TORONTO 7, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 18.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBIs.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-4 with a home run, his nineteenth.

Pitching star:  George Frazier pitched three shutout innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Rance Mulliniks was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his eleventh) and a double, scoring twice.  Ernie Whitt was 2-for-4 with a home run (his seventh) and three RBIs.  Dave Stieb pitched seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

The game:  The Twins scored three in the third to take a 3-1 lead, but it was downhill from there.  Whitt hit a two-run homer in the fourth to tie it and Mulliniks hit a three-run homer in the fifth to make it 6-3 Toronto.  Lloyd Moseby's RBI double in the seventh made it 7-3.  The Twins got single runs in the eighth and ninth off Tom Henke but never got the tying run up to bat.

Of note:  Puckett raised his average to .332...Roy Smalley went 0-for-4 and dropped his average to .299.  He would not get back over .300 the rest of the season...Al Newman played second base in place of Steve Lombardozzi, again batting second...Joe Niekro pitched six innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 50-42, in first place by a game over Oakland.

Player profile:  Rance Mulliniks is another player who had a pretty solid career.  He was drafted by California in the third round in 1974.  He was the Angels' regular shortstop for the second half of 1977 and actually did fairly well, especially for a twenty-one-year-old:  .269/.329/.365.  He had a poor April in 1978, was taken out of the lineup and eventually shipped back to the minors.  He hit very well in AAA, but didn't do much with the very limited playing time he got with the Angels in 1978 or 1979.  The Angels were playing Dave Chalk and an elderly Bert Campaneris at short, so one would think they'd have given Mulliniks more of a chance, but instead they traded him with Willie Aikens and Craig Eaton to Kansas City for Al Cowens and Todd Cruz.  The Royals kept him on the roster all of 1980 and 1981 but rarely played him, although it's more understandable in their case because they had some pretty good infields back then.  They then traded him to Toronto for Phil Huffman, which was the break Mulliniks needed.  Now twenty-six, he became the Blue Jays' regular first baseman in 1982 and took a substantial step forward in 1983, batting .275/.373/.467.  From 1983-88 he had an OPS of over .800 every year but 1986, when it was .757.  He batted .300 or better in three of those six seasons and had double-digit home runs in five of them.  He fell off in 1989, was a part-time player in 1990 and 1991, and got two at-bats in 1992 before ending his major league career.  He never led the league in anything, never made an all-start team, and never won any awards, but he was a solid contributor to a major league team for several seasons.

TORONTO 5,  MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 16.

Batting stars:  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-3 with a triple, a double, and a walk, driving in two.  Kent Hrbek was 2-for-4.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Fred McGriff was 1-for-2 with a home run (his ninth) and two walks, scoring twice.  Jesse Barfield was 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI.  George Bell was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, driving in one.

The game:  Lombardozzi's RBI triple tied it 1-1 in the third, but Bert Blyleven left a pitch up to Fred McGriff in the fourth, putting the Blue Jays up 2-1.  Two walks and two singles made it 4-1 in the fifth.  Lombardozzi doubled home a run in the bottom of the fifth, but the Twins left men on second and third and did not get another hit until the ninth.  Toronto scored in the eighth to make it 5-2.  The Twins opened the ninth with two singles and a two-out walk loaded the bases, but pinch-hitter Randy Bush struck out against Tom Henke to end the game.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 to drop his average to .333...Roy Smalley was 0-for-1 as a pinch-hitter and his average fell to .308...Blyleven pitched 7.2 innings, allowing five runs on ten hits and six walks with five strikeouts...Toronto starter Jimmy Key pitched six innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 49-41, in first place, one game ahead of Oakland.

Notes:  This was the Twins' first game after the all-star break...Puckett had been the Twins' only representative at the all-star game and went 0-for-4 as the National League won 2-0 in thirteen innings...Mark Davidson played center field, with Puckett at DH.

BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 0 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Sunday, July 12.

Batting stars:  Greg Gagne was 1-for-2.  Al Newman was 1-for-3.  Those were the only two hits the Twins had.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton struck out two in two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Dave Schmidt pitched a complete game shutout, giving up two hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.  Mike Young was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth), driving in four.  Eddie Murray was 1-for-3 with a home run (his twentieth) and a walk, scoring twice.

