OAKLAND 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN OAKLAND (14 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, June 20.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 4-for-6 with a walk.  Dave Boswell was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.  Ted Uhlaender was 2-for-7 with a stolen base, his eleventh.

Pitching stars:  Boswell pitched 8.1 innings, giving up two runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out eight.  Ron Perranoski pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jim Nash pitched seven innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on eight hits and two walks and striking out four.  Danny Cater was 2-for-5.  Bert Campaneris was 2-for-6 with a walk and a stolen base, his thirty-second.  Rick Monday was 2-for-6.

The game:  Each team had a ton of missed opportunities.  It started in the top of the first, when the Twins put men on first and third with one out and did not score.  In the third, the Athletics had men on first and second with none out and did not score.  The Twins put men on fist and second with two out in the fourth and did not score.

The Twins finally got on the board in the fifth.  A walk, a hit batsman, and a pickoff error put men on second and third with two out.  Harmon Killebrew got an infield single to bring home the run and put Minnesota up 1-0.  Oakland got the run back in the sixth on a single, two walks, and a Cater sacrifice fly.

Boswell helped his own cause (whenever a pitcher gets a big hit, you have to say he helped his own cause.  it's in the sportswriter's code someplace).  with a home run leading off the seventh to put the Twins up 2-1.  The Athletics nearly tied it in the eighth.  With two out, Reggie Jackson walked and Sal Bando singled.  Cater then singled, but Jackson was thrown out trying to score.  In the bottom of the ninth, however, Rick Monday singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a single by South Dakota native Dick Green, sending the game to extra innings.

In the tenth, the Twins had men on first and second with two out.  A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third and Leo Cardenas was intentionally walked to fill the bases and bring up the pitcher's spot.  Oddly, Ron Perranoski (lifetime batting numbers .096/.147/.114) was allowed to bat.  To the surprise of, one assumes, no one, he struck out, stranding the runners.  Oakland had two on with two out in the eleventh and did not score.

In the thirteenth, the Twins had one out and none on and Perranoski was again allowed to bat.  To the surprise of, one assumes, everyone, he singled to center.  At that point, he was removed from the game for pinch-runner Rick Renick.  Uhlaender followed with a single, but the next two men were retired.  The Twins again put two men on in the fourteenth and did not score.

In the bottom of the fourteenth, future Twin Phil Roof opened the inning by reaching on a two-base error by Cardenas.  Tommie Reynolds then bunted him to third and was safe on an error by Rod Carew.  Carew was removed from the game at that point, with Cesar Tovar moving from third to second, Killebrew moving from first to third, and Bob Allison coming in to play first base.  An intentional walk loaded the bases.  The next batter was Ted Kubiak, and what happened is described as "Groundout: RF-SS/Forceout at 2B; Hunter Scores/unER; Reynolds to 3B."  Why Tony Oliva would throw to second base for a forceout in that situation is anyone's guess, but it brought home the game-winning run for Oakland.

WP:  Marcel Lachemann (2-0).  LP:  Bob Miller (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew was 1-for-7, dropping his average to .366,.

Boswell's ERA was 2.87.  Perranoski's ERA was 1.45.  Miller's ERA was 2.40.

The Twins stranded eighteen men and went 1-for-17 with men in scoring position.  Oakland stranded thirteen men and went 2-for-9 with men in scoring position.

Any one-run game gives opportunities for second-guessing, and a fourteen-inning game gives even more.  That said, I have no idea what Billy Martin was doing allowing Perranoski to bat twice, especially when he was clearly not a good batter.  The first one, in the tenth, basically conceded the inning with the bases loaded.  The second one, in the thirteenth, came when he was prepared to take Perranoski out anyway.  If someone wants to try to explain this, go ahead, because it makes no sense to me.

