SEATTLE 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN SEATTLE (GAME TWO OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Friday, July 18.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-5.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk and striking out three.  Al Worthington pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Fred Talbot pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on ten hits and three walks and striking out four.  Tommy Davis was 2-for-3.  Steve Hovley was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk.

The game:  The Twins opened the game with singled by Uhlaender and Carew.  A one-out walk to Harmon Killebrew loaded the bases, but the Twins could only score one, on a ground out by Charlie Manuel.  In the second, Tovar led off with a double, but was caught trying to steal third.  The missed opportunities cost the Twins.  In the third inning, Gordy Lund singled and Hovley hit a two-run homer to give the Pilots a 2-1 lead.

In the fourth, singles by Roseboro and Tovar put runners on first and third with two out, but the Twins did not score.  In the fifth, singles by Carew and Rich Reese put runners on first and third with two out, but the Twins did not score.  In the sixth, Roseboro hit a one-out single and Tovar walked, putting men on first and second with one out, but the Twins did not score.  In the bottom of the sixth Seattle scored again, as Talbot singled, was bunted to second, and scored on Davis' single, putting the Pilots up 3-1.

The Twins finally scored again in the seventh, when Uhlaender led off the inning with a home run.  That was the last hit the Twins got, however, as the score remained 3-2 the rest of the way.

WP:  Talbot (5-3).  LP:  Boswell (11-9).  S:  John O'Donoghue (4).

Notes:  Carew raised his average to .367.  Reese was 1-for-4 and was batting .327.

Worthington, whose ERA had been at 9.00 in his first eight appearances, get his ERA down to 2.79.  That was as low as it would get, however, as it would start climbing with his next appearance.  He would end the year with an ERA of 4.57.

Tovar was again in right field in place of Tony Oliva.  Manuel was in left.

The Twins stranded nine runners and were 0-for-9 with men in scoring position.

John O'Donoghue had been a starter early in his career.  He came up for one start with Kansas City in 1963 and joined their rotation the next year.  He led the league in losses in 1965 with eighteen, despite which he made the all-star team as the Athletics' representative.  His ERA was 3.95, so you can argue that he wasn't that bad, but his WHIP was 1.40, and a 3.95 ERA in 1965 was not nearly as good as it is today.  He was traded to Cleveland just before the 1966 season for a fading Ralph Terry and had a couple of good seasons for the Indians as a long reliever/spot starter.  Traded to Baltimore for 1968, one assumes he struggled with injuries, as his usage is inconsistent at best.  He was traded to Seattle early in the 1969 season and turned in a fine season, going 2-2, 2.96 with 6 saves.  It was the last good season he would have.  He went to Milwaukee with the team in 1970 but pitched poorly and was traded to Montreal in June.  He remained with the Expos through June of 1971, not getting much accomplished, and then was released.  His career numbers are 39-55, 10 saves, 4.07 ERA.  His son, also named John O'Donoghue, pitched in eleven games for Baltimore in 1993.

Record:  The Twins were 57-37, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.

SEATTLE 2, MINNESOTA 1 IN SEATTLE (GAME ONE OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Friday, July 18.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bob Miller pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on six hits and four walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Diego Segui pitched a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks and striking out seven.  Wayne Comer was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Tommy Davis was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his thirteenth.

The game:  The Twins had men on first and third with two out in the first, but Graig Nettles struck out to end the inning.  Seattle got on the board in the second when ex-Twin Don Mincher walked, went to second on a Comer single, and scored on a pair of ground outs.

The Twins got only one man on base from the second through the seventh.  In the eighth, however, Killebrew led off with a walk, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Johnny Roseboro single to tie it 1-1.

The Twins missed a chance in the ninth.  With one out, Killebrew singled and Nettles doubled, putting men on second and third with one out.  Roseboro was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Cesar Tovar hit into a forceout at the plate and Leo Cardenas popped up, ending the inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Comer singled off Ron Perranoski, who had come in with two out and a man on first in the eighth.  He was bunted to second.  Ex-Twin Ron Clark was intentionally walked.  Gordy Lund flied out, but Tommy Harper drew a walk to load the bases.  Steve Hovley then walked to bring home the deciding run.

WP:  Segui (7-4).  LP:  Perranoski (5-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was batting .363.  Rich Reese was 0-for-4 and was batting .329.

