MINNESOTA 8, BOSTON 6 IN BOSTON

Date:  Wednesday, July 21 (Game 1 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 5-for-6 with a double, scoring twice and driving in one.  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4 with a walk, scoring three times and driving in two.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a double and two walks, driving in one.

Pitching star:  Johnny Klippstein pitched 3.1 innings of relief, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits and no walks with no strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Tony Conigliaro was 3-for-4 with a double and a run.  Bob Tillman was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Pitcher Earl Wilson was 1-for-1 with a two-run homer, his third.

The game:  Jim Kaat singled in a run in the second and the Twins added two in the third to take a 3-0 lead.  Wilson's two-run homer in the the bottom of the third cut the lead to 3-2, but RBI singles by Killebrew and Earl Battey made it 5-2 in the fifth and Oliva doubled home a run in the sixth to increase the lead to 6-2.  The Red Sox wouldn't go away, as Tillman knocked in two on a single-plus-error in the sixth to narrow the margin to 6-4.  Run-scoring singles by Killebrew and Jimmie Hall made it 8-4 in the eighth, but the Red Sox again tried to come back, scoring two in the ninth and bringing the tying run up to bat with one out.  Carl Yastrzemski grounded out and Tony Horton fanned to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5 with a walk and a run.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-6 with a double and a run.  Hall was 1-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Battey was 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBIs.  Kaat pitched five innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on nine hits and two walks with three strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 57-34 and kept them in first place.  Their closest pursuers, Cleveland and Baltimore, each also played a doubleheader.  The Orioles beat Kansas City 1-0 and the Indians lost to Detroit 2-1, so Baltimore took over second place, 3.5 games behind the Twins.

Notes:  Versalles moved back up to the leadoff spot, with Frank Quilici dropping to eighth.  Neither contributed much to the offense in this game...Kaat was going through a bit of a rough stretch, as this was the fifth time in six starts he failed to go as many as six innings.  On the other hand, due to doubleheaders, it was the second time in a row he pitched on only two days' rest...Earl Wilson slugged thirty-five home runs in his career.  His season high was seven, which he hit in 1966 and again in 1968.  He wasn't a bad pitcher either, winning eighteen games in 1966 and twenty-two in 1967, most of them for Detroit.  He finished in the top fifteen in MVP voting in both of those seasons.

CALIFORNIA 9, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 20.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Frank Quilici was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitching stars:  Mel Nelson pitched 2.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits and one walk with one strikeout.  Bill Pleis pitched two shutout innings, giving up one walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Marcelino Lopez pitched a complete game, allowing one run on four hits and three walks with four strikeouts.  Bobby Knoop was 4-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.  Willie Smith was 3-for-5 with a home run (his eleventh) and three runs.

The game:  An RBI groundout by Oliva gave the Twins a 1-0 lead in the first, but Knoop's run-scoring single tied it in the second.  The Angles took control of the game with four runs in the third.  A single, a lineout, and five consecutive singles gave them a 5-1 lead.  The Twins never threatened to get back into the game--they never had more than one runner on base at a time after the first and did not even get one on after Oliva's single leading off the sixth.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4.  Camilo Pascual pitched 2.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and no walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 56-34, still in first place by 3.5 games, but Baltimore defeated Cleveland to tie the Indians for second place.

Notes:  This was Pascual's first start since July 4.  He was obviously still hurting.  He would struggle through two more starts, then miss the entire month of August...Hall's average dropped to .316...Earl Battey did not start but was used as a pinch-hitter.  He went 0-for-1 and dropped his average to .304.  Jerry Zimmerman started in his place...Marcelino Lopez had a fine year, going 14-13, 2.93 and finishing second in the rookie of the year voting at age 21.  It was the only good year he had as a starter.  His ERA was a full run higher, 3.93, in 1966, which doesn't sound so bad now but was not very good in 1966.  He was traded to Baltimore in June of 1967 and struggled through a couple of injury-plagued years before resurfacing as a reliever.  He had a solid season for the Orioles in 1970, but it was the last good year he would have.  He made four appearances for Cleveland in 1972, his last major league appearances.  He had started having elbow problems as early as 1962, when he was eighteen, and one assumes that throwing 215.1 innings in 1965 at age twenty-one was probably not the best thing for him.