As I look at it a little more closely, Martin had shorted himself somewhat on the bench.  When the Twins went up 2-1, he made some defensive changes, inserting Tovar in left for Graig Nettles, Frank Quilici at third, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese coming out, and Tom Tischinski replacing Johnny Roseboro behind the plate.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit in the tenth and replaced Quilici in the lineup (playing left with Tovar moving to third).  However, he still clearly had Renick and Allison on the bench, and one assumes George Mitterwald as well, all of whom had a substantially better chance of doing something positive at the plate than Perranoski.

I don't know why Carew was removed from the game in the fourteenth inning.  He may have been shaken up on the play, although he started the next day.  I suppose it's also possible that Martin thought the error was due to a lack of hustle or something--we know Martin was not above embarrassing someone if he thought they weren't playing hard.  If anyone knows more about this, feel free to comment.

Record:  The Twins were 34-28, in second place in the American League West, one game behind Oakland.

MINNESOTA 8, CALIFORNIA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, a stolen base (his thirteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Bob Allison was 2-for-5 with three RBIs.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson pitched a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and two walks and striking out eight.

Opposition star:  Jim Fregosi was 1-for-4 with a home run, his fifth.

The game:  Cesar Tovar put the Twins on the board in the bottom of the first, leading off the inning by circling the bases on a triple-plus-error.  In the third the Twins had three consecutive singles that produced two runs.  Carew singled and Harmon Killebrew followed with a single-plus-error that put men on second and third.  Allison then delivered a two-run single that made the score 3-0.

The Twins added some more runs in the third.  Tom Tischinski led off with a single and Woodson reached on an error.  A pickoff error moved them to second and third.  With one out, Carew hit a two-run double to right and with two out, Allison had an RBI single.  The score was then 6-0.

Fregosi got the Angels on the board in the seventh with a one-out home run--they'd had only one hit before that.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the seventh when Rick Renick had a two-out single and pinch-runner Ted Uhlaender scored from first on a Frank Quilici double.

The Twins finished the scoring in the eighth.  Cesar Tovar drew a one-out walk and somehow went from first to third on a ground out to the pitcher.  He then scored on a Rich Reese single.

WP:  Woodson (4-2).  LP:  George Brunet (2-6).  S:  None.

Notes:  Carew raised his average to .374.

Tony Oliva was given the day off, with Renick in right field.  This was one of four games in his career that Renick played in right field.  Tovar was in center, with Uhlaender given the day off other than his pinch-running appearance and subsequent play in right in the last two innings.  Allison started in left.  Quilici started at third base, with Killebrew at first.  Reese came in as a defensive replacement in the seventh.  Tischinski was the catcher, with Johnny Roseboro given the day off.

George Brunet was nearing the end of a long and not-all-that-distinguished career.  He played for nine different teams over fifteen seasons.  The Angels clearly got his best years.  The only other team for which he had an ERA under four was Pittsburgh, for whom he pitched just 16.2 innings.  For six of the nine teams he pitched for, his ERA was over five.  He made fifteen appearances with the Kansas City Athletics from 1956-1960, when he was traded to the Milwaukee Braves.  He appeared in twenty-two games for them through 1961, when he moved on to Houston.  He also appeared in twenty-two games for them, went to Baltimore during the 1963 season, and made sixteen appearances as an Oriole.  After that season he was twenty-eight years old, had not pitched a full season in the majors, and his lowest season ERA was 4.50 in 54 innings with the 1962 Houston Colt 45s.  He was in AAA in 1964 when he was sold to the Angels in August.  They brought him up to the majors and something immediately clicked.  In four full and two partial seasons with the Angels, Brunet posted an ERA of 3.13 and a WHIP of 1.20.  Unfortunately for him, he didn't get a lot of run support--his won-lost record in those years was 54-69 and he twice led the league in losses.  He was still pitching well in 1969, but the Angels sold him to the Seattle Pilots at the end of July.  His career went backward again and he was out of the majors after the 1971 season, although he pitched in AAA for a couple of years after that.  b-r.com doesn't say so, but it appears he then pitched in Mexico for several more seasons.  He was elected to the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969.  For his major league career, he was 69-93, 3.62, 1.32 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 34-27, tied for first place in the American League West with Oakland although they trailed in winning percentage, .559 to .557.