Miller's ERA was 2.89.  Perranoski gave up one run in one inning to raise his ERA to 2.18.

Nettles was in left field.  Tovar was again in right in place of Tony Oliva.

It's interesting that Billy Martin chose not to pinch-run for Killebrew with the Twins down a run in the eighth inning.  He was on first with one out, and then he was on third with one out.  I don't disagree with the decision, but Martin had pinch-run for Killebrew in a similar situation a few days ago.

Miller would not start again until July 29, when the Twins had another doubleheader.  He would make two relief appearances in-between.  For the season, as a starter he was 5-1, 3.21, 1.27 WHIP.  As a reliever, he was 0-4, 3 saves, 2.74, 1.24 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 47-36, in first place in the American League West, leading Oakland by four games.

MINNESOTA 8, CHICAGO 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 17.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twenty-eighth.

Pitching star:  Jerry Crider pitched 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Walt Williams was 2-for-5.  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-5.  Don Pavletich was 1-for-5 with a home run, his third.  Dan Osinski pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

The game:  With two out and none on in the first, Carlos May walked and Ron Hansen hit an RBI double.  That was as good as it got for the White Sox, as the Twins came back with six in the bottom of the first.  Cesar Tovar led off with a single and stole second.  Rod Carew walked.  Reese drove in a run with a single, tying the score.  Killebrew struck out, but Charlie Manuel walked, loading the bases.  Ted Uhlaender put the Twins in the lead with an RBI single, Leo Cardenas brought home one with a walk, and George Mitterwald delivered a two-run double.  That took Chicago starter Joel Horlen out of the game, replaced by Jerry Nyman.  He walked Jim Kaat to load the bases and then walked Tovar to force in the sixth run of the inning.  The next two batters went out, but the Twins led 6-1 after one inning.

The White Sox didn't give up.  Pavletich started the second with a home run, followed by singles from Bobby Knoop and Ken Berry.  With one out, Williams laid down a bunt single-plus-error to bring home a run and make the score 6-3.  The Twins got one of them back in the bottom of the second, when Killebrew led off the inning with a home run to put the Twins up 7-3.  They got the other one back in the fourth, when Carew got an infield single and scored on Reese's double.

Chicago rallied in the sixth.  Knoop reached on an error and Berry was hit by a pitch.  The next two batters went out, but Luis Aparicio got an infield single and May got a two-run single to cut the Twins' lead to 8-5.

That was as good as it got for the White Sox.  Crider came in right after May's single and slammed the door.  He gave up only one hit the rest of the way, a one-out single to Gail Hopkins in the ninth.

WP:  Kaat (10-6).  LP:  Horlen (6-11).  S:  Crider (1).

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .361.  Reese raised his average to .335.

Tovar was again in right in the absence of Tony Oliva.  Mitterwald was again behind the plate in the absence of Johnny Roseboro.  Charlie Manuel was in left.

Kaat pitched 5.2 innings, giving up five runs (two earned) on nine hits and a walk and striking out four.  His ERA was 2.87,  Horlen lasted just two-thirds of an inning, allowing six runs on four hits and three walks and striking out one.

This was the only save of the season for Crider.  He would get four more with the White Sox in 1970.  It was his first appearance with the Twins since July 3.

Don Pavletich spent most of his career as the second catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, first backing up Johnny Edwards and then backing up Johnny Bench.  He was traded to the White Sox before the 1969 season, but found himself the second catcher again, behind Ed Herrmann.  He was then traded to Boston, where he spent 1970-1971 as a rarely-used reserve.  Before going to Boston he played quite a bit for a second catcher, as he was often used as a pinch-hitter.  His best season was 1965, when he batted .319/.394/.513 in 191 at-bats.  He also had a good year in 1966, when he batted .249/.344/.519 in 235 at-bats.  He hit a combined total of twenty homers in those years.  For his career, Pavletich batted .254/.328/.420.

Record:  The Twins were 57-35, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.  They had won nine in a row, fourteen of fifteen, and eighteen of twenty.

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Wednesday, July 16.

Batting stars:  Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.  Rick Renick was 2-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched 8.2 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out five.

Opposition star:  Bobby Knoop was 3-for-4.

