MINNESOTA 6, KANSAS CITY 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 7.

Batting star:  Rich Reese was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.

Pitching stars:  Al Worthington pitched a perfect inning.  Dick Woodson struck out four in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Jim Rooker was 2-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs.  Chuck Harrison was 2-for-3.  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4 with a triple.

The game:  With two out in the first, Piniella singled and Bob Oliver tripled, putting the Royals up 1-0.  The Twins took the lead in the second.  Tony Oliva led off with a single and stole second, but he was still on second with two out.  Frank Quilici and George Mitterwald each walked, loading the bases, and Jim Kaat made the Royals pay with a three-run double that gave the Twins a 3-1 lead.

Kansas City pitcher Rooker homered leading off the third to cut the lead to 3-2.  In the fifth, Chuck Harrison singled with one out and Rooker struck again, hitting a two-run homer to put the Royals ahead 4-3.  Twins fans (and players, and manager) had to be wondering what was going on.  Kansas City had just five hits, and two of them were home runs by their pitcher.  The Royals added a run in the sixth when Paul Schaal singled and Piniella tripled him home to make the score 5-3.

Kansas City opened the seventh with singles by Joe Foy and Harrison, putting men on first and third, but Worthington relieved Kaat and took care of business.  Foy was cut down trying to score on an infield grounder and Rooker hit into a double play, keeping the score 5-3.

The missed opportunity cost the Royals.  Reese led off the eighth with a home run to cut the margin to 5-4.  Harmon Killebrew walked and Oliva reached on an error, putting men on first and second.  A bunt moved them to second and third, and pinch-hitter Charlie Manuel came through with a two-run single to give the Twins a 6-5 lead.  Woodson struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the win.

WP:  Woodson (6-3).  LP:  Rooker (0-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Cesar Tovar was again in center field.  Bob Allison was in left, with Ted Uhlaender on the bench.  Uhlaender pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game to play left.  Frank Quilici, who had started the game at second base, moved to third to replace Killebrew, and Rod Carew, who had been on the bench, came into the game to play second.

Tovar led off for the Twins.  Reese batted second, one of nine times on the season he batted in the number two spot.  Leo Cardenas batted fifth, one of ten times on the season he batted in the number five spot.  Mitterwald was catching in place of Johnny Roseboro.

Oliva was 1-for-4 to make his average .327.  Reese was now batting .314.

Kaat pitched six innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits and no walks and striking out five.  His ERA was 2.91.  Rooker pitched seven innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on four hits and five walks and striking out three.

Kansas City out-hit the Twins nine to five.

Rooker is another guy who falls in to the "good hitter for a pitcher" category, as opposed to actually being a good hitter.  He hit seven home runs in his career, two of them in this game.  He did have a lifetime batting average just barely over the Mendoza line at .201.

First baseman Chuck Harrison was a power hitter in the minors who could never translate that power to the majors.  He broke in with the Astros--it could be that playing in the Astrodome was factor in his low home run totals in the majors  He hit twenty-five homers in 1963 in a season split between A and AA.  Left in AA for all of the 1964 season, he hit forty homers in San Antonio.  He then hit thirty-four homers in AAA Oklahoma City in 1965, which got him a September call-up.  He was the regular first baseman for the Houston Astros for most of 1966 but hit just nine home runs, batting .256/.316/.380.  He was with the Astors again for most of 1967, but lost the starting first base job to a fading Eddie Mathews.  He hit just three home runs in 177 at-bats.  He moved to the Atlanta organization in 1968 and hit twenty-five homers in AAA, but did not get a call-up.  He was sold to Kansas City that off-season and was the right-handed part of a platoon at first base with Mike Fiore.  He was again in a pitcher's park and hit just three home runs, batting .221.  Back in AAA in 1970, this time in Omaha, he hit twenty-one homers.  He was with the big club in Kansas City for the last two-thirds of 1971 and was given another chance at the starting job, but again could not hit the ball over the fence and lost the job to Gail Hopkins.  If you can't beat out Gail Hopkins you're probably not going to be around much longer, and he wasn't.  He played in AAA for Texas in 1972 and then was done.  In 1908 AAA at-bats he hit .272/.357/.496 with 103 home runs.  In 1012 major league at-bats he hit .238/.297/.343 with 17 home runs.  If he'd come up to a team that played in a hitter's park, perhaps things would've been different, but we'll never know.

