MINNESOTA 6, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Tuesday, September 23.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with three RBIs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his nineteenth.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks and striking out six.  Tom Hall pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition star:  Mike Hedlund pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  The runs came in pairs.  The Twins started it by getting two in the first inning.  Ted Uhlaender reached on an error and Oliva hit a one-out single.  Harmon Killebrew walked to load the bases and Reese delivered a two-run single to make it 2-0.

Kansas City drew a pair of one-out walks in the second but did not score.  In the third, Carew singled and reached third on a stolen base-plus-error with none out, but did not score.  in the bottom of the third, the Royals tied it.  Alcaraz and Fiore started the inning with singles and runners were at first and third with one out.  A ground out scored one and a Joe Foy single made the score 2-2.

The Twins got the lead back in the sixth.  Oliva, Killebrew, and Reese all singled to make the score 3-2.  With two out, Rick Renick hit another single to make it 4-2.  Kansas City did not get a man past first base after the third inning.  In the ninth, Rick Dempsey singled and Renick walked.  An error brought home one run and Uhlaender's sacrifice fly rounded out the scoring.

WP:  Boswell (19-11).  LP:  Hedlund (3-6).  S:  Perranoski (28).

Notes:  Uhlaender was in center field, with Cesar Tovar on the bench.  Graig Nettles played left field.  Renick was at shortstop, with Leo Cardenas on the bench.

Carew was batting .334.  Reese was batting .321.  Oliva was battine .312.  Perranoski's ERA was 2.25.

This was the major league debut for Rick Dempsey, who went 1-for-2.  He would appear in five games in 1969, going 3-for-6 with a double and a walk.  He would ultimately appear in 1765 major league games over twenty-four seasons.

Boswell had nineteen wins with one, possibly two, starts remaining.  Would he get number twenty?  We will see.

Record:  The Twins were 93-61, in first place in the American League West, ten games ahead of Oakland.  They had clinched first place in the division.

MINNESOTA 4, KANSAS CITY 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Monday, September 22.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (his thirty-second).  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run, his forty-seventh.

Pitching stars:  Bob Miller pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out five.  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Fiore was 2-for-4 with a double.  Buck Martinez was 2-for-4.  Jim Rooker pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out five.

The game:  Fiore hit a one-out double in the first but could not get past third base.  The Twins put two on with two out in the second and did not score.  The Royals got on the board in the third on singles by Pat Kelly and Fiore and an Ed Kirkpatrick sacrifice fly.

The Twins came back to take the lead in the fourth.  Killebrew led off with a home run to tie it 1-1.  Bob Allison then doubled, went to third on a fly out, and scored on George Mitterwald's sacrifice fly, making the score 2-1 Twins.  They added to the lead in the fifth when Cardenas got a leadoff double and scored on Tovar's single.

The Twins got one more run in the ninth when Frank Quilici walked, was bunted to second, and scored on a single by Tovar.  They needed it, as Kansas City came back in the bottom of the ninth.  Kirkpatrick led off with a single and Lou Piniella delivered an RBI double.  With one out, Jerry Adair walked and Martinez singled, cutting the margin to 4-3.  They lost a man on the bases, however, as pinch-runner Scott Northey rounded second too far and was cut down by Oliva.  Paul Schaal grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Miller (5-4).  LP:  Rooker (4-15).  S:  Worthington (3).

Notes:  Quilici started at second base, with Rod Carew on the bench.  Carew entered the game in the seventh for defense, with Quilici moving to third and Rick Renick, who started at third, coming out of the game.  Killebrew played the entire game at first base, with Rich Reese on the bench.  This has to be one of the few times in his career that Carew entered a game as a defensive replacement.

Mitterwald was again behind the plate, with Johnny Roseboro on the bench.  I don't know if Roseboro had a minor injury or ailment or whether, with the pennant race well in hand, Billy Martin just chose to give him a couple of days off.  Roseboro would be in-and-out of the lineup the rest of the season, but would not play a complete game.

This was Miller's first start since August 8.  He had missed about a month due to injury and made three relief appearances in that span.

This was the game that clinched the pennant for the Twins.

This was Scott Northey's only season in the majors.  It was really just the month of September--he got a September call-up after batting .327 in a half-season of AAA.  He batted .262/.337/.410 in 68 plate appearances.  He was only twenty-two, and probably big things were expected.  Instead, he went backward.  He started 1970 in AAA, but went back to AA after batting just .226.  He spent in 1971 and 1972 in AA, didn't do much, and his playing career was over.  He's the son of major league outfielder Ron Northey.

