MINNESOTA 8, ST. LOUIS 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  October 18, 1987.

Batting stars:  Tim Laudner was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk, scoring twice and driving in three.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk, scoring twice.  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out eight in seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk.  Jeff Reardon pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Curt Ford was 2-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Dan Driessen was 1-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Tony Pena was 1-for-4 with two RBIs.

The game:  The Twins once again jumped on the Cardinals with a big fourth inning.  They took a 1-0 lead in the second on a home run by Gaetti.  In the fourth, singles by Kirby Puckett and Kent Hrbek and a walk to Gaetti loaded the bases with one out.  Bush then hit a two-run double to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  An intentional walk to Tom Brunansky loaded the bases.  Steve Lombardozzi hit a short fly ball for the second out, but Laudner had a two-run single and Dan Gladden followed with an RBI single, making it 6-0 and chasing St. Louis starter Danny Cox from the game.  Greg Gagne greeted reliever Lee Tunnell with a run-scoring double to make it 7-0 and the Twins were in control the rest of the way.  The Cardinals got on the board in the fifth on an RBI ground out, but Laudner got the run back for the Twins with a home run in the sixth.  St. Louis got one in the seventh and two in the eighth to make the final score look better, but the Cardinals never even got the tying run to the on-deck circle.

Notes:  Tim Laudner was another unlikely batting hero for the Twins...Doing this series has made me realize how important Randy Bush was to the 1987 team.  Not that he was the team MVP or anywhere near it, but he was a solid contributor as a part-time player...I don't remember if this was the game where Whitey Herzog started whining about Blyleven not coming to a stop in his stretch, but it probably was.  For a great manager (and he truly was--six time in the LCS, three times in the World Series, one world championship), it seems to me that Herzog whined an awful lot...Dan Driessen was the Cardinals first baseman and fourth place batter in this game.  At the end of a fine career, Driessen had gone unsigned until June, when the Cards signed him and sent him to AAA, bringing him to the majors in September.  He batted .233/.309/.317 for them in sixty at-bats.  Losing Jack Clark was obviously a major blow to the St. Louis championship hopes...Ford was the Cardinals primary right fielder, but he only played in 89 games and had 228 at-bats.  They never really did find a right fielder that year, playing David Green, Lance Johnson (at age 23 and in his first season), Tito Landrum, Jim Lindeman, and John Morris at the position.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 2-0.  Now, however, the series would move to Busch Stadium in St. Louis.  Would the Twins be able to win a World Series game on the road?  We shall see.

MINNESOTA 10, ST. LOUIS 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, October 17.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a grand slam, a double, and a stolen base, driving in five.  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk, scoring three times.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-2 with two walks, scoring twice and driving in two.

Pitching stars:  Frank Viola pitched eight innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  Keith Atherton pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jim Lindeman was 2-for-4 with a double and a run.  Willie McGee was 2-for-3.

The game:  The Cardinals got on the board in the second inning, as Lindeman led off with a double, went to third on a fly ball and scored on Tony Pena's ground out.  In the fourth, however, the Twins took control.  Singles by Gary Gaetti, Tom Brunansky, and Don Baylor loaded the bases with none out and Hrbek hit the fourth consecutive single to drive in two and put the Twins ahead.  Lombardozzi walked to again load the bases, which got St. Louis starter Joe Magrane a trip to the showers.  Bob Forsch came in and immediately gave up an RBI single to Tim Laudner and a grand slam to Gladden.  The slam killed the rally, but no one cared as the Twins had a 7-1 lead.  Lombardozzi hit a two-run homer in the fifth to make it 9-1.  The Twins scored their final run in the seventh when Lombardozzi singled and Gladden doubled him home.

