-out pinch-hit single, but Voss flied out to end the game.

WP:  Perry (23-11).

LP:  Tom Murphy (14-13).

S:  Williams (14).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to third base and Harmon Killebrew given a rare day off.  Charlie Manuel was given a rare start in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Herman Hill went to left in place of Manuel in the seventh.  Jim Nettles went to left in place of Hill in the ninth.

Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .317.  Tovar raised his average to .301, the first time he'd been over .300 since August 4.  Williams had an ERA of 2.03.

I don't know why Nettles replaced Hill in the ninth, unless Bill Rigney just wanted to get him in the game.  It does not appear that Hill was injured--he would be used in a game just two days later.  It could have been a minor injury, of course, and that he was removed as a precaution.  Not that it makes a lot of difference--it's just kind of a curious thing.

I have no idea why Angels manager Lefty Phillips used a pitcher, Mel Queen to pinch-hit in the ninth.  Queen was not a particularly good batter--his lifetime numbers are .179/.233/.226.  That's not bad for a pitcher, but it's bad for a batter.  The Angels had already used a number of bench players--Roger Repoz, Randy Brown, Mickey Rivers, and Bill Voss--but teams had bigger benches back then, and besides it was September, with expanded rosters.  In fact, Jarvis Tatum came in to pinch-run for Queen, so we know that he was available.  There had to be some others, too.  Using Queen as a pinch-hitter makes no sense to me at all.  But having said all that, it worked.  Queen got a pinch-hit single.  Does that mean that Phillips made a smart move, or does it mean that he got lucky?  Who knows?  But the payoff is always in results, and the result was good, whether I think it was dumb thing to do or not.

Oakland did not play, so the Twins gained a half game in the standings.

Record:  The Twins were 89-60, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number was six.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-seven

CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Tuesday, September 15.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a home run (his tenth), a triple, and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Tom Hall struck out twelve in eight innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Tony Gonzalez was 1-for-1 with a double and two RBIs.  Dave LaRoche struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Reese started the scoring in the second with a home run that gave the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The two teams combined for a total of two baserunners in innings three through five, neither of which got past first base.  In the sixth Tovar walked, was bunted to second, went to third on a fly ball, and scored when Harmon Killebrew reached on an error.  Reese followed with an RBI triple to make the score 3-0 Twins.

Hall had been in total control for eight innings.  In the ninth, however, Jarvis Tatum led off with a single and Sandy Alomar walked.  Ron Perranoski then came in and gave up an RBI single to Doug Griffin.  The next two batters hit into force outs, scoring a run to make the score 3-2 and leaving the tying run on first base.  But then came a single by Billy Cowan and an RBI single by Ken McMullen, tying the score.  Stan Williams then came in and gave up a two-run double to pinch-hitter Gonzalez, putting the Angels up 5-3.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

WP:  LaRoche (4-1).

LP:  Perranoski (7-8).

S:  Ken Tatum (17).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Frank Quilici went to second base in the ninth, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .319.  Hall had an ERA of 2.51.  Perranoski allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.27.  Williams gave up no runs in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.06.

I know times were different back then, but using both Perranoski and Williams in this game was just dumb.  Each had pitched three innings in the first game of the doubleheader.  Not only were they likely to be ineffective in the second game (and they were), there was also the risk of injury.  In addition, it's not like this was a must-win game for the Twins.  They had a big lead in the division (as seen below) and were essentially marking time until the playoffs.  Using the two best relievers on the team in this game simply made no sense whatsoever.

Eddie Fisher (probably not the '50s singer) started an pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits and two walks and striking out none.

In the history of major league baseball, there have been six players with the last name "Tatum".  Two of them played for the Angels in 1970, and both appeared in this game.

Oakland split a doubleheader with Milwaukee, so the Twins lead remained the same on the day while their magic number went down.

Record:  The Twins were 88-59, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number was seven.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-six

MINNESOTA 7, CALIFORNIA 5 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Tuesday, September 15.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-4 with a grand slam, his eleventh homer.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Stan Williams struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twenty-first), a walk, and two runs.  Ken McMullen was 2-for-4.  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-4.  Greg Garrett struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Sandy Alomar led off the game with a walk and Fregosi hit a two-run homer, giving the Angels a quick 2-0 lead.  The Twins came back with one in the bottom of the first when Tovar singled and scored from first on a Tony Oliva double.  In the second, Mitterwald drew a one-out walk.  With two down Bill Zepp and Tovar walked and Cardenas hit a grand slam to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.