Record:  The Twins were 92-61, in first place in the American League West, 10.5 games ahead of Oakland.  They clinched first place in the division.  They would play Baltimore, who had long since clinched the American League East and led Detroit by twenty games.

SEATTLE 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 21.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-3 with two home runs (his forty-fifth and forty-sixth) and a walk.  George Mitterwald was 3-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Dean Chance pitched six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and two walks and striking out three.  Jim Kaat struck out three in three innings, giving up one run on one hit.

Opposition stars:  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, his seventh-second and seventy-third.  John Donaldson was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his sixth.  Steve Hovley was 2-for-4.  John O'Donoghue pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk.

The game:  Harper led off the game with a single and stole second.  Future Twin Danny Walton got a bunt single, with Harper staying at second.  They then pulled off a double steal, moving to second and third with one out.  But Hovley lined into an unassisted double play at shortstop, and the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the first, when Killebrew hit a two-out home run to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.

The Pilots took the lead in the fourth.  With one out, Walton walked, Hovley singled, and Ex-Twin Don Mincher walked, loading the bases.  Jerry McNertney hit into a force out to tie the score and Donaldson singled to center to put Seattle in front 2-1.  The lead lasted until the second batter of the bottom of the fourth, when Killebrew again homered, tying it 2-2.

Each team scored once in the sixth.  Seattle got singles by Hovley, Mincher, and Donaldson to go ahead 3-2.  In the bottom of the inning, Tovar was hit by a pitch, stole second and third, and scored on a Rod Carew single, tying the score 3-3.

The Twins missed a chance in the eighth.  Kaat led off with a single, and an error on Tovar's sacrifice bunt put men on first and third with none out.  Carew grounded out to put men on second and third, Killebrew was intentionally walked, and Oliva hit into a 1-2-3 double play.  The missed chance cost the Twins, as Kennedy homered with two out in the ninth to give the Pilots a 4-3 lead.  It was enough, as the Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

WP:  O'Donoghue (2-2).  LP:  Kaat (13-12).  S:  None.

Notes:  Bob Allison was in left, with Ted Uhlaender on the bench.  Uhlaender pinch-hit in the seventh and remained in the game.  Rick Renick was at third, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Reese pinch-hit in the seventh and remained in the game.  Mitterwald was behind the plate in place of Johnny Roseboro.

This game was the last major league appearance for Frank Kostro, who pinch-hit for Chance in the sixth inning.  Kostro had gone back-and-forth between the Twins and AAA since 1964.  He got exactly 300 plate appearances as a Twin, batting .251/.292/.331.  The most playing time he got as a Twin came in 1968, when he appeared in 63 games and had 118 plate appearances.

The Seattle starting pitcher was Bob Meyer.  He pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and no walks and striking out seven.  Meyer began his major league career in 1964, pitching for three teams (Yankees, Angels, Athletics) and going 2-8, 4.37 in 22 games, 13 of them starts.  He then spent the next four seasons in the minors, not making it back until late August of 1969 with the Pilots.  He appeared in six games, five of them starts, and while he went 0-3 it was with an ERA of 3.31 and a WHIP of 1.22.  He started 1970 in the bullpen with the now Milwaukee Brewers, but in ten games went 0-1, 6.38.  He spent the rest of the season in the minors, was released in late March of 1971, and his playing career ended.  For his career he was 2-12, 4.38 in 129.1 innings.  He appeared in 38 games, 18 of them starts.  Still, for an undrafted free agent, that's not too bad.

I have to admit that I kind of miss the days when players would steal, fifty, sixty, or seventy bases in a season.  I'm not arguing the analytics or anything.  I just think it was an exciting brand of baseball, and I miss it.

Record:  The Twins were 91-61, in first place in the American League West, ten games ahead of Oakland.  The Athletics defeated California 12-2, so the Twins magic number remained one.

MINNESOTA 3, SEATTLE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, September 20.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-5 with a triple.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a double.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks and striking out eight.

Opposition stars:  John Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, his third.  Steve Whitaker was 2-for-4.  Gene Brabender pitched 6.1 innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and three walks and striking out four.

The game:  John Dondaldson and Whitaker started the game with singles, but Perry came back to strike out the next three batters.  The Pilots broke through in the second, though.  Jerry McNertney walked and Kennedy followed with a two-run homer, putting Seattle ahead 2-0.