CALIFORNIA 13, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Batting star:  Rich Reese was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a double.

Pitching star:  Bob Miller pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Andy Messersmith struck out nine in a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and two walks.  Bill Voss was 3-for-6 with a three-run homer and three runs.  Rick Reichardt was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in three.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Sandy Alomar was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Aurelio Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a triple and a walk, scoring three times.

The game:  The Angels drew two walks in the first inning but didn't score.  They made up for it.  They got on the board in the second when Rodriguez reached on an error and scored on Jim Spencer's triple.  They went up 3-0 in the third when Reichardt hit a two-run homer.   The Twins got on the board in the fourth when Reese led off the inning with a home run.  They had men on first and second with none out in the fifth, but failed to advance them, leaving the score 3-1.

It was all California from there.  In the sixth, a walk, a bunt, and an intentional walk put men on first and second.  A fly out made it first and third, and Billy Martin ordered an intentional walk to Spencer, moving the runner from first into scoring position and loading the bases, to bring up Messersmith.  The strategy didn't work.  Messersmith walked to force in a run, Sandy Alomar delivered a two-run single, and Voss hit a three-run homer, making the score 9-1.

They added two more in the seventh, as Jay Johnstone singled, Rodriguez tripled, and Joe Azcue doubles.  They topped it off with two more in the ninth, as Voss and Fregosi singled, Reichardt had an RBI single, and Johnstone contributed a sacrifice fly.

The last fifteen Twins were retired.

WP:  Messersmith (2-5).  LP:  Danny Morris (0-1).  S:  None.

Notes:  Cesar Tovar played second base in place of Rod Carew, who was used as a pinch-hitter.  It was again Nettles in left, Killebrew at third, and Reese at first.

Miller lowered his ERA to 2.51.

This was the only start Morris would make this season and was the last of his major league career.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for him in the third after he gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks.  He would make just one more major league appearance, on June 29.  He would stay in the Twins organization through 1972, but didn't get much accomplished at AAA and did not make it back to the majors.

Six of the runs California scored were charged to Al Worthington.  He came on in the sixth with men on first and second and one out.  He retired Azcue on a fly ball, but then came the rest of the inning detailed above.  He also pitched the seventh through the Azcue double, when he was relieved by Joe Grzenda.

This was outfielder Bill Voss' first year with the Angels and the year in which he got the most playing time of his career.  He had gotten brief trials with the White Sox, playing a total of twenty-six games from 1965-1967, before finally sticking for half the season in 1968.  He was traded to the Angels that off-season.  He played in 133 games in 1969, getting 349 at-bats.  He was not a home run hitter--the homer in this game was one of just two he would hit in 1969.  He had a career total of nineteen, and oddly got over half of them (ten) in one season, 1971.  He was in his first year with Milwaukee that season.  He was a man on the move in 1972, starting the year with the Brewers, moving to Oakland in June, and going to St. Louis in August.  He was traded to Cincinnati after the 1972 season, but he never played again.  His career major league numbers are .227/.298/.317 in 1177 at-bats.  The vast majority of his games were in right field, although he had a handful in center and left.  There was something about him that baseball people liked--when you read his biography at sabr.com, you keep seeing comments from his managers at the time about how they believed in him and thought it was just a matter of time before he starting hitting.  He hit well in AAA, batting .283/.347/.438, and he hit well in spring training, but he just could never hit in major league games that counted.  As of 2014, Bill Voss was an assistant pastor at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Cottonwood, Arizona.

Record:  The Twins were 32-27, tied for first place in the American League West with Oakland.  Oakland actually led based on winning percentage, .544 to .542.

MINNESOTA 8, CALIFORNIA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 16.