Record:  The Twins were 47-34, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of Oakland.  They had won four in a row and eight of their last nine.

MINNESOTA 7, OAKLAND 6 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4 with a two-run homer (his twenty-third) and scored twice.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-4.

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

Opposition stars:  Sal Bando was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Reggie Jackson was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, scoring twice.  Dick Green was 1-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk.  Danny Cater was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his fifth.

The game:  Oakland scored two in the first inning, as Green walked, Jackson doubled, and Bando delivered a two-out two-run single.  The Twins opened the third with a double and a single, but did not score.  In the fourth, however, the Twins evened the score as Killebrew singled, Rich Reese brought home a run with a single-plus-error, and Roseboro had an RBI single.

The Athletics went right back into the lead in the fifth.  Ted Kubiak singled, Jackson walked, and Cater hit a two-out three-run homer, putting Oakland up 5-2.  It went to 6-2 in the seventh when Green led off the inning with a home run.

The Twins made their move in the bottom of the seventh.  Leo Cardenas was hit by a pitch, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on Tovar's single.  Graig Nettles pinch-hit and walked, putting men on first and second.  A pair of productive ground outs brought home a run and left a man on third.  Oliva then came through with an RBI single and Killebrew hit a two-run homer, giving the Twins their first lead of the game at 7-6.

That was all they would need.  The Athletics put together a two-out threat in the eighth, when Tommie Reynolds singled and Ted Kubiak walked, but Dick Green hit into a force out.  Oakland went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Joe Grzenda (3-1).  LP:  Rollie Fingers (3-5).  S:  Ron Perranoski (15).

Notes:  Tovar was in center field and Ted Uhlaender in left.  Uhlaender had been almost exclusively a center fielder up to this point.  One assumes Billy Martin felt his defense was lacking--I frankly don't understand defensive statistics well enough to know if that feeling was justified.

Carew was 0-for-4 and his average fell to .357.  Since June 28 his average had fallen twenty-five points.  Oliva raised his average to .328.  Rich Reese was 1-for-4 and was batting .316.

Neither starting pitcher did much.  Dave Boswell pitched five innings, giving up five runs on five hits and five walks and striking out--four.  Blue Moon Odom did well for six innings, but his line is six innings, five runs (four earned). six hits, one walk and five strikeouts.

Rollie Fingers gave up two runs on two hits in one inning.  He was a twenty-two-year-old rookie in 1969, and not the star that he would one day become.  He was a good pitcher right from the start, though.  He made sixty appearances in 1969 (eight starts) and went 6-7, 3.71, 1.32 WHIP.  He had twelve saves, which led the team.  Others with a significant number of saves for Oakland were Paul Lindblad (9) and Lew Krausse (7).  They only had thirty-six saves as a team.  Fingers' record as a starter was not good--2-4, 5.04, 1.50 WHIP.  His career record as a starter was better, but still nothing to get excited about--7-17, 4.32, 1.33 WHIP.  His career numbers as a reliever are 107-101, 341 saves, 2.73, 1.13 WHIP.  I think it's safe to say that keeping him in the bullpen was a wise decision.

Record:  The Twins were 46-34, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of Oakland.  The series sweep gave them three wins in a row and seven in their last eight games.

MINNESOTA 13, OAKLAND 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 5.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 4-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-6 with two home runs (his twenty-first and twenty-second) and a walk, driving in six.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-4 with a walk and a hit-by-pitch, scoring three times.

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

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Phil Roof was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Reggie Jackson was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirty-fourth) and a walk.  George Lauzerique pitched a scoreless inning, walking one.

The game:  Jackson homered with two out in the first inning to give the Athletics a 1-0 lead.  It didn't last long.  in the bottom of the first, Uhlaender was hit by a pitch, Rod Carew tripled, Oliva singled, and Killebrew hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-1 before anyone was retired.

The Twins didn't let up.  In the second, Uhlaender walked, Oliva singled, and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to make the score 7-1.  In the third, Leo Cardenas singled, Cesar Tovar was hit by a pitch, Perry had a two-run single-plus-error, Uhlaender had an infield single, and Carew had a run-scoring ground out, leaving the Twins ahead 10-1 after three.