The game:  Young hit a two-run homer in the second, Murray homered leading off the fourth, and Young hit another two-run homer later in the fourth.  The Twins did not have a baserunner until the sixth, when Gagne got a two-out single.  Newman singled leading off the seventh, but was erased on a double play, so the Twins batted only one over the minimum.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-3, dropping his average to .337...Roy Smalley was 0-for-3, dropping his average to .310...Joe Niekro pitched six innings, giving up five runs on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 49-40, in first place, two games ahead of Kansas City and Oakland.

Notes:  This was the Twins' last game before the all-star break...Newman played second and batted second, replacing Steve Lombardozzi.  I know Lombardozzi was a weak bat, but he was no worse than Newman, and given that Lombardozzi was an excellent defensive player (at least in my recollection) it's hard to understand why Newman played so much.

Player profile:  This is one of three career shutouts for Dave Schmidt, which isn't bad considering that he spent most of his career in the bullpen.  He had 63 career starts and only started more than 14 games once, in 1989, while making 313 appearances in relief.  He was drafted by Texas in the 26th round in 1979 and made his major league debut in 1981.  He was with the Rangers through 1985 and pitched very well for them, going 20-22, 3.14, 1.26 WHIP with 26 saves in 343.2 innings.  After the 1985 season, he was traded to the White Sox with Wayne Tolleson for Ed Correa, Scott Fletcher, and a player to be named later (Jose Mota).  After a year there, he signed as a free agent with Baltimore.  He started the year in the bullpen, went into the rotation in early June, and stayed there until late August, when his season ended due to injury.  He started 1988 in the bullpen, but again was put into the rotation, this time in August.  He pitched well in both roles, so one assumes teams generally found him to be more valuable in the bullpen.  In 1989, however, he started the year in the rotation and had a bad year, going 8-11, 5.34 before being sent back to the pen in late July.  A free agent after the season, he signed with Montreal and went back to relief, but was not the same pitcher he'd been.  He pitched for two more years, mostly in AAA, then was done.  A Google search reveals very little about his career other than his stats--one could speculate that his arm could not hold up to the rigors of starting regularly, but it would only be speculation.  He has stayed in baseball, in the Orioles organization, and at last report was the Florida and Latin America pitching coordinator for Baltimore.

MINNESOTA 2, BALTIMORE 1 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Saturday, July 11.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk.  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixteenth.  Al Newman was 1-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola pitched a complete game, giving up one run on eight hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Mike Griffin pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts.

The game:  It was a sharp contrast to yesterday's game.  Ron Washington singled in a run in the third to put Baltimore up 1-0.  Bush got the run back in the fourth, leading off the inning with a solo homer.  Gaetti put the Twins ahead in the sixth with another solo homer.  Ray Knight singled leading off the bottom of the ninth and got as far as third base with two out, but pinch-hitter Mike Young grounded out to end the game.

Of note:  Roy Smalley was 0-for-3 with a walk, dropping his average to .314...Viola's ERA fell to 2.96...This was Ron Washington's second game with the Orioles.  He was 4-for-9 in the two games.

Record:  The Twins were 49-39, in first place by two games over Kansas City and Oakland.

Notes:  It was somewhat of a B lineup.  Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne and led off.  Bush was in right field and batted second.  Brunansky shifted to left, with Dan Gladden out of the lineup, although Gladden came into the game for defense in the seventh.  Mark Davidson started in center field in place of Kirby Puckett.

