NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 1 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Randy Bush was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Roy Smalley was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching star:  Joe Klink pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Charles Hudson pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Gary Ward was 2-for-5 with a stolen base, his second, scoring once and driving in three.  Rickey Henderson was 2-for-5 with three stolen bases ( his fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth), scoring twice.

The game:  Ward had a two-run single and Claudell Washington had an RBI double in the first inning, giving the Yankees a 3-0 lead they held the rest of the way.  The lone Twins run came in the fifth, when Al Newman hit a two-out single and scored from first on a Bush double.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4 and was batting .339.  Mike Smithson pitched only two innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks.  He also hit a batter and committed a balk.

Record:  The Twins were 16-14, in fourth place, but only a half game behind California, Kansas City, and Seattle, who were all tied for first.

Notes:  Newman was at second in this game, with Steve Lombardozzi on the bench...Bush was in right field, with Brunansky in left and Dan Gladden on the bench...Despite the short start from Smithson, the Twins used only two relief pitchers.  Klink went 2.2 innings and George Frazier pitched 3.1 innings.

Player profile:  Charles Hudson had a memorable rookie year, but never quite lived up to the expectations it raised.  He came up with Philadelphia in late May of 1983 as a twenty-four-year-old rookie, was immediately placed in the starting rotation, and went 8-8, 3.35, 1.25 WHIP in 26 starts.  He also got a complete game win in the NLCS, although things did not go as well in the World Series as the Phillies lost to Baltimore.  That would be his best year with the Phils.  He was okay for the next two seasons, had a poor 1986, and was traded to the Yankees after the season in a trade involving Mike Easler.  He was with the Yanks for two seasons.  The first, 1987, was the better of the two, as he went 11-7, 3.61, 1.25 WHIP.  He started that season in the rotation and pitched extremely well through May 15.  He then had four consecutive poor starts and went to the bullpen, where he stayed most of the rest of the season.  His ERA in 1988 was 4.49, but his WHIP was only 1.21, so he perhaps was not as bad as the ERA would show.  In spring training of 1989 he was traded to Detroit for Tom Brookens.  He had bad year for them, broke his leg in a car accident in August, and his playing career was over.  Well, that's not quite true--he got an invitation to spring training with the Cubs in 1995 as a replacement player.  He is one of two players from Ennis, Texas to make the majors (Bob Finley).

MINNESOTA 2, NEW YORK 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 2-for-3 with a triple and a double, driving in two.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-2 with a double and a run.  Mark Davidson was 1-for-3 with a double and a run.

Pitching stars:  Les Straker pitched 5.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and three walks with two strikeouts.  Juan Berenguer struck out three in 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and two walks.  Jeff Reardon pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up a walk and a hit batsman.

Opposition stars:  Dennis Rasmussen pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on six hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Dan Pasqua was 0-for-1 with three walks.  Rickey Henderson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, his thirteenth.

The game:  In the third, Lombardozzi doubled, went to third on a groundout, and scored on Newman's squeeze bunt.  In the fifth, Davidson doubled, was bunted to third, and scored on Newman's triple.  The best scoring chance for the Yankees came in the ninth, Willie Randolph led off with a double, bringing Reardon into the game.  A one-out walk to Pasqua and a two-out hit batsman (Gary Ward) loaded the bases.  Mike Pagliarulo then popped up to end the game.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.

Record:  The Twins were 16-13, in third place, a half game behind California and Kansas City.

Notes:  Puckett raised his average to .351...Straker lowered his ERA to 1.45...Newman played shorstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Davidson was once again in right, with Tom Brunansky at DH and Roy Smalley out of the lineup...I seem to remember Dan Pasqua as a better player than he was, although he was decent at his peak.  He came up to the Yankees in 1985 and was never more than a part-time player there, playing mostly as a corner outfielder.  He was traded to the White Sox after the 1987 season and that's where he had his best years.  He posted an OPS of .842 in 1990 and .823 in 1991, hitting a total of thirty-one homers in those two seasons.  He fell off sharply after the 1991 season, never topping .220 in batting average or reaching double-digit homers again.  A left-handed batter, he could not hit left-handed pitching even in his best years.  In fact, it appears that one reason they were his best years is that the White Sox stopped playing him against portsiders.  His career ended after the 1994 season.  b-r.com notes that in his first season in the minors, 1982, he was a teammate of John Elway and in his last, 1994, he was a teammate of Michael Jordan.  It appears he stayed in the Chicago area after his playing days ended.