The game:  The Twins got a pair of walks in the first, but a double play ended the inning.  In the sixth, Leo Cardenas led off with another walk, followed by a George Mitterwald single.  RBI singles by Renick and Uhlaender made it 2-0, and a run-scoring ground out by Cesar Tovar made it 3-0.

The White Sox opened the third with singles by Knoop and Gary Peters, but could only advance them to second and third.  The Twins added to their lead in the fourth when Renick doubled and scored on a Uhlaender single.  They got one more in the fifth when Tovar led off with a triple and scored on a Frank Quilici sacrifice fly.

Trailing 5-0, Chicago finally got on the board in the seventh.  Ron Hansesn doubled and Buddy Bradford scored him with a single.  They got men to first and third with one out, but could do no more.  The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the bottom of the seventh, but also could not score.  The Twins did add a run in the eighth, as Cardenas singled, was bunted to second, and scored on Uhlaender's single, making the score 6-1.

The White Sox did not go quietly in the ninth.  Their first two men went out, but Bradford walked, Knoop singled, and Bill Melton delivered a two-run double to make the score 6-3.  Ron Perranoski then came in and retired Don Pavletich on a ground out.

WP:  Perry (9-4).  LP:  Peters (6-10).  S:  Perranoski (18).

Notes:  Tony Oliva was apparently battling an injury.  He did not play in either game of the doubleheader, and would not play again until July 24.  Tovar was again in right field.

Carew was again out of the lineup as well, with Frank Quilici playing second.  Carew came in for defense in the eighth, with Quilici moving to third to replace Renick.  It seems odd that Carew was able to play defense, and was able to pinch-hit (as he did in a couple of previous games), but could not start.

Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-2 with two walks.  In his last six games, he was 3-for-15, but had walked ten times.

Bob Allison was again in left field.  Mitterwald was behind the plate in place of Johnny Roseboro.

Knoop was 7-for-9 in the doubleheader, raising his average from .185 to .205.  He was in the early stages of a fourteen-game hitting streak which would see his average eventually rise to .229.  He was the starting second baseman for the Angels from 1964 through May of 1969, when he was traded to the White Sox for Sandy Alomar and Bob Priddy.  He was the starting second baseman for the White Sox through 1970, then spent 1971-1972 as a reserve for Kansas City.  His best offensive season was 1965, when he batted .269 with an OPS of .696, numbers which are better when considered in the context of the 1960s.  He made the all-star team in 1966, when he batted .232/.282/.386.  If you're thinking maybe he made the team due to a hot first half, you're wrong--he actually batted worse in the first half, .224/.261/.391.  He did lead the league in triples that year with eleven.  He won three Gold Gloves, so he was clearly considered an excellent defender.  After his playing career, he spent many years as a coach for the Angels and also coached for the White Sox, Toronto, and Colorado.

Record:  The Twins were 56-35, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.  They had won eight in a row, thirteen out of fourteen, and seventeen out of nineteen.

MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 8 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Wednesday, July 16.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his ninth and tenth) and a hit-by-pitch, driving in five.  Rod Carew was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases (his fourteenth and fifteenth), scoring three times.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Al Worthington struck out six in four innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Knoop was 4-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Don Pavletich was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Ron Hansen was 3-for-5 with a home run, his second.  Gail Hopkins was 2-for-4.  Carlos May was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eighteenth) and two walks, scoring twice.

The game:  Uhlaender and Carew started the bottom of the first with singles and Reese followed with a three-run homer, giving the Twins up 3-0 before a man was retired.  The White Sox came back with two in the second.  Pavletich singled, but was still on first with two out.  Then came an RBI double by Knoop, a Billy Wynne bunt single, and a Walt Williams single, making the score 3-2.

The Twins got another three in the second.  Cesar Tovar singled, stole second, and went to third on a Tom Hall single.  Uhlaender then singled to score Tovar.  The next two batters went out, but walks to Harmon Killebrew and Charlie Manuel forced in a run.  The Twins then pulled off a triple steal, with Carew stealing home, Killebrew third, and Manuel second.  The Twins were ahead 6-2.

Chicago came back again in the third inning.  The first two batters went out, but Hansen homered, Pavletich doubled, Buddy Bradford walked, Knoop singled to load the bases, Tom McCraw got an infield single to bring home a run, and Williams reached on an error to bring home one more run.  The Twins' lead had been cut to 6-5.

