Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-six

DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 26.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-3 with a double and a hit-by-pitch, scoring once.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.  Joe Nossek was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Bill Pleis started and pitched four innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and two walks.  Jim Perry struck out two in two shutout innings, giving  up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Mickey Lolich struck out ten in six innings, allowing one run on four hits and no walks.  Al Kaline was 1-for-2 with a double and three walks, scoring once.  Jerry Lumpe was 2-for-3 with two walks and a run.

The game:  There was no scoring until the fifth, when Willie Horton delivered a two-out two-run single.  Oliva singled in a run in the sixth, but the Tigers scored twice more in the seventh on only one hit, getting the benefit of three walks.  The Twins scored once in the eighth and brought the tying run to the plate with two out, but Bob Allison popped up and the Twins did not threaten again.

Of note:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-3 with a walk, dropping his average to .319.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 40-26, but losses by Chicago and Cleveland kept the Twins in first place by a half game over those two teams.

Notes:  This would be one of only two starts made by Pleis, who was normally a relief pitcher.  He would pitch one inning of relief the next day, then make another start June 30.  In retrospect, it seems odd that Pleis was given the start rather than Perry, who also pitched, but while Perry had starting experience he had made only one start in 1964 and none at this point in 1965.  He would soon be placed in the rotation, however, and would stay there the rest of the season.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-five

MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, June 25.

Batting stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and a walk, scoring twice and driving in two.  Bernie Allen was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Joe Nossek was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit RBI.

Pitching stars:  Al Worthington pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk with one strikeout.  Johnny Klippstein pitched a perfect ninth with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Dave Wickersham pitched 8.2 innings, allowing four runs on three hits and three walks with six strikeouts.  Don Demeter was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fourth) and two RBIs.  Al Kaline was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourteenth.

The game:  Kaline opened the scoring with a home run in the fourth.  The Twins got the run back with Mincher's RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, but Demeter homered in the fifth and delivered an RBI single in the sixth to put the Tigers up 3-1.  Mincher homered in the seventh, but the Twins still trailed 3-2 going to the bottom of the ninth.  The first two batters went out, but then Wickersham issued a pair of walks that ended his day.  Fred Gladding came in and gave up an RBI single to Allen, tying the score.  The runners had moved up to second and third on a failed throw to the plate, so Rich Rollins was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Nossek then pinch-hit and singled home the winning run.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Sandy Valdespino, again playing in place of Bob Allison, was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base (his sixth), and a run.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4. dropping his average to .323.  Starter Dave Boswell pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks with htree strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 40-25 and kept them in first place by a half game over Chicago and Cleveland.

Notes:  In my memory Dave Wickersham was a relief pitcher, but that was a bit later in his career.  He was a rotation starter from 1963-65, started his transition to the bullpen in 1966, and was almost exclusively a reliever from 1967-69, after which his career ended.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-four

CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Thursday, June 24.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a double.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Camilo Pascual struck out five in four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks.  Jerry Fosnow pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Ralph Terry pitched seven innings, allowing an unearned run on five hits and one walk with three strikeouts.  Max Alvis was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and two RBIs.  Dick Howser was 2-for-3 with two walks and a stolen base (his tenth), scoring once.

The game:  Alvis homered in the first and a run scored on an error later in the first to give the Indians a 2-0 lead.  The Twins did little on offense until the seventh, when Killebrew singled in Oliva with their only run.  Alvis' RBI single got the run back for the Indians in the bottom of the seventh.  The Twins loaded the bases with two out in the eighth, but Hall popped up to short to end the inning.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4.  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 39-25, still in first place, but only by a half game over Chicago and Cleveland.

Notes:  Mincher was again at first with Killebrew at third.  Bernie Allen played second.  Pascual apparently was injured--he would not pitch again until July 4, then not again until July 20.  Both were short starts, as were his two starts at the end of July.  He would miss the entire month of August before coming back in September.  Earl Battey remained out of the lineup, with Jerry Zimmerman catching.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-three

MINNESOTA 6, CLEVELAND 3 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Wednesday, June 23.

Batting stars:  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, a stolen base (his third), and a walk.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth), scoring twice.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his twelfth.

Pitching star:  Mudcat Grant pitched eight innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Rocky Colavito was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixteenth), a double, and a walk.  Don McMahon pitched two perfect innings of relief with one strikeout.  Max Alvis was 1-for-4 with a run.

The game:  Hall and Colavito each homered in the second to make it 1-1.  Vic Davalillo singled in a run in the third to give the Indians a 2-1 lead.  It was short-lived, as Allison hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the fourth to put the Twins up 4-2 and Valdespino hit a two-run shot in the fifth to make it 6-2.  The Indians did not score again until the ninth.  They brought the tying run up to bat with one out in the ninth inning, but Dick Stigman got Joe Azcue to hit into a double play to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-3.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.

Record:  The win made the Twins 39-24 and increased their lead over Chicago to a full game.