The Twins added some more.  Killebrew singled home a run in the fifth.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the sixth, but only scored on when Perry hit into a double play.  They again loaded the bases with none out in the seventh and only scored one, this time on a Johnny Roseboro ground out.  Not to complain about a 13-1 victory, but the Twins certainly could have scored more.

WP:  Perry (7-4).  LP:  Chuck Dobson (9-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-5 with a walk, making his average .363.  Oliva raised his average to .326.  Rich Reese was 0-for-5 to make his average .317.

Tovar was in left field in this game.

Dobson, like Catfish Hunter, was a fine pitcher in 1969 except against the Twins.  For the season he was 15-13, 3.86, 1.38 WHIP.  Against the Twins, in four starts, he was 1-2, 10.69, 2.000 WHIP.  He pitched a total of sixteen innings in those four starts.  The Twins had a slash line of .373/.413/.587 against him, for an OPS of .999.  No one else had an OPS of .800 or better against him.  In this game, he lasted just 1.2 innings and allowed seven runs on six hits and a walk.  He struck out one.

As noted above, Jackson hit his thirty-fourth home run in this game.  He would hit just thirteen more the rest of the season.

Record:  The Twins were 45-34, in first place in the American League West, a game ahead of Oakland.  Since dropping the first three games of the Kansas City series, the Twins had won six of seven.

MINNESOTA 10, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 4.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixth) and two doubles, scoring twice and driving in three.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring twice and driving in two.  Ted Uhlaender was 3-for-5 with two doubles, scoring three times.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twentieth, and a walk.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, his twelfth and thirteenth.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.

Pitching star:  Bob Miller pitched a complete game, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Rick Monday was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer, his seventh.  Sal Bando was 2-for-3.  George Lauzerique pitched a perfect inning.

The game:  The Twins scored three in the first inning.  Oddly, Carew, who had a big day, was the only one of the first four batters to make an out.  Uhlaender doubled, Oliva doubled, and Killebrew hit a two-run homer to make the score 3-0.

Oakland had a man on third with none out in the second but did not score.  The Twins scored in the third on a pair of doubles, this time by Carew and Oliva, to increase their lead to 4-0.

The Twins really took control in the fourth.  Cardenas led off with a home run.  The next two batters struck out, but Uhlaender singled and Carew hit a two-run homer.  That chased Oakland starter Catfish Hunter from the game, but the Twins weren't done.  Oliva singled, Killebrew walked, and Reese singled in a run to make the score 8-0.  It stayed 8-0 until the seventh, when Cesar Tovar singled and Uhlaender and Carew had back-to-back doubles to increase the margin to 10-0.

The Athletics got all of their runs in the ninth.  Ted Kubiak opened the inning with a walk, but the next two batters flied out.  Bando then singled, Danny Cater had an RBI single, and Monday hit a three-run homer.  It killed the rally, as Miller retired Tommie Reynolds on a ground out to end the game.

WP:  Miller (2-2).  LP:  Hunter (5-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  This was the Twins' first home game since June 19.  They had played sixteen consecutive games on the road.

Tovar started in left field.  He appeared in left field in forty games in 1969, but this was one of only three that he started there.

Carew raised his average to .367.  Reese was now batting .327.  Oliva raised his average to .317.  Miller's ERA went to 2.91.

This was Miller's second start of five turns in the starting rotation.  It was his only complete game of the season.  Billy Martin clearly saw no reason to take him out early, despite the fact that the Twins were ahead 10-0.  It was a different game then.

Hunter had a lot of problems with the Twins in 1969.  In five starts against them, he was 0-3, 7.39 with a WHIP of 1.64.  The Twins had eleven doubles and nine home runs against him for a slash line of .316/.364/.641.  Their OPS against Hunter was 1.005.  Hunter was not yet the superstar he would become, but at age twenty-three he had already been on two all-star teams.  He would post an ERA of 3.35 and a WHIP of 1.19 in 1969.  But he couldn't get the Twins out.  In this game, he lasted just 3.2 innings and allowed seven runs on eight hits and one walk and struck out four.