The Twins got one in the bottom of the third on walks to Leo Cardenas and Darrell Brandon and a two-out RBI single by Carew.  The White Sox got the run back in the fourth when May walked, went to third on a Hopkins single, and scored on a passed ball.  The Twins now led 7-6.

Chicago had a chance to tie it in the fifth, when they put men on second and third with one out, but a 5-3-4-2 double play ended the inning.  They did tie it in the sixth when May led off with a home run.  The Twins went back in front in the bottom of the sixth when Reese hit a home run to make the score 8-7.

The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth.  With two out and none on, Carew singled, stole second, and score on a Reese single.  They needed the insurance.  Knoop and Ed Herrmann led off the inning with singles, putting men on first and third.  A ground out cut the Twins' lead to 9-8 and put the tying run on second.  He moved to third on another ground out.  With two down, the Twins walked May, putting the deciding run on base, to face Rich Morales.  He struck out to end the game.

WP:  Worthington (4-0).  LP:  Don Secrist (0-1).

Notes:  These two teams played Monday, did not play Tuesday, and played a doubleheader Wednesday.  One assumes there was a game scheduled for Tuesday which was rained out.

The Twins first three batters, Uhlaender, Carew, and Reese, went 8-for-14 with two home runs, six runs scored, and seven RBIs.

Carew raised his average to .363.  Reese raised his average to .327.

Tovar was in right field, as Tony Oliva was given the game off.

Johnny Roseboro started the game behind the plate, but was replaced by George Mitterwald in the sixth inning.  One assumes he either had a minor injury or was not feeling well.  He would not catch in the second game of the doubleheader or the next day's game, but would come back to catch both ends of a doubleheader Friday.

Frank Quilici played third base in place of Killebrew in the ninth inning.

Shortstop Ron Hansen had more power than I remembered, at least when he was young.  He hit twenty-two home runs for Baltimore in 1960, when he won the Rookie of the Year award and finished fifth in MVP voting.  That would be his career high, but he would be in double digits every year through 1965 with the exception of 1962, when he was injured much of the year.  He reached twenty again in 1964 with the White Sox.  He was again injured much of 1966, and when he came back his power had deserted him.  He hit just twenty-seven home runs from 1966-1973, after which his career was over.  Despite his early power he was never a particularly good batter--the two years when he hit twenty homers were his only years with an OPS over .700.  He was considered an excellent glove man, however, and garnered MVP votes in 1964, 1965, and 1967.  In addition to the Orioles and White Sox he played for Washington, they Yankees, and Kansas City.  He coached for Milwaukee and Montreal in the 1980s and then became a scout until he retired after the 2010 season.  He is best remembered for turning an unassisted triple play on July 30, 1968.  At last report, he was living in Baldwin, Maryland.

Record:  The Twins were 55-35, in first place in the American League West, leading Oakland by 4.5 games.  They had won seven in a row, twelve out of thirteen, and sixteen out of eighteen.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA (13 INNINGS)

Date:  Monday, July 14.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his third and fourth) and a walk.  Geroge Mitterwald was 2-for-5.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-6 with a double and a stolen base, his sixteenth.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-6.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-6.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched twelve innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on ten hits and no walks and striking out seven.  Al Worthington struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Tommy John pitched nine innings, giving up two runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out eight.  Gail Hopkins was 2-for-4 with a double.  Ed Herrmann was 2-for-5.  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-6 with a stolen base, his sixteenth.

The game:  The White Sox had men on first and second with one out in the first inning but did not score.  The Twins got on the board in the second, as Allison led off with a home run.  Chicago tied it in the fourth when they started the inning with consecutive singles by Hopkins, Pete Ward, and Herrmann, making it 1-1.  The Twins had men on first and second with one out in the fourth, but Frank Quilici hit into a double play.

Neither team did much after that until the eighth, when Aparicio hit a one-out single, stole second, and scored on Hopkins' two-out double.  It was still 2-1 going to the bottom of the ninth, but Allison again led off the inning with a home run, tying it 2-2.