NEW YORK 11, MINNESOTA 7 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, May 8.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 2-for-3 with a home run (his fourth) and a walk, driving in three.  Mark Davidson was 2-for-2 with a home run.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Keith Atherton pitched 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Mike Pagliarulo was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his second and third) and a walk, driving in five.  Gary Ward was 3-for-5 with two home runs (his second and third) driving in four.  Rickey Henderson was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventh), a double, and a walk.

The game:  Four singles, accompanied by a couple of stolen bases, produced three first-inning runs for the Twins.  The lead was down to 4-3 after two, but Brunansky hit a two-run homer in the third to make it 6-3.  The Yankees cut the lead to 7-5 after seven.  New York loaded the bases with two out in the eighth, but Jeff Reardon came in to strike out Rick Cerone.  In the ninth, however, a leadoff walk to Wayne Tolleson was followed by Henderson's two-run homer to tie the game.  Willie Randolph then walked and went to third on a stolen base-plus-error.  With one out, Dan Pasqua walked and Dave Winfield was intentionally walked to fill the bases.  Gary Ward struck out, but Pagliarulo hit a walkoff grand slam.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his fifth, making his average .345.  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-4 with a run.  Tim Laudner was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .040.  That was as low as it would get, but it would not get into triple digits for a couple of weeks.  Starter Mark Portugal pitched six innings, allowing five runs on seven hits and two walks with two strikeouts.  By allowing six runs in one inning, Reardon's ERA rose to 9.24.  Tommy John started for the Yankees and lasted only 1.2 innings, surrendering four runs on six hits and no walks with one strikeout.

Record:  The Twins were 15-13, in third place, a half game behind California and Kansas City.

Notes:  Al Newman was at shortstop in place of Greg Gagne.  He led off and went 0-for-5, dropping his OBP to .301.  Gladden was in the number two spot...Davidson was in right field, with Brunansky in right and Roy Smalley on the bench...The winning pitcher for the Yankees was Cecilio Guante, who struck out five in two shutout innings of relief.  He had a pretty successful career as a set-up man and occasional fill-in closer.  He made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in 1982 and came up to stay in late May of 1983.  He was with the Pirates through 1986 and did very well, posting a 3.06 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and getting 20 saves.  He was traded to the Yankees after the 1986 season in a multi-player deal that also included Doug Drabek and Rick Rhoden.  Despite how well he pitched in this game he had a poor year which ended in early July due to injury--one wonders if he wasn't dealing with an injury much of the season.  He came back to pitch well in 1988 but was traded to Texas at the end of August.  He did not do as well in 1989, signed with Cleveland for 1990, pitched poorly, and was released in late August.  Boston signed him but he did not play for them, and he was again released in April, ending his playing career.  It was a pretty good one, though:  363 games, 595 innings, a 3.48 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 35 saves.

MINNESOTA 5, BALTIMORE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 7.

Batting stars:  Dan Gladden was 2-for-2 with a double and two walks, scoring twice and driving in one.  Gary Gaetti was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Al Newman was 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base, scoring twice.

Pitching stars:  Frank Viola pitched 7.1 innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with six strikeouts.  Jeff Reardon struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Cal Ripken was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk, scoring twice.  Alan Wiggins was 3-for-5.  Eddie Murray was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  Gladden had an RBI double and later scored to give the Twins a 2-0 lead in the first inning.  It was 2-1 after six, but the Twins took control in the seventh on a double and three singles.  Kirby Puckett singled in one run and Gaetti singled home two.  The Orioles cut the lead to 5-2 in the eighth.  In the ninth, a bloop single and an infield hit brought the tying run to bat with two down, but Reardon struck out Fred Lynn to end the game.

Of note:  Puckett was 0-for-4 to make his average .333...Tim Laudner was 0-for-3 and was now hitting .048.

Record:  The Twins were 15-12 and in second place, a half game behind California.