California came back.  In the third Tony Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, and with two out Johnstone and McMullen singled, bringing Gonzalez home and making the score 5-3.  In the fourth Doug Griffin singled, Roger Repoz reached on an error, Alomar singled to load the bases, and Gonzalez delivered a two-run single to tie it 5-5.  A double steal put men on second and third with still no one out, but Fregosi and Alex Johnson struck out and Johnstone lined to third to end the inning.

It stayed tied until the sixth.  With one out Brant Alyea walked, Mitterwald singled, and Charlie Manuel was hit by a pitch, loading the bases.  Jim Holt then delivered a pinch-hit two-run single to put the Twins ahead 7-5.

The Angels managed just two singles after that, and each time the next batter grounded into a double play, giving the Twins a 7-5 win.

WP:  Williams (10-1).

LP:  Mel Queen (3-5).

S:  Perranoski (30).

Notes:  Frank Quilici was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Alyea in the sixth, with Holt going in to play center and Tovar moving to left.  Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici in the sixth, with Danny Thompson pinch-running and then going to second base.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .319.  Williams had an ERA of 2.07.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.02.

Neither starting pitcher did well.  Zepp, who had pitched a complete game shutout last time out, lasted just three innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits and one walk and striking out two.  California starter Tom Bradley (probably not the one who became mayor of Los Angeles) also lasted three innings and also gave up five runs, allowing three hits and four walks and striking out one.

The Mel Queen who pitched in this game was the son of the Mel Queen who pitched in the 1940s and early '50s.  He is the brother-in-law of Jim Lonborg.  He also managed the Toronto Blue Jays briefly in 1997, something I had completely forgotten about.

It's interesting that, in the first game of a doubleheader, Bill Rigney used his two best relievers for three innings each.  He apparently really wanted to win this game and put the Angels in the rearview mirror.  It put them in a more difficult spot for game two, obviously, but they did win game one, and with a solid divisional lead, Rigney clearly considered that to be most important.

Record:  The Twins were 87-59, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland, which lost the first game of a doubleheader with Milwaukee 1-0.  The Twins' magic number was seven.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-five

CHICAGO 8, MINNESOTA 7 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 13.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a double.  Frank Quilici was 2-for-2 with a double.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, two runs, and two RBIs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5 with two runs.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ed Herrmann was 3-for-4 with a double.  Luis Aparicio was 3-for-5.  Bill Melton was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Ken Berry was 2-for-4.  Rich Morales was 1-for-2 with a home run.  Jerry Crider pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  Cesar Tovar and Oliva singled and Harmon Killebrew walked, loading the bases with one out in the first inning, but the Twins could only score one run on an error.  An error helped them in the second as well:  Quilici doubled and scored with Jim Perry reached on a two-base error.  Cardenas had an RBI single to make it 3-0 Twins.  The Twins were helped by yet another error in the third:  Reese reached on an error and scored on a Ratliff triple.  A sacrifice fly put the Twins ahead 5-0.

The Twins were firmly in control, until all of a sudden they weren't.  In the fifth Gail Hopkins singled, Herrmann doubled, and Berry, Bobby Knoop, and Lee Maye each followed with an RBI single.  A ground out brought home a fourth run, but at least there was one out in the inning.  Aparicio singled and Carlos May walked, loading the bases, and Melton delivered a two-run single to give the White Sox the lead.  A sacrifice fly made it a seven-run inning and gave Chicago a 7-5 lead.  Morales homered in the sixth to make it 8-5.

The Twins put together a two-out rally in the ninth.  Reese singled, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Ratliff single.  Rick Renick walked and Bob Allison doubled, making the score 8-7 and putting the winning run in scoring position.  But Tovar grounded to second to end the game.

WP:  Crider (4-7).

LP:  Stan Williams (9-1).

S:  Wilbur Wood (21).

Notes:  Ratliff was again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Quilici was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici in the seventh, with Danny Thompson going to second base.  Jim Holt pinch-hit for Jim Kaat in the seventh.  Renick pinch-hit for Thompson in the ninth.  Allison pinch-hit for Perranoski in the ninth, with Herman Hill pinch-running for Allison.

Oliva was batting .320.  Brant Alyea was 0-for-5 and fell back below .300 at .299.  Williams gave up two runs (one earned) in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.13.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.06.

Perry pitched well for four innings, but as seen above, he fell apart in the fifth.  His line was four innings, five runs, six hits, no walks, and two strikeouts.  White Sox starter Billy Wynne struggled as well:  two innings, five runs (three earned), six hits, one walk. no strikeouts.

The cable guy where I live is named Ed Herrmann.  I don't think it's the same one.  Similarly, the Ken Berry here is probably not the guy who was on "F Troop".