Notes:  Gladden and Lombardozzi were probably the least likely Twins to hit home runs, as each hit only eight during the season...Magrane was in his rookie season in 1987 and was just twenty-two years old.  He had done well for the Cardinals, going 9-7, 3.54, 1.27 WHIP in 26 starts (170.1 innings).  There was controversy about going with a pitcher that young in Game 1, but he had the lowest ERA and the lowest WHIP of any of the St. Louis starters.  Danny Cox and John Tudor were unavailable due to their use in the NLCS, so the only other real choices were Greg Mathews and Forsch, who came on in relief in this game...Lindeman played first base and batted fourth for St. Louis.  I have zero memory of him.  He was a part-time player for the Cardinals from 1986-89 and was in the majors for at least parts of seasons through 1994, playing for Detroit, Philadelphia, Houston, and the Mets.  He played corner outfield as well as first base.  1987 was the year he saw his most major league playing time, appearing in 75 games and getting 207 at-bats.  He batted .208/.253/.386 that season.  For his career, he appeared in 351 games, got 676 at-bats, and batted .244/.289/.391.  His best season was 1991, when he batted .337/.413/.389 in 95 at-bats for Philadelphia.  The Cardinals' regular first baseman in 1987 was Jack Clark, who was unavailable in the World Series due to an ankle injury.

Record:  The Twins took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

MINNESOTA 9, DETROIT 5 IN DETROIT

Date:  Monday, October 12.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-6 with two doubles, scoring three times and driving in two.  Tom Brunansky was 3-for-5 with a home run and a double, driving in three.  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch, driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks with three strikeouts.  Dan Schatzeder pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Kirk Gibson was 3-for-5 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base (his third of the series), scoring once and driving in one.  Eric King pitched five innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Matt Nokes was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer.

The game:  The Twins chased the supposedly unbeatable Doyle Alexander from the game in the second inning.  Gary Gaetti opened the inning with a single and Randy Bush walked.  Brunansky doubled them both home but was thrown out trying to stretch it to a triple.  Steve Lombardozzi got the rally going again with a single, took second on a ground out, and scored on a Gladden single.  After Gagne was hit by a pitch, Kirby Puckett delivered an RBI single.  Alexander was gone and the Twins led 4-0.

It stayed 4-0 until the fourth, when the Tigers got back into the game.  Gibson led off with a double and scored on an Alan Trammell single.  Blyleven then left a pitch up to Matt Nokes and the lead was down to 4-3.

Bush came through with a sacrifice fly in the seventh, making it 5-3.  In the eighth, Gladden doubled and, following on a walk to Gagne, scored on a force out-plus-error, putting the Twins up 6-3.  Chet Lemon homered in the eighth to trim the margin to 6-4, but Brunansky homered in the ninth, followed by a Lombardozzi single and RBI doubles by Gladden and Gagne, giving the Twins a comfortable 9-4 lead.  Gibson got an RBI single with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but Trammell lined out and Nokes grounded back to pitcher Jeff Reardon to win the game.  The team that couldn't win on the road took two of three in Tiger Stadium and was headed for the World Series.

Notes:  Bush got his third stolen base of the series in the third inning...Brunansky batted .412/.524/1.000 for the series...Gagne had the second-highest OPS, batting .278/.409/.778...On the other end of the scale, Kent Hrbek batted .150/.261/.300 and Puckett batted .208/.208/.375...Dan Schatzeder pitched 4.1 scoreless innings of relief in the series, giving up just two hits and no walks with five strikeouts...Juan Berenguer gave up just one run on one hit and three walks with six strikeouts in six innings...Tiger starter Alexander pitched just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk with no strikeouts.  He had been 9-0, 1.53, 1.01 WHIP since joining the Tigers, but in this series he was 0-2, 10..00, 1.67 WHIP...I had forgotten what a prolific base stealer Gibson was.  He stole 284 bases in his career, swiping more than twenty in a season five times and more than thirty three times.  He was 26-for-33 in 1987.  For his career, he had more stolen bases than home runs (255).

Record:  The Twins won the best-of seven series 4-1.  As of this date, it had not yet been decided whether they would face San Francisco or St. Louis in the World Series.

MINNESOTA 5, DETROIT 3 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, October 11.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second of the series) and a double, scoring twice.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with a home run and two runs.  Gene Larkin was 1-for-1 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Juan Berenguer pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up no hits and two walks with one strikeout.  Jeff Reardon struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Lou Whitaker was 0-for-3 with three walks and two runs.  Kirk Gibson was 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI.  Dan Petry pitched 3.1 innings of relief, giving up an unearned run on one hit and no walks with one strikeout.