Batting stars:  Jim Perry was 3-for-3 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixteenth) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.

Pitching star:  Perry struck out nine in a complete game, giving up two runs on eight hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Aurelio Rodriguez was 2-for-3.  Eddie Fisher pitched a perfect inning.

The game:  The Twins jumped on Angels' starter Tom Murphy for three runs in the first inning.  A walk and an error put two men on with none out.  Tony Oliva singled home the first run, leaving men on first and second.  With Harmon Killebrew up to bat, the Twins pulled off a double steal, with Rod Carew swiping third and Oliva taking second.  Then, with Killebrew still at the plate, they pulled off another double steal, with Carew stealing home and Oliva taking third.  Killebrew then singled to bring Oliva home with the third run of the inning.

California put two men on in the second, but did not score.  In the third, walks to Carew and Killebrew put men on first and second with one out.  Rich Reese singled home a run, a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third, and Graig Nettles delivered a sacrifice fly to make the score 5-0.

The Angels again put two men on in the fifth but did not score.  They finally got on the board in the sixth, as Jim Fregosi doubled, Rick Reichardt singled him to third, and Rodriguez hit a sacrifice fly.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the sixth, although they should have gotten more.  Nettles walked, Leo Cardenas singled, and Johnny Roseboro walked to fill the bases with none out.  Jim Perry then hit into a strange double play.  He hit a fly ball to center, which Jay Johnstone dropped for an error.  Cesar Tovar scored, so Perry got credit for a sacrifice fly, but Cardenas was forced out at third and Roseboro was forced at second.  Anyway, at this point the score was 6-1.

The Twins finished their scoring in the seventh.  With two out and none on, Killebrew homered, followed by back-to-back doubles by Frank Quilici and Tovar to make the score 8-1.  California added one in the ninth when Rodriguez and Jim Spencer singled and Joe Azcue hit a sacrifice fly.

WP:  Perry (5-3).  LP:  Tom Murphy (4-4).  S:  None.

Notes:  It was again Nettles in left, Killebrew at third, and Reese at first.  The standard defensive change, with Tovar going to left, Quilici to third, and Killebrew to first, came in the seventh inning.

Carew was 0-for-4 with a walk and was now batting .382.

Perry falls into the "good hitter for a pitcher" category, rather than really being a good hitter.  His lifetime numbers were .199/.228/.247.  He'd had three not-so-good starts before this one.

I don't know that it was good percentage ball, but this Twins team was sure exciting to watch.  A double steal of second and third, followed by a double steal of third and home, both with Harmon Killebrew at the plate.  It seems to me that this falls into the category of "it looks really good when it works", but it sure had to be fun to see.

I don't know that I've ever heard of a sacrifice fly/error/double play before.  I don't know how often that's happened, but it sure seems unusual 🙂

Teams usually want a fair amount of offense at third base, but Aurelio Rodriguez had a long career as primarily a glove man at the position.  He had the misfortune to have most of his career overlap that of Brooks Robinson, so he only won one Gold Glove, but he was known as a really good defender.  His highest batting average (when he had a significant number of at-bats) was .265, in 1978.  His highest OPS (same qualification) was .721, in 1970.  His career numbers are .237/.275/.351.  Still he played for seventeen seasons.  He was with the Angels from 1967 through early 1970, when he was traded to Washington.  He was traded to Detroit after the season and played there from 1971-1979.  1980 was split between San Diego and the Yankees and was his last season as a regular.  He was still with the Yankees in 1981 but was apparently injured, as he played only twenty-seven games.  He was with the White Sox in 1982 and split the 1983 season between the White Sox and Baltimore.  Again, not much of a batter, but a good enough defender that teams kept playing him for a long time.  He also has all the vowels in his first name.

Record:  The Twins were 32-26, in first place in the American League West, leading Oakland by a half game.