Havana-born George Lauzerique would make nineteen appearances for Oakland in 1969, the most he would make in a season.  b-r.com says he was drafted by Kansas City in the tenth round in 1965 but he made seven starts for St. Cloud, a Twins' affiliate in the Northern League.  Occasionally a player would be "loaned" to a different organization back then--perhaps that's what happened here.  Anyway, he got a September call-up in 1967 after a fine AA season.  He was just twenty years old then, but he acquitted himself well, posting a 2.25 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP in 16 innings.  He did not do particularly well for AAA Vancouver in 1968, but again got a September call-up, pitching one scoreless inning.  He split 1969 between AAA and the majors.  As stated earlier, he made nineteen appearances, eight of them starts.  He was substantially better as a starter, going 3-2, 4.03, 1.30 WHIP.  As a reliever he was 0-2, 6.48, 1.62.  He was still just twenty-two at the end of that season, and he looked like a decent prospect.  Oakland apparently didn't agree, as they traded him and Ted Kubiak to Milwaukee for Ray Oyler and Diego Segui.  Maybe they were right.  He started 1970 with the Brewers, but was pretty awful and was in AAA by the end of May.  He was traded to St. Louis after the season and was in AAA for them most of the season, but somehow found his way to the Twins' AAA affiliate in Portland for seven starts, going 2-4, 4.17.  I don't have a bio of him in the birthday list, something I'll try to remember to correct the next time July 22 rolls around.  At any rate, he pitched in Mexico in 1972, then was out of baseball for two years.  He posted a 2.07 ERA, which sounds impressive until you note that he was twenty-seven and the majority of his appearances came in Class A ball.  He pitched poorly in 1976 and then was done for good.  At last report, he was living in West Palm Beach.

Record:  The Twins were 44-34, tied for first place with Oakland in the American League West, although they trailed in winning percentage .568 to .564.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 2 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Wednesday, July 2.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-2 with two walks.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run, his nineteenth.

Pitching star:  Dave Boswell pitched 7.2 innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Tommy John pitched 7.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eleven hits and three walks and striking out three.  Don Secrist pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

The game:  In the second, Oliva doubled and Mitterwald delivered a two-out single to put the Twins ahead 1-0.  In the fourth, Oliva singled, went to second on a wild pitch, took third on a foul out to left, and scored on a passed ball to make the score 2-0.

The Twins missed a chance for another run in the fourth.  Allison led off with a triple, but was still on third with two out and then was caught trying to steal home.  They added a run in the seventh when Tovar's two-out double scored Frank Quilici from first base and got one more in the eighth when Killebrew homered.

The White Sox got on the board in the eighth.  Bill Melton doubled with one out and was still on second with two down.  Pete Ward then singled him home, Tom McCraw walked, and Luis Aparicio singled to drive home Ward and make the score 4-2.  Boswell then left in favor of Ron Perranoski, who retired Gail Hopkins on a ground out to end the inning.

The Twins went down in order in the top of the ninth.  According to both b-r.com and baseball-almanac.com, Chicago did not bat in the bottom of the ninth.  The most likely reason would seem to be rain.  It seems like a strange time to call the game, and one assumes the White Sox were not pleased about it, but perhaps it was unavoidable.

WP:  Boswell (10-8).  LP:  John (5-6).  S:  Perranoski (14).

Notes:  Oliva batted fifth in this game, one of only three times all year he batted fifth.  He was 4-for-11 in those games.  Killebrew batted third and Allison fourth.

Tovar was in center, giving Ted Uhlaender the day off.  Uhlaender would come in for defense in the eighth but would play left.  When Uhlaender started and Tovar came in for defense, Tovar would pretty much always go to left field.

Quilici was at third base, with Killebrew playing first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Mitterwald was behind the plate in place of Johnny Roseboro.

Rod Carew was 1-for-5 and was batting .368.  Oliva raised his average to .315.  Perranoski lowered his ERA to 2.08.