Then came some frustration.  The Twins got two-out singles from Tovar and Johnny Roseboro in the second but did not score.  In the third the Twins got one-out singles from Uhlaender and Carew and again did not score.  In the fourth the Pilots got one-out singles from McNertney and Kennedy and did not score.  In the fifth, the Twins got a one-out single by Uhlaender followed by a walk to Carew and could not cash it in.  In the sixth, Killebrew walked and Tovar got a one-out single, but it again came to nothing.

Finally, in the seventh, the Twins got on the board.  Uhlaender tripled with one out and scored on a single by Carew.  Oliva followed with another single.  With two out, Rich Reese delivered an RBI single to tie the score 2-2.

It was still tied going to the bottom of the ninth.  With one out, Carew singled.  Oliva followed with a double, scoring Carew from first base with the deciding run.

WP:  Perry (20-6).  LP:  Diego Segui (11-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was restored to the second spot in the batting order and raised his average to .334.  Reese was 1-for-4 and was batting .321.  Oliva was batting .313.  Perry's ERA was 2.90.

This was the first time Perry won twenty games.  He would do it again in 1970, leading the league in wins with twenty-four.  He finished third in Cy Young voting in 1969 (behind Mike Cuellar and Denny McLain) and would win the award in 1970.

The Twins stranded eleven runners, going 2-for-10 with men in scoring position.

Record:  The Twins were 91-60, in first place in the American League West, eleven games ahead of Oakland.  The Athletics lost to California 7-3.  The Twins had clinched a tie for first place, which of course means their magic number was now one.

MINNESOTA 2, SEATTLE 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, September 19.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his tenth.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell struck out fourteen and pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Steve Barber pitched five innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out two.  John Gelnar pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

The game:  The Twins got one-out singles from Oliva and Killebrew in the first inning, but Bob Allison hit into a double play.  In the second, Rick Renick led off with a single, Leo Cardenas reached on an error, and Rod Carew singled, loading the bases with none out.  The Twins got only one run out of it, and that run scored on a double play off the bat of George Mitterwald.  Still, the Twins led 1-0.

The Pilots nearly tied it in the fourth, as John Donaldson led off with a triple.  But Boswell struck out Steve Hovley and future Twin Danny Walton and got ex-Twin Don Mincher to ground out to second, stranding Donaldson at third.  The Twins added a run in the fifth on singles by Allison and Cardenas and a force out hit by Carew, making the score 2-0.

Seattle got on the board in the seventh.  Walton hit a one-out double and with two out Jerry McNertney singled him home.  In the eighth the Pilots got the tying run to third.  With two out, Tommy Harper walked, stole second, and went to third on a wild pitch, but Donaldson grounded out to end the inning.

WP:  Boswell (18-11).  LP:  Barber (3-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was moved from his customary number two spot to seventh in the batting order.  Oliva moved up to second, Harmon Killebrew batted third, and Allison was fourth.  Allison was in left field.  Rick Renick batted fifth and played third base, with Killebrew on first.

Carew was 1-for-3 and was batting .330.  Oliva was batting .312.

By game scores, this was Boswell's best game of the season, with a score of 86.  His next highest score was 79, when he pitched twelve innings on July 14.  The fourteen strikeouts were a season high, topping the thirteen he had on May 13 in Baltimore.

In addition to Walton and Mincher, two other players connected to the Twins played in this game.  Ex-Twin Sandy Valdespino was used as a pinch-hitter and ex-Twin Ron Clark played shortstop as part of a double switch late in the game.  Ex-Twin Rich Rollins was also on the 1969 Seattle Pilots, but he played only half the season before missing the rest due to injury.

Record:  The Twins were 90-60, in first place in the American League West, ten games ahead of Oakland.  The Athletics lost to California 7-6, so the Twins' magic number was three.

CALIFORNIA 5,  MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, September 18.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.

Pitching stars:  Bob Miller pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Al Worthington pitched two innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Andy Messersmith pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out five.  Jim Fregosi was 3-for-5.  Billy Cowan was 2-for-2.  Jay Johnstone was 2-for-5.  Rick Reichardt was 1-for-3 with two walks and two runs.

The game:  Ted Uhlaender singled and stole second with none out in the first but stayed there.  Reichardt and Cowan opened the second with singles but did not score.  Reichardt opened the fourth with a walk and Cowan and Jarvis Tatum singled, loading the bases with none out.  This time, the Angels did score, as Joe Azcue had a run-scoring ground out and Aurelio Rodriguez hit a two-run single, making the score 3-0.