Notes:  Hall raised his average to .330.  Valdespino's home run was his only homer of the season.  The game started with Don Mincher at first, Killebrew at third, and Valdespino in left.  After Allison pinch-hit for Mincher in the fourth, he initially went to first base.  In the eighth, however, Rich Rollins came in to play third, with Killebrew moving to first and Allison to left, replacing Valdespino.  Indians starter Sonny Siebert apparently suffered a minor injury, as he was replaced in the third inning for no apparent reason.  He would pitch three innings of relief in his next appearance, June 27, and then throw a complete game July 1.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-two

CLEVELAND 5, MINNESOTA 4 IN CLEVELAND (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Tuesday, June 22.

Batting stars:  Bernie Allen was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Earl Battey was 2-for-2 with a double and a run.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Johnny Klippstein retired all four men he faced.

Opposition stars:  Chuck Hinton was 2-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and two RBIs.  Max Alvis was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Duke Sims hit a pinch-hit home run in his only at-bat.

The game:  Hinton singled in a run in the first to give the Indians a 1-0 lead.  Each team scored twice in the fifth, leaving the Indians still up 3-2.  The Twins again took the lead by one in the seventh, as a Sandy Valdespino sacrifice fly tied it and Oliva's RBI single put the Twins ahead 4-3.   The Twins opened the eighth with a pair of singles but could do nothing with them.  In the bottom of the eighth, Sims hit a pinch-hit homer in the eighth to tie it 4-4.  Hinton led off the bottom of the tenth with a walkoff homer off Al Worthington, who was starting his fourth inning of work.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3.  Valdespino was 0-for-3 with two RBIs, both on sacrifice flies.  Oliva was 1-for-5 with an RBI.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was hit by a pitch.  Starter Jim Kaat was apparently affected by his relief stint between starts, as he lasted only 4.2 innings and gave up three runs (although only one was earned) on nine hits and two walks with one strikeout.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 38-24 and cut their hold on first place to only a half game ahead of both Chicago and Cleveland.

Notes:  Valdespino replaced Bob Allison in left.  Allison apparently had a minor injury, as he would not start again until June 26.  Battey was apparently injured in the game, too, as he came out in the fifth inning and did not play again until July 2.  Rollins was again at second base, with Allen playing third.  Sims' pinch-hit homer was the first home run of his career.  He went on to hit ninety-nine more, with his highest total coming in 1970, when he had twenty-three.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty-one

MINNESOTA 7, NEW YORK 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, June 20 (Game 2 of doubleheader).

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5 with a home run (his thirteenth) and a double, driving in three.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double, scoring once.  Joe Nossek was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.

Pitching star:  Dick Stigman struck out four in 3.1 scoreless innings, giving up no hits and two walks.

Opposition stars:  Hal Reniff struck out five in three shutout innings, allowing only a walk.  Ray Barker was 1-for-2 with a three-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Steve Hamilton struck out three in two shutout innings, allowing a hit and a walk.

The game:  Killebrew hit an RBI double in the first, Zoilo Versalles doubled home two in the second, and the Twins got run-scoring singles in the third by Earl Battey and Nossek to go ahead 5-0.  Barker hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the bottom of the third to get the Yankees back in the game at 5-3.  There was no more scoring until the sixth, when an error allowed the Yankees to cut the lead to one.  They had the tying run on third with two out, but Stigman struck out Hector Lopez to end the inning.  The Yankees did not get a hit after that and Killebrew's two-run homer in the ninth put the game out of reach.

Of note:  Versalles was 1-for-5 with a stolen base (his seventh), scoring once and driving in two.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-5.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with a double and a run, raising his average to .325.  Dave Boswell started and pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts.

Record:  The doubleheader sweep made the Twins 38-23 and increased their lead over Chicago to a full game.

Notes:  Rollins again played second base, with Nossek at third.  Normally an outfielder, Nossek played ten games in his career at third base, nine of them in 1965.  I had never heard of Ray Barker.  He played in five games for Baltimore in 1960, then did not get back to the majors until 1965 at age twenty-nine.  He played in eleven games for Cleveland, then was traded to the Yankees in May.  This was the second of his ten career home runs, seven of which came in 1965.  He played in parts of the 1966 and 1967 seasons for the Yankees as well.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Sixty

6 Comments

MINNESOTA 6, NEW YORK 4 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Sunday, June 20 (Game 1 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twelfth), a triple, a walk, and a stolen base (his fourth), scoring once and driving in two.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth), a double, and a walk, scoring twice.  Zoilo Versalles was 3-for-4 with a double and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Camilo Pascual pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks with two strikeouts.  Al Worthington pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout.  Jim Kaat pitched a perfect ninth inning.