Player profile:  This was the only complete game of Mike Griffin's career, a career that was most notable for the trades that he was involved in.  He was drafted by Texas in the third round in 1976 but was traded to the Yankees before reaching the majors in a deal that sent Greg Jemison, Juan Beniquez, Paul Mirabella, and Dave Righetti to New York for Mike Heath, Sparky Lyle, Larry McCall, Dave Rajsich, Domingo Ramos, and cash (sadly, you don't seem to see big multi-player deals like that any more).  He got a September call-up with New York in 1979, was with them for about half of 1980, and made two appearances for them in 1981 before being traded to the Cubs as a player to be named later in a deal that also sent Doug Bird and $400,000 to the Cubs for Rick Reuschel.  He was with the Cubs that season, then was sent to Montreal as the player to be named later in exchange for Dan Briggs.  Before the year was up, he was once again a player to be named later, sent to San Diego for Jerry Manuel.  That was the last time he was traded, but he bounced around the minors for quite a while after that.  He made it back to the majors twice:  with Baltimore for half of the 1987 season and with Cincinnati for three appearances in 1989.  Through it all, he appears to have been a thoroughly mediocre major league pitcher--not the worst pitcher in the league, but not someone you'd consider good, either.  Over 203.2 major league innings, he was 7-15, 4.60, 1.51 WHIP.  He looks like pretty much a replacement level player, which is perhaps why he was a player to be named later so often--after all, a replacement level player is not without value, and sometimes having or not having one can make the difference between making the playoffs and not making them.  He has stayed in baseball as a minor league pitching coach, and has been the pitching coach of the Norfolk Tides since 2009.

MINNESOTA 3, BALTIMORE 1 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Thursday, July 9.

Batting stars:  Tim Laudner was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his twelfth.  Mark Davidson was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Les Straker pitched 7.1 innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks with one strikeout.  Jeff Reardon struck out four in 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Eric Bell pitched 7.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts.  Mark Williamson struck out three in 1.1 perfect innings.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fifth, when Laudner hit a three-run homer.  Straker allowed only one hit through six innings, but gave up three singles in the seventh that led to a run.  He allowed a single and a double in the eighth, bringing Reardon on with one out.  He struck out Cal Ripken and Eddie Murray to end the threat.  Larry Sheets got a leadoff single in the ninth but did not advance past first base.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-3 with a walk and was batting .340.

Record:  The Twins were 48-38, in first place by two games over Kansas City.

Notes:  Davidson was in right field and batted second, with Tom Brunansky at DH and Roy Smalley out of the lineup.

Player profile:  This was the only year Eric Bell would be a rotation starter.  A ninth round draft choice by the Orioles in 1982, he reached Baltimore as a September call-up in 1985 after a good year in Class A.  He got another September call-up in 1986 and was with the Orioles all of 1987 at age twenty-three despite having made only 11 starts in AAA.  He wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't a good year, either:  10-13, 5.45, 1.53 WHIP.  He was apparently injured much of the next two seasons, making only seven minor league starts in 1988 and fourteen in 1989.  He played a full season in AAA in 1990, and while he may have been healthy he was not particularly effective.  The Orioles let him become a free agent after the season and he signed with Cleveland.  He was a starter in the minors, but whenever he got a chance in the majors it was in the bullpen.  He got ten appearances with the Indians in 1991, seven more in 1992, and got ten appearances with Houston in 1993.  That was his major league swan song, although he continued to pitch in AAA through 1996.  His major league numbers are 15-18, 5.18, 1.49 WHIP in 234.2 innings (68 games, 34 starts.  165 of those innings came in 1987.

NEW YORK 13, MINNESOTA 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Wednesday, July 8.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-4 with a home run, a double, and a walk, scoring three times.  Al Newman was 2-for-5 with a stolen base (his sixth) and a run.  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Dan Schatzeder and Jeff Reardon each pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Don Mattingly was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his ninth and tenth) and a walk, scoring three times and driving in four.  Rickey Henderson was 4-for-6 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Mike Pagliarulo was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifteenth) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.

The game:  Mattingly hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead.  The Twins came back, and when Roy Smalley delivered a two-run single in the fifth they led 4-3.  It didn't last long.  Claudell Washington's RBI double in the bottom of the fifth tied it 4-4 and Mark Salas made the Twins pay by hitting a three-run homer later in the inning put the Yankees ahead to stay.  They added six more runs in the sixth to put an exclamation point on the win.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a walk and was batting .343...Roy Smalley was 1-for-5 with two RBIs and was batting .317...Sal Butera was 1-for-4 to raise his average to .200...Mike Smithson pitched four innings and gave up five runs on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts...New York starter Rick Rhoden pitched five innings, giving up four runs on six hits and five walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 47-38 and remained in first place by one game over Kansas City.

Notes:  Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne and batted second.

NEW YORK 12, MINNESOTA 7 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, July 7.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 3-for-5 with a stolen base (his fourteenth), scoring twice and driving in one.  Tim Laudner was 1-for-3 with a home run (his eleventh) and a walk, scoring twice.  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-3 with two runs.

