KANSAS CITY 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Sunday, May 16 (Game 2 of doubleheader)

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk, driving in one.  Rich Rollins was 2-for-4 with a run.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a run.

Pitching star:  Dick Stigman struck out seven in six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks.

Opposition stars:  Rene Lachemann was 3-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Jim Landis was 3-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, scoring once.  Bert Campaneris was 3-for-4 with a stolen base (his ninth) and a run.

The game:  Hall's double with none out in the second scored Killebrew from first base to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Kansas City tied it in the fifth on Ken Harrelson's RBI single and took a 2-1 lead in the sixth on a squeeze bunt.  The Twins loaded the bases with one out in the seventh but could only score once (and that one came in on an error) to tie the score.  The Athletics got the lead back in the eighth on Johnny Klippstein's errant pickoff throw with men on first and third.  Lachemann homered leading off the ninth for an insurance run.  The Twins put men on first and second with one out in the ninth but could do nothing with them.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-5 with a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-2 with two walks.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 18-10, still second in the American League, two and a half games behind Chicago.

KANSAS CITY 7, MINNESOTA 4 IN KANSAS CITY (10 INNINGS--GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, May 16.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh) and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his sixth.  Earl Battey was 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Mudcat Grant struck out five in 5.2 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks.  Johnny Klippstein pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Dick Green was 4-for-5 with two home runs (his third and fourth) and three RBIs.  Ed Charles was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer (his third) and a triple, scoring twice.  Jim Gentile was 2-for-5 with a home run (his eighth) and a double.

The game:  Green homered in the second to put the Athletics on the board 1-0.  Hall homered in the fourth to tie it and Oliva hit a two-run homer in the fifth to put the Twins ahead 3-1.  Gentile homered in the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2, but the Twins got the run back on Battey's RBI double.  It was still 4-2 Twins in the ninth, but Green led off the ninth with his second home run and Charles tripled and scored on a single by Rene Lachemann to tie it 4-4 and send the game to extra innings.  With one out in the tenth, Johnny Blanchard and Green singled and Charles hit a three-run homer off Mel Nelson to end the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-5 with a triple.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-3 with a walk, a hit-by-pitch, a run, and a stolen base.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-5.  Bob Allison was 0-for-5.

Record:  The loss dropped the Twins to 18-9, still in second place, a game and a half behind Chicago.

MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 0 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Saturday, May 15.

Batting stars:  Jerry Kindall was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third) and two RBIs.  Jimmie Hall was 1-for-4 with a double.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched 7.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and four walks with six strikeouts.  Mel Nelson pitched 1.2 perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Don Buschhorn pitched five innings, allowing two runs on four hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Wes Stock struck out three in three shutout innings, allowing a hit and a walk.  Dick Green was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  Kindall homered in the third to put the Twins up 1-0.  In the fifth, consecutive one-out singles by Allison, Earl Battey, and Kindall produced a second run.  That was all the Twins would get, but it was all they would need.  The Athletics did not get two men on base until the eighth, when a walk and a one-out single put men on first and second.  Nelson came in to get a double play and then retired the side in order in the ninth.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-4.  Rich Rollins was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-3 with a walk.

Record:  The win gave the Twins a record of 18-8, but they remained in second place, a half game behind Chicago.

Notes:  The loss was the seventh straight for the Athletics, dropping their record to 5-21.  They were, of course, in last place, four and a half games behind ninth-place Washington.

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 3 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Friday, May 14.

Batting stars:  Bob Allison was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his fourth.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a run.  Jerry Kindall was 2-for-4 with a run.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks with five strikeouts.  Jerry Fosnow pitched a perfect inning with one strikeout.  Bill Pleis pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Dick Green was 1-for-5 with a triple, scoring once and driving in one.  Bert Campaneris was 1-for-3 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base.  John O'Donoghue pitched eight innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

The game:  Jim Landis singled in a run in the fourth to give the Athletics a 1-0 lead.  In the sixth, O'Donoghue got an infield single, Green hit an RBI triple, and Campaneris delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.  In the seventh, Killebrew and Jimmie Hall got two-out singles followed by Allison's three-run homer to tie it 3-3.  In the ninth, Kindall singled, Jerry Zimmerman reached on catcher's interference, Zoilo Versalles singled in the go-ahead run, and a wild pitch gave the Twins some insurance.

Of note:  Versalles was 2-for-5 with an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a walk.  Earl Battey returned to the lineup, going 0-for-3 with a walk.

Record:  The win made the Twins 17-8 and kept them in second place, a half game behind Chicago.

Of note:  Rich Rollins apparently was shaken up on a play in the second inning on which he committed an error, as he was removed from the game.  He was replaced by Frank Kostro, but would be back in the starting lineup the next day.  The insurance run was scored by Dave Boswell, who was used as a pinch-runner (it was not uncommon to use pitchers as pinch-runners back then).  Kansas City's loss was their sixth in a row and dropped them to a record of 5-20.