MINNESOTA 5, CALIFORNIA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 19, 2015

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his seventeenth) and a walk.  Frank Quilici was 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, scoring once.  Bob Allison was 1-for-2 with two walks and a run.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Jim Fregosi was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.  Joe Adcock was 1-for-4 with a home run, his ninth.  Dean Chance pitched a complete game, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits and six walks with five strikeouts.

The game:  Killebrew hit a two-run homer in the first to put the Twins up 2-0.  Adcock got one of the runs back with a home run to start the second and Fregosi led off the fourth with a home run to tie it 2-2.  A doubleplay put the Twins in the lead 3-2 in the bottom of the fourth and Jimmie Hall brought two home in the seventh on a single-plus-error.  The Angels did not get a hit after the fourth and their last baserunner came on a two-out walk in the fifth.

Of note:  Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Hall was 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

Record:  The win made the Twins 56-33 and kept them in first place, 3.5 games ahead of Cleveland.  Baltimore and Chicago dropped into a tie for third, 4.5 games back.

Notes:  Quilici batted leadoff for the second consecutive game and played shortstop, giving Zoilo Versalles a rest.  Earl Battey was also rested, with Jerry Zimmerman catching...Hall's average dropped to .321.

CALIFORNIA 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 18 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a home run (his tenth) and two RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 5.2 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk with two strikeouts.  Mel Nelson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Jose Cardenal was 2-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and two stolen bases (his twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth), scoring once and driving in one.  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Bobby Knoop was 3-for-4 with a run.

The game:  Fregosi homered leading off the top of the fourth, but Mincher homered in the bottom of the fourth to tie it 1-1.  In the fifth, three singles and a sacrifice fly produced two Angels runs and gave them a 3-1 lead.  In the seventh, two walks and a two-run double by Joe Adcock made it 5-1.  Killebrew's RBI single in the eighth made it 5-2 and put men on first and third, bringing the tying run to the plate with none out.  Mincher hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3, but the next five batters went out with no further runs.

Of note:  Rich Rollins was 1-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a run.  Earl Battey was 0-for-4.

Record:  The Twins dropped their fourth straight and saw their record fall to 54-33.  Their lead dropped to 2.5 games over Chicago, who moved back into second place with a win over Kansas City.

Notes:  Oddly, the Twins ended their series with Kansas City on a Saturday and started a new series with California on a Sunday...The starting pitcher for California was Fred Newman, who we discussed the last time he pitched against the Twins, in game seventy-one.  He went 0-for-2 in this game to drop his batting average to .024, although for his career he hit .153...Hall raised his average to .322...Battey dropped his average to .309.

KANSAS CITY 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 17.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 3-for-5 with a double and a run.  Earl Battey was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-1 with three walks and two runs.

Pitching star:  Dick Stigman pitched 6.2 innings, giving up two runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Dick Green was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his eighth and ninth) and three RBIs.  Ken Harrelson was 1-for-3 with a walk and a home run, his eleventh.  Bert Campaneris was 1-for-4 with a walk and a run.

The game:  The Twins opened the second with two walks and a Battey single to take a 1-0 lead.  In the fifth, consecutive RBI singles by Bob Allison, Battey, and Jimmie Hall put them up 4-0 and the game seemed to be well in hand.  Green and Harrelson led off the seventh with back-to-back homers to cut the lead to 4-2.  With two out in the eighth, Green hit a two-run homer to tie it 4-4.  Al Worthington came in to pitch the ninth and gave up a single and two one-out walks to load the bases.  Bill Pleis then came in but gave up a sacrifice fly to Ed Charles to bring in the go-ahead run.  The Twins, who had not threatened since the fifth, did not threaten in the bottom of the ninth either, going down in order.

Of note:  Joe Nossek was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-5.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 54-32.  They were still in first place, but only by three games, as Cleveland again defeated Boston.

Notes:  One assumes there was some consternation at the Twins dropping three in a row at home to the last-place Athletics...Sam Mele shuffled his lineup for this game, with Zoilo Versalles dropping to eighth and Rollins leading off.  Rollins played second base, with Nossek batting second and playing third...Allison returned to the lineup, this time to stay...Green was not exactly a power hitter, but 1965 would be his best home run season, with fifteen.  He would reach double digits four times in his career and hit a total of eighty homers in twelve seasons...Hall raised his average to .322...Battey raised his average to .316.