MINNESOTA 3, CLEVELAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, June 15.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a triple, two walks, and two RBIs.  Rod Carew was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Tony Horton was 2-for-4.  Steve Hargan pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and seven (!) walks, striking out four.

The game:  Ted Uhlaender opened the bottom of the first with an infield single and Rod Carew walked.  With one out, Killebrew tripled, bringing them both home and giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

The Twins threatened to lengthen their lead in the third, but failed to do so.  Tony Oliva singled with one out and Killebrew walked.  A ground out moved the runners up and Graig Nettles was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Leo Cardenas popped up to end the threat.  It cost them, because the Indians tied it in the fourth.  Larry Brown singled, Ken Harrelson reached on an error, Horton singled home a run, and an error brought home the tying run.

The Twins put two on in the bottom of the fourth, but again did not score.  Neither team threatened after that until the seventh.  Carew walked leading off the inning and Killebrew walked with one out.  A force out put men on first and third with two down and Nettles got an infield hit to put the Twins ahead 3-2.  Cleveland did not have a hit after the fifth and did not get a baserunner after the seventh, so the lead held and the Twins won.

WP:  Boswell (8-7).  LP:  Hargan (1-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Billy Martin went back to the defensive arrangement he had used so often at the start of the season, with Nettles in left, Killebrew at third, and Rich Reese at first.  It was Reese's first start at first base since May 14.  The standard defensive switches were also made, with Cesar Tovar coming in to play left, Frank Quilici going to third, and Killebrew moving to first, in the ninth inning.

Carew raised his average to .391, Boswell lowered his ERA to 2.93.

Boswell bounced back well after his previous start, in which he had allowed five runs (four earned) in just 3.1 innings.

Steve Hargan had a few years when he was very good, and a few more when he was fairly decent, but this was not one of them.  At the close of this game, his ERA was 8.20.  He would end the season at 5-14, 5.70 with a WHIP of 1.57.  Walks were a major reason for the swings in his career.  He had five seasons in which his walks per nine innings were under three and one in which it was just slightly over, and those were his five good years.  He had five years in which his walks per nine innings were over four, and those were his bad years.  His good seasons were 1966-1967, 1970, and 1974-1976.  A hard thrower, it appears that he had arm problems which hampered his control.  His mid-70s resurgence appears to have come from a conversion from a flamethrower to a junkballer.  We use that term with no disrespect--any legal way you can get major league batters out is a good way.  For his career, he was 87-107, 3.92, 1.35 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 31-26, tied for first place with Oakland in the American League West.  They were actually slightly behind based on winning percentage, .545 to .544.

CLEVELAND 12, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 14.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had six hits, all singles, and no player had more than one.  They did not draw any walks.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on eight hits and two walks and striking out two.  Bob Miller pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Dick Ellsworth pitched a complete game shutout, giving up six hits and no walks and striking out two.  He was also 2-for-5.  Tony Horton was 2-for-4 with a double and two walks.  Ken Suarez was 2-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Ex-Twin Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-5 with a walk and two runs.  Vern Fuller was 1-for-1 with a three-run homer, his second.

The game:  The Indians started the scoring in the third.  With two out and none on, Versalles singled and Larry Brown reached on an error.  Ken Harrelson then singled home a run, Horton walked, and Cap Peterson delivered a two-run single, making the scored 3-0.  Cleveland added a run in the fourth, as Max Alvis doubled, went to third on an Ellsworth single, and scored on a ground out.

Meanwhile, the Twins weren't doing much of anything on offense.  They had a mild threat in the third, when Frank Quilici singled and Rick Renick reached on a two-out error, but Leo Cardenas flied out to end the inning.

Cleveland put the game out of reach in the seventh.  Harrelson and Horton opened the inning with back-to-back walks.  A bunt moved them to second and third, and Jose Cardenal was intentionally walked.  Chuck Hinton grounded out, but Suarez delivered a three-run double to make the score 7-0.  They added five in the eighth, including Fuller's three-run homer, to make it 12-0.