The game:  The Tigers scored in the first on a Gagne throwing error with the bases loaded.  The Twins tied it in the third on Puckett's home run.  Gagne homered with one out in the fourth to put the Twins up 2-1.  Puckett led off the fifth with a single-plus-two-base-error and scored on a Gary Gaetti sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.  Gibson had an RBI single in the fifth to cut the lead to 3-2.  Gagne led off the sixth with a double and scored on Larkin's pinch-hit double to give the Twins a 4-2 advantage.  The Tigers opened the bottom of the sixth with three singles, cutting the margin to 4-3 and putting men on first and second.  A bunt moved the runners to second and third with one out.

Then came one of my all-time favorite plays in Twins history.  With Darrell Evans on third, Dave Bergman on second, Alan Trammell at bat, and one out, catcher Tim Laudner threw to Gaetti to pick Evans off third base for the second out.  I can still see that play in my mind--Laudner whipping the ball to third, Gaetti coming in to make the tag, and the look on Evans' face when he knew he was out.  The inning wasn't over--a wild pitch and a walk put men on first and third--but Berenguer got Jim Morrison to fly to center to end the inning. The Tigers never threatened again.  Steve Lombardozzi singled home an insurance run in the eighth and the Twins had done what many nay-sayers said they could not do--when a playoff game on the road.

Notes:  This was the first time the Twins had won a post-season game on the road...Two of the Twins' RBIs came from reserves.  Larkin pinch-hit for Al Newman, who started at second base.  Lombardozzi pinch-ran for Larkin and stayed in the game to play second...Twins starter Frank Viola pitched only five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts...Detroit starter Frank Tanana went 5.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits and four walks with one strikeout.  He also hit three batters...Gagne had more power than you may remember.  He hit 111 home runs in his career and hit double digit home runs five times, although three of those times he hit exactly ten.

Record:  The Twins took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

DETROIT 7, MINNESOTA 6 IN DETROIT

Date:  Saturday, October 10.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and a walk.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-5 with a home run and two runs.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Dan Schatzeder struck out five in 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.  Juan Berenguer pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Pat Sheridan was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a double, scoring twice.  Larry Herndon was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.  Kirk Gibson was 1-for-5 with two stolen bases, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  It was scoreless until the third.  The Tigers loaded the bases with none out.  A ground out scored one and a balk scored a second.  Alan Trammell then singled home one and, following a walk, Herndon doubled home two to give Detroit a 5-0 lead.  The Twins came back in the fourth:  Gagne led off with a homer and Randy Bush had an RBI single to cut the lead to 5-2.  Brunansky hit a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 5-4.  In the seventh, two singles and a walk loaded the bases and Gaetti delivered a two-run single to put the Twins ahead 6-5.  Juan Berenguer got the Tigers out in the bottom of the seventh and Jeff Reardon came on to pitch the eighth.  Herndon led off with a single.  Tom Brookens popped up a bunt attempt, but Sheridan followed with a two-run homer that put Detroit ahead 7-6.  The Twins had Kirby Puckett, Kent Hrbek, and Gaetti coming up in the ninth, but Mike Henneman set them down in order to end the game.

Notes:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-5, making him 1-for-13 in the series so far...Gaetti was 5-for-12 and Brunansky was 4-for-9...Les Straker started but lasted only 2.2 innings, allowing five runs on three hits and four walks with one strikeout...Jack Morris pinch-ran for Herndon in the eighth inning and so scored the tying run when Sheridan homered...Sheridan had hit six home runs in 1987.  His career high was eleven, which came in 1988.  For his career, he hit 51 home runs.  He hit three postseason home runs, with the other two coming in 1985 for Kansas City...Walt Terrell started for Detroit and pitched six innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and four walks with four strikeouts...Henneman pitched three shutout innings of relief, giving up one hit and three walks with one strikeout...The loss on the road, given the Twins' poor road record in 1987, again fueled the "Twins can't win on the road" theory.  Would that theory prove true?  We'll see tomorrow.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 2-1.