Opposition stars:  Roger Maris was 2-for-4 with a home run (his eighth) and a walk, driving in three.  Tom Tresh was 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Joe Pepitone was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  The Yankees again scored in the first inning, getting RBI singles from Maris and Elston Howard to go up 2-0.  The Twins scored single runs in the second and third to tie it at two.  Hall homered in the sixth to give the Twins a 3-2 lead, but Maris hit a two-run homer in the seventh to make it 4-3 Yankees.  Killebrew homered in the eighth to tie it up 4-4.  In the ninth, a walk and a single put men on first and third and a passed ball put the Twins up 5-4.  A pair of walks and a wild pitch gave the Twins an insurance run.  Kaat came in to take care of things in the ninth.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 2-for-5 with a stolen base (his second), scoring once and driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.  Don Mincher was 0-for-3.  Hall boosted his average to .322.

Record:  The win moved the Twins to 37-23.  They remained in first place by a half game over Chicago.

Notes:  Valdespino replaced Bob Allison in the lineup.  Mincher replaced Rich Rollins, with Killebrew moving to third.  Jerry Zimmerman replaced Earl Battey.  Kaat made the first of three relief appearances on the season and got the first of two saves.  He had pitched a complete game three days earlier and would make his regular start two days later.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Fifty-nine

2 Comments

NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Saturday, June 19.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Joe Nossek was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Johnny Klippstein pitched three innings, giving up one run on two hits and three walks.  Al Worthington pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Joe Pepitone was 1-for-2 with a home run (his seventh) and two walks.  Whitey Ford pitched 7.2 innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk with four strikeouts.  Tom Tresh was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI.

The game:  The first three Yankee batters got hits, a double and two singles, leading to a 2-0 lead.  Pepitone homered leading off the second and Elston Howard delivered an RBI single in the third to make it 4-0.  It was 5-1 after seven.  In the eighth, Killebrew hit a two-run triple to center to cut the lead to 5-3.  That was as close as the Twins would come, however, as Don Mincher flied out to end the inning and the Twins could only come up with a lone single in the ninth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4 with a run.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-3 with a walk and a run.  The Twins again got a short start, as Mudcat Grant pitched only two innings, giving up three runs on five hitsand no walks with no strikeouts.

Record:  The Twins dropped to 36-23 but remained in first place by a half game, as Chicago lost to Boston.

Notes:  Jerry Kindall was back in the lineup at second base, but was replaced by Frank Kostro in the third inning.  Killebrew hit twenty-four triples in his career.  He hit seven in 1961 but never hit more than two in any other season.  I remember, when I was a kid, watching a game on TV in which Killebrew hit a triple into the monuments in Yankee Stadium's center field, which were in play back then.  I can't prove that this was the game, but this triple was hit to center field.  There were very few Twins games televised where I was at that time, and with this being a Saturday game in Yankee Stadium it seems like there's a good chance it would have been a Game of the Week, so it seems likely to me.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Fifty-eight

NEW YORK 10, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Friday, June 18.

Batting stars:  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching star:  Jerry Fosnow struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Bill Stafford pitched eight innings, allowing two runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Mickey Mantle was 1-for-3 with a grand slam, his tenth homer.  Elston Howard was 2-for-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in one.

The game:  Hall doubled in a run in the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead, but it was all downhill after that.  Twins starter Mel Nelson didn't make it through the first inning, giving up a single, two walks, a hit batsman, and the Mantle grand slam.  The Yankees scored six in the first inning, as Phil Linz also homered.  The Twins did not get back into the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 with a walk.  Nelson pitched two-thirds of an inning, giving up five runs on two hits and two walks.

Record:  The Twins record dropped to 36-22.  They remained in first place, but only by a half game over Chicago.

Notes:  Rollins once again played second, with Killebrew at third and Don Mincher at first.  The Twins continued to search for a number two hitter, this time moving Oliva into the two spot with Hall batting third.

Keeping Track

1965 Rewind: Game Fifty-seven

MINNESOTA 3, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO

Date:  Thursday, June 17.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Don Mincher was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, his third and fourth.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Joel Horlen pitched eight innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts.  Danny Cater was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and a walk.  Ron Hansen was 1-for-4 with a double.

The game:  It was scoreless until the fifth, when Mincher hit a one-out homer.  Versalles homered with one out in the sixth to make it 2-0.  Kaat doubled and scored on a Versalles single in the eighth to give the Twins a 3-0 lead.  Cater homered in the eighth and Floyd Robinson followed with a one-out single, but a double play ended the inning and the White Sox went down in order in the ninth.

Of note:  Sandy Valdespino was 0-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .318.

Record:  The win boosted the Twins' record to 36-21 and increased their lead over Chicago to 1.5 games.

Notes:  Mincher played first base, with Killebrew moving to third and Rich Rollins to second.  Earl Battey was removed from the game in the fourth inning, but would play the next day.  Hoyt Wilhelm pitched the ninth for the White Sox.  In his age forty-two season, he would appear in sixty-six games, seven fewer than the previous year and six fewer than he would appear in three years later.  Wilhelm would pitch until 1972, when he was forty-nine.