The Twins did manage to put two men on in the eighth, when Cesar Tovar and Tom Tischinski had one-out singles.  Renick hit into a double play to end the threat.

WP:  Ellsworth (3-2).  LP:  Kaat (6-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Renick was at third base and was also leading off, despite the fact that he was sporting a .161 batting average and an OBP of .257.  The Twins had four men in the starting lineup with averages lower than .210.  In addition to Renick, there was Quilici (.145), Bob Allison (.203), and Tovar (.209).  And that does not include Kaat (.143).  In addition, George Mitterwald (.233) was behind the plate rather than Johnny Roseboro.

With only one of the runs he gave up earned, Kaat's ERA fell to 2.42.  Miller's ERA fell to 2.70.

Jerry Crider's scoreless string came to an end with a thud.  He pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on two hits and two walks.  His ERA went from zero to 5.14.

This game featured the season debut of Danny Morris.  He had appeared in three games as a September call-up in 1968.  He came on in the seventh inning and faced two batters.  Russ Synder laid down a sacrifice bunt and Cardenal was intentionally walked.  So, in a sense, he really didn't face anybody.

The Twins used a total of seven pitchers in this game.  Five of them pitched less than one inning.

Ken Suarez had nine RBIs for the season.  He had five of them in this series.

Record:  The Twins were 30-26, tied for first place with Oakland in the American League West.  They actually were one percentage point behind, .537 to .536.  They were 12-18 since May 11.

BOSTON 13, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, June 11.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-5 with a double.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.  Johnny Roseboro was 2-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Joe Lahoud was 3-for-5 with three home runs and four RBIs.  Dick Schofield was 3-for-5 with three doubles and a walk, scoring twice.  George Scott was 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.  Reggie Smith was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (his fourth), scoring twice and driving in two.   Sonny Siebert struck out five in five shutout innings of relief, giving up two hits.

The game:  The Red Sox opened the scoring in the second, as Rico Petrocelli walked and Lahoud hit a two-run homer.  The Twins got a two-out double from Graig Nettles in the bottom of the second, but Roseboro was intentionally walked and Dave Boswell struck out.  In the third, two walks and an infield single loaded the bases for Boston with one out, but Petrocelli hit a short fly to center and Lahoud struck out to end the inning.

The Red Sox appeared to break it open in the fourth.  With men on first and second and one out Schofield hit an RBI double, Dalton Jones had a two-run single, a two-out passed ball scored a fourth run, and later Petrocelli had an RBI single to make it 7-0.  The Twins got back into it with four in the bottom of the fourth.  With two out and a man on third, the Twins got four consecutive singles (Cardenas, Roseboro, Rick Renick, and Ted Uhlaender) and a double from Carew to cut the margin to 7-4.

Lahoud hit his second home run in the fifth to make the score 8-4.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly.

That was as good as it would get for the Twins.  Smith had an RBi single and Scott drove in two with a single in the sixth to give Boston an 11-5 lead.  Smith hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh and Lahoud hit his third home run in the eighth.

WP:  Siebert (5-6).  LP:  Boswell (7-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Reese was again in left, with Nettles at third base.

Carew raised his average to .393.  Roseboro raised his average to .303.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-5 to make his average .300.

Boswell lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on five hits and three walks and striking out two.  In his prior two starts, he had thrown seven shutout innings and eight shutout innings.  The Twins used seven pitchers, only two of whom went unscored upon.  In addition to Worthington, Jerry Crider pitched one-third of an inning without giving up a run.  He actually gave up a hit to the only man he faced, but Smith was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on Petrocelli's single.  Crider still had not given up a run in six major league appearances (5.1 innings).