MINNESOTA 6, DETROIT 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, October 8.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-2 with a double and a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a home run.  Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer retired all five men he faced, striking out four of them.

Opposition stars:  Lou Whitaker was 2-for-3 with a home run, a walk, and a stolen base.  Chet Lemon was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.  Jack Morris pitched an eight-inning complete game, allowing six runs on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts.

The game:  Matt Nokes led off the second with a single and Blyleven then left a pitch up to Lemon, who gave the Tigers a 2-0 lead.  The Twins came right back in the bottom of the second.  Gary Gaetti doubled with one out and scored on a two-out double by Brunansky.  Greg Gagne walked and Laudner followed with a two-run double to give the Twins a 3-2 advantage.  It stayed 3-2 until the fourth, when Randy Bush hit a one-out single and stole second and third.  Walks to Brunansky and Gagne followed.  Laudner struck out, but Dan Gladden delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 5-2.  Hrbek hit a one-out homer in the fifth to make it 6-2.  Meanwhile, Blyleven was in control, facing only one batter over the minimum from innings three through seven.  In the eighth, however, he left a pitch up to Whitaker, who hit a home run to cut the lead to 6-3.  Darrell Evans followed with a single, chasing Blyleven from the game and bringing in Berenguer.  He struck out Kirk Gibson and got Alan Trammell to hit into a force out to end the eighth, then struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the victory.

Notes:  Bush had stolen only ten bases during the season (his career high), but stole two in this game, both during the same at-bat.  For his career, he had 33 stolen bases in 62 attempts.  He was 10-for-13 in 1987, however...Jack Morris was a workhorse for the Tigers, but it still seems odd to have him pitch a complete game in which he gave up six runs in the playoffs.  It must be admitted, though, that he pitched very well after the fourth inning...Reardon had pitched two innings the day before.  That, and the fact that Berenguer was pitching well, explains why Berenguer remained in the game in the ninth and got the save...I don't remember for sure, but I suspect it was after this game that Sparky Anderson and some of the Tiger players whined about Berenguer "showing them up" and being "disrespectful" simply because he showed a little emotion on the mound after a strikeout.  Tom Kelly, not wanting a controversy, made some conciliatory statements, but it was really just childish pouting on the part of the Tigers.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 2-0.

MINNESOTA 8, DETROIT 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, October 7.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-3 with two home runs and a walk, scoring three times.  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with two doubles, scoring once and driving in three.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Pitching star:  Jeff Reardon struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Heath was 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs.  Kirk Gibson was 1-for-4 with a home run and a walk, scoring twice.  Chet Lemon was 2-for-3 with an RBI.

The game:  This wasn't supposed to go well for the Twins.  Yes, they were at home, and they'd done well there.  But the Twins had just lost five straight games, and they were facing Doyle Alexander, who had been almost unbeatable since being traded from Detroit.

Gaetti homered in the second to put the Twins ahead 1-0, but Heath homered in the third to tie it 1-1.  Gaetti homered again to lead off the fifth, and this time more was to follow.  Randy Bush tripled and Brunansky doubled to make it 3-1 and, with two out, Gladden singled to put the Twins up 4-1.  Gibson homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 4-2 and the Tigers opened the seventh with three singles, loading the bases with none out.  Frank Viola struck out Tom Brookens but gave up a single to Heath, making it 4-3.  Lou Whitaker hit into a force out and Bill Madlock grounded out, so the Twins remained in front.  In the eighth, however, a walk and a double put men on second and third with none out and sacrifice flies by Dave Bergman and Lemon put the Tigers ahead for the first time at 5-4.  The Twins rallied in the eighth.  Gladden led off the eight with a single.  Greg Gagne popped up a bunt, but Kirby Puckett doubled home the tying run anyway.  That led to Mike Henneman replacing Alexander.  He gave an intentional walk to Kent Hrbek and an accidental walk to Gaetti, loading the bases.  Willie Hernandez came in to pitch and gave up an RBI single to Don Baylor, putting the Twins in front, and a two-run double to Brunansky, giving the Twins an 8-5 lead.  Reardon, who had come in with runners second and third in the eighth and gave up the two sacrifice flies, gave up a leadoff single to Johnny Grubb in the ninth.  He struck out Matt Nokes but walked Whitaker to bring up the tying run with Madlock and Gibson coming to bat.  Reardon struck out both of them to seal the win for the Twins.