In the twelfth, with Twins' starter Boswell still in the game, Herrmann led off with a single and went to second on a passed ball.  Buddy Bradford flied out, but Bobby Knoop singled in pinch-runner Rich Morales to give the White Sox a 3-2 lead.  The first two Twins went out in the bottom of the twelfth.  Rod Carew pinch-hit for Boswell and laid down a bunt single.  Tovar followed with a double, scoring Carew from first and tying the score 3-3.

The Twins ended it in the thirteenth.  They started the inning with singles by Oliva, Allison, and Leo Cardenas.  The single by Cardenas brought Oliva home with the deciding run.

WP:  Worthington (3-0).  LP:  Wilbur Wood (6-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar was back in center, with Allison in left and Ted Uhlaender on the bench.  Uhlaender pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth inning and went to left, with Allison moving to first base.  Rick Renick, who had pinch-hit for Rich Reese in the eighth, went to third base.

One assumes Carew had some sort of minor injury or illness.  This is the second game in which he did not start, but pinch-hit.  Quilici was again at second base.

There were a few interesting managerial decisions by Billy Martin in this game.  Boswell pitching twelve innings is obviously one of them.  Pitch counts weren't as much of a thing then, of course, and throughout his career Martin was not afraid to run a pitcher into the ground.  Still, that's a lot of pitching.  And it may have had an effect--in Boswell's next three starts, he went a combined total of ten innings.

In the eighth, with the Twins trailing 2-1 and with one out and none on, Martin used Rick Renick to pinch-hit for Rich Reese.  The Twins gained a platoon advantage, with the right-handed Renick batting against lefty Tommy John.  But that's all they gained.  Reese was batting .319 and Renick was batting .163.  For the season, Renick actually had a higher batting average against right-handers.  Renick hit .237 against lefties with an OPS of .700 in 1969, while Reese batted .322 with an OPS of .967 against them.  It does not make a lot of sense, and it didn't work--Renick flied out to right field.

Removing Killebrew for a pinch-runner in the eighth is a somewhat questionable decision, though certainly defensible.  Killebrew hit a two-out single, so he was on first base with two down and Tony Oliva up to bat.  The chances of a pinch-runner making a difference in that situation strike me as pretty small.  On the other hand, the Twins were down 2-1 and it was late in the game, so you can argue that they needed to do anything they could to give themselves a better chance to score.  It took Killebrew's bat out of the game, but there was no guarantee he would come up to bat again anyway.

The other thing that was unusual was the Carew bunt in the twelfth.  There were two out and none on.  Granted that Carew was an excellent bunter, and as a singles hitter he wasn't likely to hit a home run, but Carew did hit a pretty fair number of doubles (thirty in 1969).  Normally, with two out and none on, you'd like the batter to try to put himself into scoring position.  We have no way to know, of course, whether Carew was told to bunt for a hit or if he did it on his own.  And you have to say this--it worked.

Record:  The Twins were 54-35, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.

MINNESOTA 5, SEATTLE 4 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, July 13.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a double.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a double.  Charlie Manuel was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with two walks.

Pitching stars:  Al Worthington struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Ron Perranoski struck out two in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up three walks.

Opposition stars:  Fred Talbot pitched 7.1 innings, giving up one run on four hits and four walks and striking out five.  Ron Clark was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Wayne Comer was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.

The game:  There was no score until the fifth.  The Twins had a major threat in the fourth, as Ted Uhlaender reached on an error, Oliva doubled, and Killebrew was intentionally walked, loading the bases with one out for Rich Reese.  Reese hit into a double play, however, leaving the game scoreless.

It looked like it would cost them, as the Pilots rallied in the fifth.  Comer walked, Merritt Ranew singled, and Clark doubled, putting Seattle up 1-0.  With one out, Talbot delivered a two-run single, making the score 3-0.  The Twins weren't doing much against Talbot, and in the eighth the Pilots added to their lead without benefit of a hit.  Steve Hovley reached second on an error and was bunted to third.  Tommy Davis was intentionally walked.  With two out Davis stole second, leading to an intentional walk to Comer.  With the bases loaded Jerry McNertney was accidentally walked, giving Seattle a 4-0 lead.

The Twins got on the board in the eighth.  Oliva got a one-out single, leading to Talbot being removed in favor of Bob Locker.  Killebrew singled, and with two out Manuel came through with a two-run double.  Still, the Pilots led 4-2 going to the bottom of the ninth.