In the fifth Tovar singled, was balked to second, and went to third on an error, but could not advance the last ninety feet.  California got three walks in the sixth but could do nothing with them.  That was not true of the seventh, however.  With two out and none on, Fregosi singled and Reichardt and Roger Repoz walked, loading the bases.  Bill Voss then delivered a two-run single, making the score 5-0.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the seventh.  Harmon Killebrew singled and Rich Reese walked.  With one out, Johnny Roseboro hit an RBI single to make the score 5-1.  Leo Cardenas walked, loading the bases and bringing the tying run to the plate, but Graig Nettles hit into a line drive double play.  The Twins would not bring the tying run to the plate again.  They scored once more when Tovar homered with two out in the ninth, but that was it.

WP:  Messersmith (16-9).  LP:  Tom Hall (8-6).  S:  Vern Geishert (1).

Notes:  Rod Carew was 0-for-4 and was batting .330.  Rich Reese was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .322.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .310.

Miller lowered his ERA to 2.99.  Ron Perranoski pitched a third of an inning and gave up no runs on one hit, making his ERA 2.27.

Hall started and pitched three innings, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks and striking out two.

This was the only save of Vern Geishert's career.  He pitched in just eleven major league games, two of them against the Twins.

Jarvis Tatum was a September call-up for the Angels in both 1968 and 1969.  He did much better in 1969, batting .318 in 22 plate appearances.  He had no walks and no extra-base hits, so his line was .318/.318/.318.  He was in the majors for almost all of 1970 as a reserve outfielder.  He did not do well, batting .238/.302/.276 in 201 plate appearances.  He was only twenty-three, though, so one would've thought the Angels would give him another chance.  They didn't.  Instead, they traded him to Boston as part of the Tony Conigliaro trade.  Boston released him in early April of 1971.  He played in Japan in 1971, in AAA for the Padres in 1972, and in Mexico in 1973 before ending his playing career.  Jarvis Tatum passed away on January 6, 2003 at the young age of fifty-six.  He is one of two major league players to have the first name "Jarvis", with ex-Twin Jarvis Brown being the other.

Record:  The Twins were 89-60, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland.  The Athletics lost to Kansas City 6-1, so the Twins' magic number was down to five.

CALIFORNIA 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 17.

Batting stars:  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Pitching stars:  Dick Woodson retired all four batters he faced, striking out three of them.  Al Worthington pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jay Johnstone was 3-for-5.  Billy Cowan was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Bill Voss was 2-for-4 and scored twice.  Ken Tatum pitched three shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and two walks and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins gave the Angels a run in the first, as they made two errors and issued two walks.  Roger Repoz was walked with the bases loaded to force in the run and give California a 1-0 lead.  The Twins put two on with none out in the second, but never advanced them past first and second.

The Angels stretched their lead in the third.  Voss led off with a single and Jim Fregosi walked.  With one out Rick Reichardt delivered an RBI single.  Repoz walked to load the bases and Aurelio Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly, giving California a 3-0 advantage.  The Angels missed a chance to build the lead still farther in the fourth, as they had the bases loaded with two out, but Cowan struck out to end the inning.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fourth, but only for one.  Harmon Killebrew walked and Rich Reese doubled to put men on second and third with one out, but all they could get out of it was Cesar Tovar's sacrifice fly.  In the sixth, the Twins gave California some more runs.  They opened the inning with two errors, putting men on first and second.  RBI singles by Johnstone and Cowan followed, increasing the Angels lead to 5-1.

The Twins got back into the game in the seventh.  They got four consecutive singles to start the inning, as Tovar, Roseboro, Cardenas, and Jim Holt all got base hits to cut the margin to 5-3.  Bob Allison walked to load the bases, still with none out, and the Twins looked ready to at least time the score if not take the lead.  It was not to be, though.  Graig Nettles struck out, Tony Oliva hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-4, and Killebrew flied out to end the inning.

California added a run in the eighth on two walks and a two-out single by Cowan.  The Twins put two runners on base with two out in the bottom of the eighth, but Charlie Manuel fouled out.  Nettles walked with one out in the ninth, bringing the tying run up to bat with the big hitters coming up, but Oliva hit into a force out and Killebrew fanned to end the game.

WP:  Tom Murphy (10-14).  LP:  Dean Chance (5-4).  S:  Tatum (21).

Notes:  The expanded rosters again made themselves known, as the Twins used five pinch-hitters (Allison, Rick Renick, Nettles, Holt, and Manuel) and one pinch-runner (Herman Hill).  They also used five pitchers.