Oakland lost both games of a doubleheader to Kansas City, both in extra innings and both by a score of 8-7, so the Twins edged closer to clinching the division.  The Twins next had a four-game series with California, which turned out to be not nearly as important a series as it appeared it might be a few weeks earlier.

Record:  The Twins were 87-58, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number was down to nine.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-four

CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 12.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a double.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixteenth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks and striking out four.  Hal Haydel pitched a scoreless inning despite walking three.

Opposition stars:  Bart Johnson was 2-for-4.  Gail Hopkins was 1-for-3 with a home run, his sixth.  Syd O'Brien was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eighth) and a walk. Johnson also struck out ten in eight innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on ten hits and three walks.

The game:  The Twins had two on with one out in the first, but nothing came of it.  Hopkins homered in the second to put the White Sox on the board.  In the third Johnson singled and O'Brien followed with a home run, making the score 3-0 Chicago.

The Twins drew a pair of walks in the bottom of the third, but a double play took them out of the inning.  The White Sox loaded the bases in the fourth but did not score.  Alyea led off the bottom of the fourth with a home run to cut the lead to 3-1.

Two runs was as close as the Twins would come.  They got a pair of two-out singles in the seventh, but did not score.  In the eighth Bill Melton walked, Ken Berry reached on an error, and Bobby Knoop hit a two-out two-run double to make it 5-1 Chicago.

The Twins did not give up.  Ratliff and Jim Holt led off the ninth with singles, and a passed ball moved them to second and third.  The next two batters went out, but Danny Thompson reached on an error to bring in a run and a wild pitch brought home another.  Harmon Killebrew walked, bringing the winning run to the plate, but Alyea struck out to end the game.

WP:  Johnson  (3-5).

LP:  Blyleven (9-7).

S:  Wilbur Wood (20).

Notes:  Jim Nettles was in right field in place of Tony Oliva.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt pinch-hit for Quilici in the seventh inning and went to center field, with Tovar moving to right and Nettles coming out.  Danny Thompson came in to play second base.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Blyleven in the seventh.  Herman Hill pinch-hit for Haydel in the ninth, but then Rick Renick pinch-hit for Hill.  Bob Allison pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.

Alyea was batting .306.  Stan Williams gave up two unearned runs in one inning and had an ERA of 2.05.  Haydel had an ERA of 3.00.

The loss snapped the Twins' four-game winning streak.

As we said before, the Twins had pretty much settled the division race.  However, this loss and an Oakland win kept the magic number where it was.

Record:  The Twins were 87-57, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number remained at eleven.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-three

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 11.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fourteenth), a walk, and two runs.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.  Frank Quilici was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run, his forty-first.

Pitching star:  Bill Zepp pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and five walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Syd O'Brien was 2-for-4.  Lee Stange pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

The game:  With two out in the first Killebrew hit a home run to give the Twins a quick lead.  The next batter, Tony Oliva, was hit by a pitch, and Alyea then delivered an RBI double to make it 2-0 Twins.

It stayed 2-0 through three, with the White Sox not advancing a man past first.  In the fourth Rick Renick singled, Mitterwald walked, and Quilici hit a three-run homer to put the Twins up 5-0.

Chicago had their first threat in the fifth, putting men on second and third with two out, but Bobby Knoop struck out to end the inning.  A single and an error gave them men on first and third with one out in the fifth, but a strikeout and a popup ended that threat.

Mitterwald homered in the eighth to make it 6-0.  The White Sox put two on with two out in the ninth, but Tom McCraw popped up to end the game.

WP:  Zepp (8-4).

LP:  Barry Moore (3-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.

Reese pinch-hit for Renick in the fifth and stayed in the game at first base, with Killebrew moving to third.  Jim Holt went to center field in the fifth, with Cesar Tovar moving to right and Oliva coming out of the game.  Danny Thompson came in to play third base in the eighth, with Killebrew coming out of the game.  Jim Nettles went to right field in the eighth, with Tovar moving to left and Alyea coming out of the game.

Oliva was 0-for-1 and was batting .317.  Alyea was batting .308.

This was the only shutout of Zepp's career.  It was also the only complete game of Zepp's career.

Barry Moore's given name was Robert Barry Moore.  If your last name is Moore and you're going to give your son the middle name of Barry, it seems like you should also give him the first name of Lionel.  Or at least John.

The Twins had won four in a row, nine of ten, and eleven of thirteen.  The were 6-1 just over half-way through their thirteen game homestand.

Record:  The Twins were 87-56, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Oakland.  Their magic number was eleven.