Cardenas led off the bottom of the ninth with a double.  Rod Carew got a pinch-hit single to make the score 4-3.  He was bunted to second.  Cesar Tovar then reached on an error, putting men at first and third.  Oliva singled to bring home the tying run.  With men on first and second and the score 4-4, Killebrew was intentionally walked to load the bases.  It looked like the strategy might work, as Reese popped up to short.  Manuel then singled to right, however, giving the Twins a 5-4 victory.

WP:  Perranoski (5-4).  LP:  Diego Segui (6-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar started the game at second base.  Manuel was in left, with Uhlaender in center.

Carew's pinch-hit raised his average to .356.  Oliva went up to .339.  Reese was 0-for-5, dropping his average to .324.

After seeing Killebrew go 3-for-4 with a double and two home runs in the first game of the series, Joe Schultz apparently decided he wasn't going to let him beat them any more.  Killebrew drew six walks in the remaining three games of the series.  It would be hard to argue that the last one, in the ninth inning, was good strategy.  They even lost a platoon advantage, as it made the right-handed Segui face lefties Reese and Manuel.  Granted, Segui didn't have a big platoon split, but you still gave up what he had.  Plus, of course, moving the deciding run to third meant that a fly ball, an error, a Dazzle Special, or even a weakly hit ground ball could end the game.  They kept Killebrew from beating them but they still lost the game, and I don't see how you argue that walking Killebrew made it less likely that they'd lose the game.

Twins starter Bob Miller pitched 4.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and a walk, striking out none.

1969 was the only season Wayne Comer was a regular.  An outfielder, he played mostly center for the Pilots, although he also saw substantial time in right.  He wasn't bad, batting .245 but with an OBP of .354 and fifteen home runs.  His OPS was .735.  I suspect, however, that baseball people saw the .245 a lot more than the .354.  In 1970 the team, now in MIlwaukee, went with such luminaries as Danny Walton and Bob Burda in the outfield and sent Comer first to the bench, then to Washington in May.  He was a reserve outfielder for the Senators, batting .233 but again posting a solid OBP of .346.  He would then spend the next four years in AAA, getting just twenty-seven more big league at-bats with Detroit in 1972.  In 816 big-league plate appearances he had an OBP of .331.  One suspects that today some team would figure out a way to use that, but back then no one did.

Record:  The Twins were 53-35, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of Oakland.  They had won five in a row, ten out of eleven, and and fourteen out of sixteen.

MINNESOTA 11, SEATTLE 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 12.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in four.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a double and three runs.  Jim Perry was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and two walks and striking out three.

Opposition star:  Tommy Davis was 2-for-4.

The game:  Seattle scored in the first inning, as Steve Hovley singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on Davis' single.  It was all Minnesota from there.  Reese homered in the second inning, tying it at 1-1.  The Twins took the lead in the third.  Perry led off with a single, and was still on first with two out.  Then, however, Oliva singled, Harmon Killebrew walked, and Reese delivered a two-run single to give the Twins a 3-1 lead.

The Twins took control in the fifth.  Graig Nettles singled and Oliva doubled.  A wild pitch brought home Nettles.  Walks to Killebrew and Reese loaded the bases.  Johnny Roseboro hit a sacrifice fly, and a walk to Leo Cardenas re-loaded the bases.  Perry delivered a two-run single and Ted Uhlaender followed with an RBI single.  The score was 8-1 and the game was decided.

The Twins weren't done, though.  RBI doubles by Frank Quilici and Cardenas made it 10-1 through six.  In the eighth, Charlie Manuel had a single-plus-error and scored on Reese's single to make it 11-1.  The Pilots had only three hits after the first inning, all singles.

WP:  Perry (8-4).  LP:  Marty Pattin (7-8).  S:  None.

Notes:  Uhlaender was back in center as Nettles, making his first start since July 1, was in left.  Cesar Tovar was at second base in place of Rod Carew, who perhaps had National Guard duties.

Oliva raised his average to .336.  Reese raised his average to .330.