Pitching star:  Joe Niekro pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Claudell Washington was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth), scoring twice and driving in four.  Rickey Henderson was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his eleventh) and two walks, scoring twice.  Don Mattingly was 3-for-5 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.

The game:  It looked good for quite a while.  The Twins got two in the first to go ahead 2-0.  Laudner homered and Mark Davidson had an RBI single in the fifth to make it 4-0.  The Twins added three in the seventh to make it 7-0.  Then the roof fell in, or at least that would be appropriate if they'd been playing in the Metrodome.  Mike Pagliarulo hit a solo homer with one out in the seventh to get the Yankees on the board.  Niekro gave way to Dan Schatzeder.  Rick Cerone reached on an error, Wayne Tolleson fanned, and Henderson hit a two-run homer to make it 7-3.  A walk was followed by three consecutive singles, making it 7-5 and bringing in Keith Atherton.  Another single tied it 7-7.  In the eighth the Yankees started with a walk, a bunt, and another walk.  Juan Berenguer came in and uncorked two wild pitches (wild pitches are always uncorked), a walk, a single, and (following a popup) a three-run homer to Washington, putting the Yankees up 12-7.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with two RBIs, making his average .345...New York starter Tommy John pitched 6.1 innings, giving up

Record:  The Twins were 47-37, in first place by a game over Kansas City.

Notes:  Davidson started in center field and batted second.  Puckett was the DH, with Roy Smalley out of the lineup...By game scores, this was tied for Niekro's best start as a Twin.  In both cases, the Twins lost the game.

MINNESOTA 2, NEW YORK 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Monday, July 6.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-4 with a home run (his seventeenth) and a stolen base (his eighth).  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-3 with a home run, his twenty-third.

Pitching star:  Frank Viola pitched a complete game shutout, giving up five hits and four walks with seven strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ron Guidry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Rickey Henderson was 2-for-3 with a walk and was caught stealing.  Claudell Washington was 2-for-4 and was also caught stealing.

The game:  I guess solo home runs can hurt you if your team doesn't score.  Brunansky homered with two out in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the third the Yankees got a single and two walks, all with two out, to load the bases, but Dave Winfield flied out to end the threat.  Washington hit a one-out double in the fourth but was caught trying to steal third.  Hrbek hit a two-out home run in the sixth to make it 2-0 Twins.  The Yankees did not get man past first base after Washington's fourth-inning double.  Other than the two home runs, the only Twins hit was a single by Brunansky with two out in the ninth.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett again batted second and was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .346.

Record:  The Twins won their fourth in a row to make their record 47-36.  They took a one game lead over Kansas City, which lost to Cleveland 9-7.

Notes:  Ron Guidry was in his next-to-last season, but was still an effective pitcher when healthy.  His record dropped to 1-4, but his ERA was 2.80.  He was injured part of the season and finished 5-8, but with a 2.67 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP.

Player profile:  The Yankees' third baseman in this game was Jeff Moronko.  This was one of only seven games he played this season and one of fourteen for his career.  He was a sixth round draft choice by Cleveland in 1980.  His best minor league season was 1984 in AA, when he hit .314/.395/.479 for Buffalo.  He got a September call-up that year and went 3-for-19 with a double and three walks.  He was twenty-four then, and had repeated AA, but still, a year like that seems like it would give people reason to hope there was something there.  Apparently people didn't, though, because he was traded in late April as the player to be named later in a deal that netted Cleveland Kevin Buckley (five career major league games).  Moronko split the season between AA and AAA, and while he wasn't awful he wasn't particularly good, either.  He had a solid season at AAA Oklahoma City in 1986, though:  .280/.351/.409.  He was twenty-six by now, and not really a hot prospect, but still, reason to think he might be able to do something.  Texas allowed him to become a free agent and he signed with the Yankees.  If he thought this was going to be his big break, though, he was disappointed.  He hit only .201 at Columbus.  He did spend about three weeks in July with New York, going 1-for-11.  For his major league career he was 4-for-30 with a double and three walks.  He scored one run and drove in three.  A native Texan, he appears to be living in Sugar Land, Texas.  I guess it's not much of a career, but he played in fourteen more big league games and got four more big league hits than I ever will,