Rod Carew was 0-for-3 and was batting .333.  He was pinch-hit for by Renick in the seventh inning.  I know Carew was slumping, and the move gained a platoon advantage, but it still doesn't make much sense to me.  On the other hand, Billy Martin would sometimes make moves like that to try to wake a player up, so that's a possibility, too.

Reese was 1-for-3 and was batting .325.  Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .311.  Ron Perranoski pitched an inning, giving up a run on a hit and two walks, and his ERA went up to 2.28.

Chance started for the Twins and pitched just 2.1 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and four walks and striking out one.  His ERA was 2.95.  Murphy started for the Angels and pitched six innings, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out one.

The Twins pretty much gave this game away.  They made four errors and allowed eight walks.  They also stranded nine runners and went 2-for-12 with men in scoring position.

Billy Cowan started the season with the Yankees.  Used mostly as a pinch-hitter he batted .167/.216/.228 in 51 plate appearances.  He was sold to the Angels in late July.  Used as both a pinch-hitter and a reserve outfielder, he batted .304/.350/.536 in sixty plate appearances, which must have been annoying to Yankee fans.  Cowan had a pretty substantial career, really, playing from 1963-1972.  He was a regular only one of those years, with the Cubs in 1964.  He played center field and batted .241/.268/.404 with nineteen home runs.  He had 520 plate appearances that season--his next highest was 189.  In addition to the teams listed above, he also played for the Mets and Philadelphia.  After baseball, he became a successful real estate investment consultant until his retirement.

Record:  The Twins were 89-59, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland.  The Athletics won, so the Twins' magic number remained six.

MINNESOTA 11, OAKLAND 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, September 16.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a three-run homer (his forty-fourth) and a walk, scoring twice.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a home run (his tenth) and a double, scoring twice and driving in two.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on ten hits and four walks and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Dick Green was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Fred Talbot struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

The game:  The Athletics put men on first and second with one out in the first inning, but Sal Bando hit into a double play.  The Twins took the lead in the bottom of the first.  Rod Carew drew a one-out walk, Tony Oliva singled, and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to give Minnesota a 3-0 lead.

Oakland got on the board in the second when Green tripled and scored on a ground out.  Each team put two men on in the third and did not score.  The Athletics put two men on in the fourth and again did not score.  The Twins didn't worry about putting men on base in the bottom of the fourth, as Roseboro and Cardenas started the inning with back-to-back homers to make the score 5-1 Twins.

The Twins put it out of reach in the fifth.  With one out, Killebrew walked and Reese doubled, putting men on second and third.  Cesar Tovar delivered a two-run single and went to third on a stolen base-plus-error.  With two out, Cardenas had an RBI double, Perry had a run-scoring single, Ted Uhlaender walked, and Carew hit a two-run triple.  It was 11-1 Minnesota.

Oakland again put two on in the sixth but did not score.  They got a couple of runs in the seventh.  Bert Campaneris and Jose Tartabull singled and Bobby Brooks walked, loading the bases with none out.  Sal Bando struck out, but Tito Francona hit a two-run single to cut the margin to 11-3.  There were still two on with one out, but Green hit into a double play to end the inning.  The Athletics got only one more hit after that.

WP:  Perry (19-6).  LP:  Jim Nash (8-8).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .336.  Reese was batting .325.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .313.  Perry's ERA went to 2.93.

I didn't notice this yesterday, but Reggie Jackson was apparently injured and missed this series.  He had not played since September 9 and would not play until September 18.  He certainly would not have missed a series that was, in effect, Oakland's last chance to get back into the race without a good reason.  Bobby Brooks was in right field in Jackson's place.

Oakland had been the Twins' closest rival all season, but the Twins took care of them in September, winning five of six.  They dominated the Athletics in the second half of the season, going 5-4 against them in the first half but 8-1 in the second half.

Record:  Minnesota was 89-58, in first place in the American League West, ten games ahead of Oakland.  The Twins' magic number was six.

MINNESOTA 6, OAKLAND 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, September 15.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, his thirty-eighth.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-2 with a two-run homer (his forty-third) and two walks, scoring twice.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two doubles.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell pitched a complete game, giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks and striking out eight.

Opposition stars:  Rick Monday was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eleventh) and a walk.

The game:  The Twins missed a chance in the first, failing to score despite two walks and a double.  The first walk was wiped on by a double play.  The Athletics got on the board in the second when Tito Francona hit a one-out single and Monday hit a two-out home run, putting Oakland up 2-0.