Note:  Al Newman played shortstop, replacing Greg Gagne...Gladden played center, with Puckett at DH.  Mark Davidson was in left and Roy Smalley was out of the lineup...In the 1965 series, we were profiling players you may only have read about.  In this series, at least for those of a certain age, it's more along the lines of players you may remember but haven't thought about in a long time.  Alan Wiggins is probably one of those.  He made his debut in 1981 with San Diego as a September call-up.  He was with the Padres for about four months in 1982 and became a regular in 1983.  He was an outfielder that season but moved to second base in 1984.  He had a decent OBP but almost no power.  His calling card was stolen bases, as he stole 66 in 1983 and 70 in 1984.  The seventy stolen bases, along with the fact that San Diego reached the World Series, are presumably why he got a few MVP votes in 1984, because his OPS was .671.  He got suspended in late April of 1985 due to cocaine usage, and when he came back in late July he was a member of the Baltimore Orioles, traded for Roy Lee Jackson and a player to be named later (Rich Caldwell).  He was the Orioles second baseman the rest of 1985.  He was the Orioles regular second baseman in 1986 to the extent they had one, but made only 66 starts there.  One assumes Baltimore knew he wasn't really good enough (OPS of .581 that season), but had no one better.  His playing time declined still further in 1987, as he started only 33 games at second.  Oddly, he started 36 games at DH, despite having an OPS of .566.  Rick Burleson and later Billy Ripken took over at second base, and Wiggins was released late in the season, ending his career.  Sadly, it was not too much later that Wiggins contracted AIDS.  He passed away due to complications from the disease in 1991.

BALTIMORE 6, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 6.

Batting star:  Tom Nieto was 2-for-3.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Scott McGregor pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and three walks with one strikeout.  Cal Ripken was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his ninth.  Ray Knight was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  An RBI groundout put the Orioles up 1-0 in the second, in the third, the first three Baltimore batters singled, making it 2-0, and Ripken followed with a three-run homer to make it 5-0.  Twins starter Bert Blyleven settled down after that, and the Orioles did not score again until the ninth.  Unfortunately, the Twins could do nothing against McGregor.  The only man to advance past first base was Steve Lombardozzi, who led off the fourth with a single, was bunted to second, and advanced to third on a ground out.  Tom Brunansky lined to first to end the inning.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .337...Blyleven recovered from the poor start to pitch 8.1 innings, allowing six runs on seven hits and a walk.  He only struck out one, but he pitched well other than the pitch he left up to Ripken.

Record:  The Twins were 14-12, tied for second with Kansas City, a game behind California.

Notes:  Tim Laudner was the designated hitter in this game.  He came in batting .067.  He went 0-for-3, dropping his average to .056...Scott McGregor is another fine pitcher that people seem to have forgotten about.  He spent his entire major league career with the Orioles, coming to the organization in a mammoth trade in 1976 in which McGregor, Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, Rudy May went to Baltimore and Doyle Alexander, Jimmy Freeman, Elrod Hendricks, Ken Holtzman, and Grant Jackson went to the Yankees.  He made his Orioles debut as a September callup in 1976 and came up to stay early in 1977.  He joined the rotation in 1978 and stayed there through 1987.  He posted double digit wins from 1978-86 and ERAs in the threes seven times in that period.  His best years were 1980 (20-8, 3.32, 1.24 WHIP) and 1983 (18-7, 3.17, 1.22 WHIP).  By 1987, though, he was on his last legs.  This and a game against Cleveland in April were his only good starts, and by June he was out of the rotation.  He would appear in four games in 1988, then his career was over.  He was not a superstar--he only made one all-star team (1981) and only twice received Cy Young consideration--but he was a rotation starter for Baltimore for nine years.  His final record was 138-108, 3.99, 1.29 WHIP.

BALTIMORE 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 5.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his eighth.  Steve Lombardozzi was 1-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Tom Nieto was 1-for-3 with a run.

Pitching star:  Juan Berenguer pitched 3.2 innings of relief, giving up one run on three hits and a walk with four strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Eric Bell pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on two hits and a walk with seven strikeouts.

The game:  Jim Dwyer hit a two-run homer in the third and Eddie Murray homered in a two-run sixth to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead.  They added what appeared to be a meaningless run in the ninth on a John Shelby single to go up 5-0.  In the bottom of the ninth, however, an error, a single, and a ground out put men on second and third with one down.  Lombardozzi singled in a run and Puckett hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 5-4.  A pair of singles, a ground out, and an intentional walk to Randy Bush loaded the bases.  The small crowd (8891) was probably in an uproar, but pinch-hitter Roy Smalley popped up to third to end the game.

Of note:  Puckett's average fell to .351...Mike Smithson started and pitched five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 14-11 and were tied for first place with California, although they were ahead on percentage points.

Notes:  Mark Davidson started in left field, with Dan Gladden at DH and Smalley on the bench.  Davidson was near the beginning of a two-week stretch in which he was pretty much a regular, starting in either left or right.  At the start of the stretch, he was batting .263, but with no extra bases hits, for a line of .263/.263/.263.  At the end of it, on May 15, he was batting .250/.265/.333...This would be the only season in which Eric Bell was a member of a major league starting rotation.  He had made four starts in 1986 and would make only one more start after this season, with Cleveland in 1992.  He had a few excellent games in addition to this one, getting complete game wins against Kansas City in July and California in August and going 8.2 innings in another win against Kansas City in July.  For the most part, though, he was not very good:  10-13, 5.45, 1.53 WHIP.  He would spend 1988-1990 in the minors before going to Cleveland.  He got a September call-up in 1991 and pitched very well in relief.  He started 1992 with the Indians, but did poorly and was sent down in early May.  He started 1993 with Houston, but again was sent down in early May.  He pitched in AAA through 1996, then was done.