Marty Pattin would not win another game all season, finishing 7-12, 5.62 in 34 games, 27 of them starts.  He went on to have some pretty good years, though, posting ERAs under 3.40 for three consecutive season (1970-1972) and making the all-star team in 1971.  He was with Boston from 1972-1973, but after a down year in 1973 he was traded to Kansas City.  He had several fairly successful years there, mostly as a reliever.  In seven seasons with the Royals, he went 43-39, 3.48, 1.23 WHIP in 825.2 innings (244 games, 63 starts).  He was still effective in his last year, 1980, when he was thirty-seven.  He went 4-0, 3.64, 1.35 WHIP that season.  It is unclear whether he simply retired or could not find a contract to his liking, but there's no real reason to think he couldn't have pitched a couple more seasons.  He was the head baseball coach at the University of Kansas from 1982-1986.  Marty Pattin passed away on October 3, 2018.

Record:  The Twins were 51-36, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.  The Twins had won three in a row, eight out of nine, and twelve out of fourteen.

MINNESOTA 9, SEATTLE 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 11.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his twenty-sixth and twenty-seventh) and a double, scoring three times and driving in four.  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his third), a walk, and a hit-by-pitch.

Pitching star:  Tom Hall, making his first appearance in a month and his first start in a month plus a week, pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Tommy Davis was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  John O'Donoghue pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

The game:  With two out and none on in the first, Tony Oliva walked and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 2-0.  The Pilots put men on first and third with none out in the second, but could only score one on a double play.  In the second, Cesar Tovar was hit by a pitch and Uhlaender hit a two-out two-run homer to give the Twins a 4-1 lead.

Seattle loaded the bases with none out in the fourth.  A wild pitch brough home one run but left men on first and third, as Don Mincher did not advance from first for some reason.  It cost the Pilots, as Jerry McNertney hit into a double play.  It scored a run, but it took Seattle out of a possible big inning and left the Twins ahead 4-3.

The Twins took control of the game in the fifth.  It again happened with two out and none on.   Rod Carew singled, Oliva tripled, Killebrew doubled, and Reese had an RBI single.  It all resulted in three runs, giving the Twins a 7-3 lead.  The Twins added two more in the eighth, as Killebrew homered, Reese tripled, and Johnny Roseboro singled.  The Pilots did not get a hit after the fourth inning.

WP:  Hall (4-4).  LP:  Gene Brabender (7-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Tovar was again in center with Uhlaender in left.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew was 1-for-5 and was batting .353.  Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and was batting .351.  Reese raised his average to .321.

I understand that we're looking back fifty years later, and a lot has changed in the way we see things in those years.  Still, it seems inexcusable that Hall would pitch a complete game in this situation.  Coming back from an injury.  His first appearance in a month.  His first start since June 4.  A blowout game.  Again, I know Men Were Men back then, but didn't it occur to anyone that having Hall throw a complete game, especially when there was no reason for him to, might not be the smartest idea?  Apparently not, or if it did Billy Martin overruled them.  There's a difference between being "tough" and being stupid.

This game featured the major league debut of twenty-two-year-old Seattle reliever Dick Baney.  He was greeted by the Killebrew home run, the Reese triple, and the Roseboro single, not exactly the way you want to make your major league debut.  He did settle down and retire the side with no further runs, although he left the bases loaded.  He made three more appearances, two of them against the Twins, then went back down to AAA, getting a September call-up.  He did quite well in that September call-up, including winning his only start against the Twins.  He had not pitched particularly well in AAA, and he would continue to not pitch well there through 1972.  It was starting to look like 1969 would be his only big league experience, but in 1973, when he was twenty-six and in the Cincinnati organization, he went 8-4, 3.39 in AAA and got a September call-up.  He pitched well out of the Reds bullpen, but in 1974 found himself back in Indianapolis at the start of the season.  He got back to the majors in early June and stayed the rest of the season, although he did not do much to justify that.  He pitched in Indianapolis again in 1975, popped up in something called the Inter-American Baseball League in 1979, then was done.  He posed nude for Playgirl in 1977, which probably got him more publicity than anything he'd done on a ball field.  In his major league career, he was 4-1, 4.28, 3 saves, 1.42 WHIP in 90.1 innings (42 games, 3 starts).  His AAA numbers are 42-34, 4.27, 1.42 WHIP, so it's hard to argue he deserved more of a chance.  He appears to have had a successful career as a real estate investor and a property manager and was living in Tustin, California at last report.

Record:  The Twins were 50-35, in first place, in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.