Outfielder Joe Lahoud was in his first full major league season.  He would hit only nine home runs in 1969, one-third of them in this game.  He was used as a reserve, playing in 101 games but getting just 218 at-bats.  He played in parts of eleven seasons, never getting more than 325 at-bats in a season.  He batted over .250 just once, when he hit .271 for California in 1974.  That was also the only season in which he posted an OPS of over .800, putting up a mark of .825.  He played for Boston from 1968-1971, Milwaukee in 1972-1973, California from 1974-1976, Texas for the latter part of 1976, and Kansas City from 1977-1978.  His career numbers are .223/.334/.372.  He hit sixty-five home runs, with a season high of fourteen in 1971.  One assumes he was considered a superior defender, although he played corner outfield almost exclusively.  He doesn' t look like he was very good, really, but again, he played in parts of eleven seasons, so somebody must have thought he was doing something well.  As he put it during the 1975 season, "It's easy to stay in the majors for seven and a half years when you hit .300, but when you hit .216, like me, it's really an accomplishment."

Record:  The Twins were 30-24, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of Oakland.  They were now 11-16 since May 11.

MINNESOTA 6, BOSTON 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, June 10.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-2 with a triple, two walks, a stolen base, two runs, and two RBIs.

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

Opposition stars:  Reggie Smith was 2-for-4.  Carl Yastrzemski was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifteenth.  Bill Landis retired all seven men he faced, striking out three.

The game:  There were no baserunners until the third, when George Scott drew a leadoff walk and Ray Culp had a one-out bunt single.  A double play ended the threat.  The Twins came through with a five-spot in the bottom of the third.  Cardenas led off with a single and scored on Kaat's one-out double.  Ted Uhlaender singled to bring Kaat home.  Rod Carew singled and Killebrew followed with a two-run triple.  He scored on Rich Reese's single to make it 5-0.

The Red Sox got on the board in the sixth, when Jerry Moses led off with a single and Yastrzemski hit a two-out two-run homer.  The Twins got one of the runs back in the bottom of the sixth when Killebrew singled, stole second, and scored on a Cardenas single, making the score 6-2.

That's where it stayed.  The only other Boston threat came in the eighth, when Dick Schofield led off with a double.  Kaat came back to strike out Dalton Jones and Yastrzemski and got Smith on a grounder.

WP:  Kaat (6-4).  LP:  Culp (9-3).  S:  None.

Notes:  Reese was again in left, with Nettles at third and Killebrew at first.  Billy Martin made a defensive change, putting Frank Quilici at third in place of Nettles, in the seventh.  In the eighth, Cesar Tovar pinch-ran for Killebrew and went to left field, with Reese going to first.  I find it hard to believe that Quilici was a substantially better third baseman than Nettles, but this was early in Nettles' career, so I suppose it could be that he was at that time.

This was Kaat's fifth complete game of the season.  He would end the year with ten.  That was actually a low total for Kaat--he had eight seasons in which he had more than that.  He led the league once, in 1966, when he had nineteen complete games.

Killebrew had twenty-four triples and nineteen stolen bases in his career.  I don't know how many times he had both in the same game, but it was clearly a rare thing.  His career high in triples was seven, in 1961.  His career high in stolen bases was eight, in 1969.

Boston starter Ray Culp lasted just 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on six hits.  He walked none and struck out none.  He was a fine pitcher, though.  He was up and down early in his career, having fine seasons in 1963 and 1965 but poor ones in 1964 and 1966.  He was with Philadelphia then, but moved to the Cubs in 1967 and Boston in 1968.  That was where he had his best seasons, going 64-44, 3.34 from 1968-1971.  He pitched over two hundred innings each season and pitched a total of 493.2 innings in just 1970-1971.  The workload may have taken a toll, because he did not have a good year after 1971 and was out of baseball by 1973.  For his career he was 122-101, 3.58, 1.28 WHIP in 322 games, 268 of them starts.  He made two all-star teams (1963 and 1969) and finished third in Rookie of the Year voting in 1963 (behind Pete Rose and Ron Hunt).  Not a superstar, but a very respectable career.

Record:  The Twins were 30-23, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games behind Oakland.