MINNESOTA 4, NEW YORK 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 3.

Batting stars:  Gary Gaetti was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Dan Gladden was 1-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Keith Atherton pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk with one strikeout.  George Frazier pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Jeff Reardon pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Rickey Henderson was 3-for-4 with a walk and four stolen bases, his ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth.  Willie Randolph was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Joel Skinner was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

The game:  I guess solo home runs can hurt you if you give up too many of them.  The Twins scored four runs, all on solo homers, and it was enough to win.  The Yankees scored all three of their runs in the fourth to go up 3-0.  Gaetti homered in the bottom of the fourth to make it 3-1, Gladden homered in the sixth to make it 3-2, Tom Brunansky homered in the sixth to tie it up, and Puckett homered in the eighth to put the Twins ahead.  Henderson led off the ninth with a single, but instead of having him try for his fifth stolen base the Yankees had Don Mattingly swinging, and he hit into a double play.  Dave Winfield popped to the catcher to end the game.

Of note:  Puckett was now hitting .355...Brunansky was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third...Mark Portugal started and went 4.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts...Dennis Rasmussen started for the Yankees and went 5.2 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 14-10. in first place by a game over California.

Notes:  Mark Davidson was again the right fielder, with Brunansky as DH and Roy Smalley on the bench...Tim Laudner pretty much became the regular catcher at this point.  He was 0-for-3 and was 1-for-15 for the season (.067).  He would go lower than that and would not get his average into triple digits until May 21.  He would only have seven days all season where his average was above the Mendoza line.  He would end at .191, which led to the forming of the famous "Buck Ninety Fan Club"...Joel Skinner is one of those guys who put in a decent career as a backup catcher.  He played for nine seasons (if you count six games in 1983).  He played behind some pretty good catchers:  Carlton Fisk with the White Sox, Rick Cerone with the Yankees, and Sandy Alomar with Cleveland.  He also played behind guys like Don Slaught and Andy Allenson, but such is life when you're a career backup.  He hit .228/.269/.311, but still was around for quite a while.  As they say, it's nice work if you can get it.

NEW YORK 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 2.

Batting stars:  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his third.  Al Newman was 2-for-4 with a run.  Tom Nieto was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Willie Randolph was 3-for-4 with a home run and a walk, driving in three.  Ron Kittle was 2-for-5 with a home run (his second) and a double.  Dave Winfield was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and two RBIs.

The game:  A solo homer by Kittle and a two-run shot by Randolph put the Yankees up 3-1 in the fourth.  Mark Davidson's RBI single in the bottom of the fourth cut the lead to 3-2, but Winfield homered leading off the fifth and drove in a run with an RBI in the sixth to make it 5-2.  Hrbek's two-run homer in the eighth cut it to 5-4, but Randolph struck again with an RBI single in the ninth to make it 6-4.  Dave Righetti struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth.

Of note:  Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 with a run to make his average .348...Frank Viola lasted only 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and a walk with two strikeouts...Juan Berenguer pitched four innings of relief, giving up two runs on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts...The Yankees' starter was Tommy John, who pitched 6.2 innings and gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk with two strikeouts...Righetti came in with two outs in the seventh and pitched the rest of the way to get the save.

Record:  The Twins were 13-10, in first place, a game ahead of California.

Notes:  Mark Davidson started in right field, with Tom Brunansky as the DH and Roy Smalley on the bench...Newman started at shortstop...This was tied for Berenguer's longest relief appearance of the season.  He would also pitch four innings in an extra-inning game on September 4...Righetti made sixty appearances in 1987.  Twenty of them were for two innings or more...For me, Willie Randolph is one of those guys I never think of, but when I do it's kind, "Oh, yeah, he was pretty good."  I'll say he was.  He made the all-star team six times, got MVP votes twice, and won a Silver Slugger award.  He only once led the league in anything (walks, in 1980), but he was a consistently good performer, almost always hitting .270 or better, drawing a lot of walks, hitting a good number of doubles, and playing solid defense.  I'd forgotten that he played with some other teams besides the Yankees.  He started his career with Pittsburgh as a rookie in 1975, then was traded with Ken Brett and Dock Ellis for Doc Medich.  You might say that trade worked out pretty well for New York.  He was a Yankee through 1988, but after a down year was allowed to become a free agent and signed with the Dodgers.  He played well for them, but was traded to Oakland in mid-May of 1990 for Stan Javier.  He went to Milwaukee in 1991 and hit .327, but that was his last hurrah.  He signed with the Mets in 1992 and was not awful, but was not very good either, and his playing career was over.  I'd also forgotten that he managed the Mets from 2005-2008, taking them to the playoffs in 2006.  Tom Nieto was one of his coaches.  b-r.com says his nickname was "Mickey", although I don't remember him ever being referred to by that name.  He received a plaque in the Yankees' monument park in 2015.