Left-handed reliever Don Secrist played in parts of two seasons for the White Sox.  He was in the Baltimore organization in 1963, was drafted by Cincinnati in the first-year player draft, and remained in the Reds organization through 1968.  He first reached AAA in 1966 but did not have a lot of success there until 1968, when he went 11-2, 3.68.  This was "the year of the pitcher" even in the minors, so that 3.68 is not as impressive as it might sound.  The Reds traded him to Chicago after the season.  He was with the White Sox for about two months, going 0-1, 6.08, but with a WHIP of 1.23 in 40 innings.  He gave up seven home runs, which probably helps account for the high ERA.  He also may have been battling injuries--he made only one AAA appearance that season.  He again was with the White Sox for about two months in 1970 but was rarely used, going 0-0, 5.52, 2.11 WHIP in 1.42 innings.  That ended his major league career:  his totals are 0-1, 5.93, 1.46 WHIP in 28 games (54.2 innings).  He pitched in AAA with the White Sox and Cubs in 1971, then was done.

Record:  The win was the Twins' fourth in a row.  They remained tied for first in the American League West with Oakland, although they trailed by winning percentage .569 to .566.

MINNESOTA 10, CHICAGO 5 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Tuesday, July 1.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his fifth and sixth) and a double, scoring three times and driving in three.  Johnny Roseboro was 3-for-5 and scored twice.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and a stolen base (his third), scoring twice.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Ted Uhlaender was 1-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched 5.2 scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out five.

Opposition stars:  Buddy Bradford was 2-for-4.  Luis Aparicio was 2-for-5.  Gail Hopkins was 2-for-5.

The game:  The White Sox took the lead early, scoring three in the first.  Aparicio had a one-out single and scored on Hopkins' single-plus-error.  With two out, Carlos May walked and Bradford and Bill Melton delivered RBI singles to give Chicago a 3-0 lead.  In the third, Don Pavletich and May each hit a one-out single and an error brought them both home, putting the White Sox up 5-0.

The Twins started their comeback in the fourth.  Reese hit a one-out home run, Roseboro had a two-out single, and Cardenas followed with a two-run homer to cut the margin to 5-3.  It looked like Chicago might get the runs back in the bottom of the fourth, as Aparicio and Hopkins again singled with one out.  This time, however, Woodson came in to replace starter Jim Perry and retired Pavletich and May on fly balls to end the inning.

The Twins took the lead in the fifth.  Uhlaender led off with a home run and Carew followed with a triple.  With one out, Harmon Killebrew hit a ground ball and the White Sox failed to get Carew at home, tying the score.  Reese then hit his second home run of the game, giving the Twins a 7-5 lead.

The Twins tacked on a couple of runs in the eighth.  Roseboro and Cardenas led off the inning with singles and a stolen base put men on second and third with none out.  A pickoff error brought home one run and a squeeze bunt scored the second, making the score 9-5.  The Twins added one more in the ninth, as Reese hit a two-out double and scored on a Cesar Tovar single.

WP:  Woodson (5-3).  LP:  Wilbur Wood (5-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew raised his average to .372.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-5, dropping him to .312.  Reese's big day raised him to .314.

Graig Nettles started in left, with Tovar going in for defense.  Frank Quilici was also a defensive sub at third, but this time he replaced Killebrew, with Reese remaining at first.

Neither starter lasted very long or did very well.  Perry pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks and struck out none.  Billy Wynne struck out four in four innings but allowed five runs on eight hits and no walks.

Wood was still a relief pitcher at this point in his career, and would lead the league in appearances in 1969 for the second of three consecutive seasons.  He would become a starter in 1971 and would lead the league in starts for four consecutive seasons (1972-1975--he was second in 1971 to Mickey Lolich).

Billy Wynne was a rotation starter for the White Sox for the latter two-thirds or so of 1969, the only time in his career that would be true.  He wasn't that bad, going 7-7, 4.06.  In fact, he was the only member of the White Sox' rotation to not have a sub-.500 record.  He first came to the majors in 1967 with the Mets, making six appearances.  He was traded to Chicago after that season and stayed through 1970.  He got off to a poor start in 1970 and spent most of the season in the minors, although he did get a September call-up.  He then was traded to California, for whom he made three appearances in 1971.  The Angels released him shortly before the 1972 season, he was briefly in AAA with Montreal, then went to the Mexican League through 1973.  For his career he was 8-11, 4.33, 1.58 WHIP in 187 innings.

Record:  The Twins were 42-33, tied for first with Oakland in the American League West, though second in winning percentage, .563 to .560.