KANSAS CITY 10, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 16.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk, scoring once.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with an RBI.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bill Pleis pitched two perfect innings with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Diego Segui pitched a complete game, allowing two runs on nine hits and one walk with five strikeouts.  Johnny Blanchard was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.  Tommie Reynolds was 1-for-3 with two walks, scoring twice and driving in one.

The game:  The Athletics jumped on Mudcat Grant early.  There was no one big hit--in fact, the first two batters went out--but then came a walk, four singles, another walk, and another single.  Seven consecutive batters reached, resulting in four runs and an early exit for Grant.  Jerry Fosnow got the last out of the first and got through the second, but in the third a walk, an error, and three more singles led to three more runs and a 7-0 Kansas City lead.  It was never close after that.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5.  Earl Battey was 0-for-2.  Grant pitched only two-thirds of an inning, giving up four runs on five hits and two walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 54-31.  Their lead over Cleveland dropped to four games, as the Indians beat Boston 4-3 in ten innings.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .320...Battey's average dropped to .310...The Athletics had eleven hits, ten of them singles.  The lone exception was a seventh-inning triple by Nelson Mathews...Kansas City certainly bunched their hits, getting five in the first (when they scored four), three in the third (when they scored three), and two in the seventh (when they scored three).  They had only one hit in the other six innings.  The Twins had nine hits, but only twice had more than one in an inning.

MINNESOTA 11, KANSAS CITY 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 15 (Game 1 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his thirteenth and fourteenth) and a walk, scoring three times.  Sandy Valdespino was 3-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs.  Earl Battey was 2-for-2 with two walks, scoring twice and driving in one.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and a walk with one strikeout.  Johnny Klippstein struck out six in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Ken Harrelson was 2-for-4 with a home run, his ninth.  Dick Green was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Rene Lachemann was 1-for-3 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk.

The game:  Oliva homered in the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  In the second, two singles and a hit batsman filled the bases with one out, a wild pitch scored one run, and Kaat delivered a sacrifice fly to make the score 3-0.  The Twins then scored seven in the fourth to put the game out of reach.  Two singles and a walk filled the bases with none out.  Kaat hit his second sacrifice fly of the game to bring home one run.  Zoilo Versalles struck out, but with two out and two on the next five batters walked, forcing in four runs.  Three different pitchers issued the five walks, which must have been extremely frustrating to Athletics manager Heywood Sullivan.  Valdespino then delivered a two-run single to put the Twins up 10-0.  Kaat gave up three solo homers in the next two innings but was never really in trouble.

Of note:  Versalles was 0-for-5.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4 with a walk, scoring once and driving in one.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with two walks, scoring once and driving in one.

Record:  The win made the Twins 54-29 and kept them in first place by four and a half games over Cleveland.

Notes:  One of Bud Selig's many "contributions" to the game is the four-day all-star break.  In 1965, when Men were Men, you not only got by with three days, you played a doubleheader when you got back.  In fact, not every team even got three days.  There were three major league games played on Wednesday, the day after the all-star game...Kaat, as stated above, had two sacrifice flies in the game.  Only twelve players have hit three sacrifice flies in a game, with the most recent being Jose Lopez in 2008, and none of them were pitchers, so it appears that Kaat tied a record...I could not quickly find out what the record is for most consecutive walks, but I did see that Bill "Dolly" Gray walked seven consecutive batters in 1909.

NATIONAL LEAGUE 6, AMERICAN LEAGUE 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 13.

National League stars:  Willie Stargell was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and scored twice.  Willie Mays was 1-for-3 with a home run and two walks, scoring twice.  Juan Marichal started and pitched three innings, allowing only one hit.

American League stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer and two walks.  Dick McAuliffe was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and two runs.  Pete Richert struck out two in two innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Mays led off the game with a home run and Joe Torre hit a two-run homer later in the first inning, both off Milt Pappas, to give the NL a 3-0 lead.  In the second, Stargell hit a two-run homer off Mudcat Grant to make it 5-0.  The Americans got on the board in the fourth on Rocky Colavito's RBI single.  In the fifth, McAuliffe and Killebrew each hit a two-run homer off Jim Maloney to tie it 5-5.  In the sixth, Ron Santo delivered an RBI single to put the Nationals up 6-5.  The AL got a man to third with two out in the eighth and Tony Oliva led off the ninth with a double, but they could not tie the score.

Twins:  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-2 with a walk and a run.  Oliva was 1-for-2 with a double.  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-1 with a walk.  Grant struck out three in two innings but gave up two runs on two hits and a walk.