MINNESOTA 7, NEW YORK 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, May 1.

Batting stars:  Steve Lombardozzi was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his second and third) and a walk, scoring three times.  Gary Gaetti was 1-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Randy Bush was 1-for-2 with a run and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out ten in eight innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks.  Jeff Reardon pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Don Mattingly was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk.  Dan Pasqua was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his second.  Joel Skinner was 2-for-3 with a run.

The game:  The Twins broke open a 1-1 game with five in the fourth.  Gaetti opened the inning with a home run.  Two singles and a walk filled the bases, and Bush brought home three with a single-plus-error.  Kirby Puckett then singled to bring Bush home.  It was 7-2 after eight.  Blyleven was allowed to start the ninth, but after walking Dave Winfield and leaving a pitch up to Pasqua he was replaced by Reardon, who got the save.

Of note:  Puckett was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI, making his average .353...Mark Salas was 1-for-4 with a run and was batting .333...Tom Brunansky was 2-for-2 with a stolen base...Yankee starter Rick Rhoden lasted only 3.2 innings, allowing six runs (five earned) on seven hits and three walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins were 13-9, leading California and Seattle by two games.

Notes:  Lombardozzi was the leadoff batter...Bush was again right with Brunansky in left and Gladden on the bench...Salas replaced Tom Nieto behind the dish...The Yankees used three players with Twins connections:  DH Dave Winfield (0-for-3 with a walk and a run--wasn't he supposed to be Mr. May?), Mike Pagliarulo (0-for-4) and Gary Ward (walked as a pinch-hitter)...In another "times change" note, it's hard to think that Blyleven would've started the ninth today, especially after having given up a run in the eighth.  It's even harder to think he'd have been left in to face Pasqua after walking the first batter of the inning...Four Hall-of-famers played in this game:  Blyleven, Rickey Henderson, Puckett, and Winfield.

TORONTO 8, MINNESOTA 1 IN TORONTO

Date:  Wednesday, April 29.

Batting stars:  Tom Brunansky was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run.  Greg Gagne was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Juan Berenguer pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Joe Johnson pitched 7.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and three walks with no strikeouts.  Ernie Whitt was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer and two walks, scoring twice.  Lloyd Moseby was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second) and two RBIs.

The game:  It was only 2-0 through six, but the Blue Jays started the seventh with an error, an RBI double by Willie Upshaw, and Whitt's two-run homer to go ahead 5-0.  The Twins got their lone run in the eighth on a Greg Gagne double, but Toronto scored three more in the eighth to put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Puckett raised his average to .354...Mike Smithson started and pitched six innings.  As you can see above, he did better than his line would indicate, but the totals are five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks.

Record:  The Twins were 12-9 but remained a half game ahead of California.

Notes:  Randy Bush was again in right, with Brunansky in left and Gladden on the bench...Bush batted in the second spot, with Steve Lombardozzi leading off...You can be forgiven in you don't remember Joe Johnson.  He was a big leaguer for three seasons, 1985-87.  He was drafted by Atlanta in the second round in 1982.  He did well in AA, but did not accomplish much in AAA until 1985, when he made nine starts and produced excellent numbers.  He was promoted to Atlanta in late July, and while he didn't set the league on fire he did not do badly for a twenty-three-year-old rookie.  In 1986 he had two consecutive outings of eight shutout innings in mid-May, but other than that he didn't do much and was traded to Toronto around the fourth of July.  He did well in the second half for the Blue Jays and did okay in April but poorly after that.  He would have only one more good start after this, against Seattle on the first of June.  By the end of June he was in AAA and never made it back to the majors.  Wikipedia says it was thought at the time that he would be down for a brief time to work on his mechanics, but that's obviously not how it turned out.  He continued pitching in AAA through 1990, then retired.