The Twins got on the board in the third.  Rod Carew got an infield single with two out and scored from first on Oliva's double.  Killebrew followed with a two-run homer and the Twins led 3-2.  The Athletics tied it in the fifth.  Rollie Fingers led off with an infield single-plus error and scored on Jose Tartabull's single to make the score 3-3.

Minnesota went ahead to stay in the sixth.  Killebrew led off with a single and advanced to third on Tovar's one-out double.  Johnny Roseboro was intentionally walked, but Leo Cardenas hit a sacrifice fly to give the Twins a 4-3 advantage.

The Twins put it out of reach in the eighth.  Killebrew walked and was replaced by pinch-runner Herman Hill.  A wild pitch moved Hill to second and he went to third when Rich Reese reached on a sacrifice/fielder's choice.  Tovar then delivered an RBI single.  A double play gave Oakland a chance to get out of the inning.  Cardenas was intentionally walked to bring up Boswell, who wrecked the strategy with a run-scoring single.  The Athletics did not get a hit after Tartabull's RBI single in the fifth.

WP:  Boswell (17-11).  LP:  Fingers (6-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .337.  Reese was 0-for-3 and was batting .320.  Oliva was batting .314.

It's understandable why you'd walk Cardenas to pitch to Boswell, but Boswell wasn't a bad hitter.  His career numbers are .202/.222/.283, which sounds like "good hitter for a pitcher", but much of his career was in the 1960s, when there were regular players who didn't hit .200.  His best offensive year was 1965, when he batted .316/.333/.368 in 39 plate appearances.  He also had a good year in 1968, when he batted .233/.254/.367 in 68 plate appearances.

Fingers was the starter for Oakland.  He pitched six innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks and striking out two.  This was his fifth start of the season.  He would make three more, as he was apparently in the rotation for the last three weeks of the season.  He would be in the rotation for about half of 1970 and six weeks in 1971, then would make a permanent transition to the bullpen.

Entering the series down eight games with seventeen to play, Oakland pretty much had to sweep the series to have a realistic chance to get back into the race.  The Twins took care of that chance on the first day.

Record:  The Twins were 88-58, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of Oakland.

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, September 14.

Batting stars:  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-third.

Pitching star:  Bob Miller struck out five in 4.2 innings, giving up one run on no hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Dick Drago pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on ten hits and a walk and striking out five.  Luis Alcaraz was 1-for-4 with a home run.

The game:  Alcaraz hit a home run with one out in the first to put the Royals up 1-0.  Each team then missed some chances--the Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the second, Kansas City loaded the bases with two out in the third, and the Twins got another pair of two-out singles in the bottom of the third.  The Royals increased their lead to 2-0 in the fourth when Chuck Harrison doubled and ex-Twin Jackie Hernandez singled.

The Twins tied it in the sixth.  Harmon Killebrew and Rich Reese singled with one-out in the first.  A ground out moved the runners up and Johnny Roseboro was given an intentional walk.  Cardenas foiled the strategy with a two-run double to make the score 2-2.  The Twins took the lead in the eighth when Oliva led off with a home run.

Lou Piniella led off the bottom of the eighth with a walk. Ron Perranoski came in and allowed a run-scoring double to Hawk Taylor, making the score 3-3.  A bunt moved Taylor to third and Jerry Adair singled to put Kansas City up 4-3.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

WP:  Drago (10-11).  LP:  Perranoski (9-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  The Twins used their regular lineup.  Rod Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .337.  Reese was 1-for-4 and was batting .323.  Oliva was batting .313.  Perranoski raised his ERA to 2.22.

Tom Hall pitched 3.1 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks and striking out one.  It seems like a pretty quick hook for Hall.  Maybe Billy Martin thought that if you can't get Jackie Hernandez out when you need to, you shouldn't be in the game.

This was one of four major league home runs hit by Luis Alcaraz.  An infielder, he had gotten a September call-up with the Dodgers in 1967 and spent about half of 1968 with them.  He batted just .151 in 1968, however, and even in a pitchers' era that was considered unacceptable.  He was sold to Kansas City after the season and got a couple of months with them in both 1969 and 1970.  For his career, he batted .192/.235/.260 with four home runs in 391 plate appearances.  He then played in the Mexican League for several years, finally ending his playing career in 1981 at age forty.  He is a distant cousin of Orlando Cepeda and was a player-manager in the last few years of his career.

Record:  The Twins were 87-58, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Oakland.