Notes:  Bush started the game at DH, with Baylor coming in as a pinch-hitter in the eighth...Gaetti hit a home run in each of his first two LCS at-bats...Viola pitched seven innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk with six strikeouts...Alexander pitched 7.1 innings, allowing six runs on eight hits and no walks with five strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 1-0.

KANSAS CITY 10, MINNESOTA 1 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, October 4.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 2-for-2.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  George Frazier pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Keith Atherton pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Jeff Reardon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mark Gubicza pitched a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Frank White was 2-for-3 with a home run (his seventeenth), scoring twice and driving in two.  Kevin Seitzer was 2-for-5 with a triple, scoring twice and driving in two.

The game:  The Twins basically treated this as a spring training game, using sixteen position players and seven pitchers.  No pitcher went more than 1.2 innings, which was still too much for starter Joe Niekro.  He got the Royals out in order in the first, but in the second he faced seven batters and retired one of them, giving up three hits and three walks.  The score was 3-0 Kansas City and the bases were loaded when he left the game.  Dan Schatzeder came in and gave up a single, a triple, and a single to the first three batters he faced, making the score 8-0, and it was never a game after that.  The Twins' lone run came in the ninth on two singles and a wild pitch.

Notes:  Puckett was used in the leadoff spot in this game, with Dan Gladden batting third...Puckett raised his average to .332, which was good for fourth in the American League.  The league leader was Wade Boggs at .363...Don Baylor was used as a pinch-runner for Puckett in the ninth inning and scored the Twins' only run.  People tend to forget that Baylor was a speedy guy early in his career, stealing 285 bases with a career high of 52 in 1976.  One has to think, however, that it had been a long time since he had been used as a pinch-runner...Jim Eisenreich got his only stolen base of the season in this game, stealing third base in the eight-run second inning...Willie Wilson stole his fifty-ninth base of the season, leaving him one behind league leader Harold Reynolds.

Record:  The Twins ended the season on a five-game losing streak, a cause of much concern at the time.  Their record was 85-77, in first place by two games over Kansas City.  In the East, Detroit defeated Toronto 1-0 behind a complete game shutout by Frank Tanana to clinch the division.  Larry Herndon's second-inning homer was the only run of the game.  That set up the American League Championship Series between Minnesota and Detroit, which would start Wednesday, October 7 in Minnesota.

KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Saturday, October 3.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-2 with a home run (his thirty-second) and a walk.  Billy Beane was 1-for-1 with a double.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-3 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched seven innings, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  George Frazier pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Charlie Liebrandt pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts.  Danny Tartabull was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirty-fourth) and two runs.  Kevin Seitzer was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring once and driving in one.

The game:  Don Baylor's RBI single put the Twins up 1-0 in the first.  Tartabull led off the second with an inside-the-park home run down the right field line, raising the issue of whether an inside-the-park home run is the result of leaving a pitch up.  The Royals added two in the fourth to make it 3-1 and Seitzer had an RBI double in the fifth to go up 4-1.  Brunansky led off the seventh with a home run to cut the lead to 4-2, but the Twins did not get the tying run on base at any point after that.

Notes:  Al Newman was the leadoff batter, with Dan Gladden dropping to the seventh spot...Newman played third base with Gary Gaetti out of the lineup...Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .331.

Record:  The Twins were 85-76, in first place by three games over Kansas City.  In the East, Detroit defeated Toronto 3-2 in twelve innings to take a one-game lead in the division.  I seem to remember watching that game on the Game of the Week, although I don't remember anything specific about it.