CALIFORNIA 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, May 13.

Batting stars:  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-3 with a home run (his sixth) and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with two doubles and a run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Camilo Pascual struck out seven in 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on six hits and one walk.  Mel Nelson pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk with one strikeout.

Opposition stars:  Fred Newman pitched eight innings, allowing three runs on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.  Jose Cardenal was 2-for-5 with a double, scoring once and driving in one.  Costen Shockley was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his second.

The game:  The Twins put together a two-out rally in the first, with a Harmon Killebrew RBI single and Allison's run-scoring double giving them a 2-0 lead.  Cardenal doubled in a run in the third and it stayed 2-1 until the sixth, when Hall hit a homer to make it 3-1.  Shockley shocked the Twins with a two-run homer in the seventh, tying the score.  Each team threatened in the ninth, but neither scored.  In the tenth, Cardenal led off with a single, took second on a passed ball, went to third on a bunt, and scored on a Willie Smith single.  Bob Lee struck out the side (Zoilo Versalles, Joe Nossek, and Oliva) in the bottom of the tenth to preserve the victory for the Angels.

Of note:  Versalles was 0-for-5.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-4, dropping his average to .153.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI.

Record:  The loss made the Twins 16-8 and dropped them back into second place, a half game behind Chicago.

Notes:  Jerry Zimmerman again caught, with Earl Battey coming into the game in the eighth when Zimmerman came out for a pinch-hitter.  I had never heard of Fred Newman either, but he was a solid major league starter for the Angels in 1964 and 1965.  He threw 260.2 innings in 1965 at age 23 and did not have a good year again.

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, May 12.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth) and three RBIs.  Zoilo Versalles was 2-for-4.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Mudcat Grant pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks with five strikeouts.  Al Worthington struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Rudy May struck out six in six innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks.  Albie Pearson was 2-for-3 with a home run.  Jose Cardenal was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.

The game:  Yesterday the Twins gave up a home run to the first batter; today it was the second, as Pearson homered to give the Angels a 1-0 lead.  Bobby Knoop doubled and scored in the third to make it 2-0, but the Twins got on the board in the bottom of the third on an RBI single by Jerry Kindall.  Joe Adcock singled in a run in the sixth, but Killebrew hit a solo homer in the bottom of the sixth to cut the lead to 3-2.  With two out and a man on first in the eighth Killebrew struck again, hitting a two-run homer to give the Twins their first lead of the game at 4-3.  The Angels got a man on first with one out in the ninth but did not advance him.

Of note:  Kindall was 1-for-3 with an RBI.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-4.

Record:  The win was the Twins' fifth in a row, moved the Twins to 16-7, and kept them in first place, a half game ahead of Chicago.

Notes:  Earl Battey apparently suffered a minor injury on May 8, as Jerry Zimmerman has started the games since then at catcher, but Battey caught in this game and yesterday's game after Zimmerman was lifted for a pinch-hitter.  Albie Pearson, who homered in this game, was one of the smallest men to play major league baseball, listed at 5'5", 140 pounds.  Vic Power, in his last major league season, was used as a defensive replacement, but was removed in the ninth for pinch-hitter Costen Shockley.  I can honestly say I had never heard of Costen Shockley before.

MINNESOTA 3, CALIFORNIA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, May 11, 2015

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and a double, scoring twice.  Jerry Kindall was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with an RBI.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell struck out nine in 7.1 innings of relief, giving up an unearned run on four hits and two walks.  Johnny Klippstein struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Dean Chance pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks with six strikeouts.  Jose Cardenal was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourth) and a stolen base.  Willie Smith was 2-for-5 with a triple and a stolen base, scoring once.

The game:  Cardenal led off the game with a home run, but Kindall homered in the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  Smith hit a two-out triple in the fifth and scored on an error to give the Angels a 2-1 advantage, but Oliva hit a tow-out homer in the sixth to tie it 2-2.  Kindall opened the bottom of the ninth with a walk.  Oliva followed with a double, but pinch-runner Cesar Tovar was thrown out trying to score on the hit.  No problem, as Harmon Killebrew followed with a single to center that scored Oliva with the winning run.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Bob Allison was 0-for-2 with a walk.  Dick Stigman started and pitched only two-thirds of an inning, giving up one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts.

Record:  The win made the Twins 15-7 and put them back into first place, a game ahead of the White Sox.

Notes:  Stigman got what today would be an incredibly quick hook.  He gave up a home run to Cardenal, followed by a single.  He struck out the next two batters, but then walked the next two and was gone.  He does not appear to have been injured, as he started again on May 16.  Boswell pitched 7.1 innings of relief, which is also pretty much unheard of today.  Also, in a 2-2 tie, not only was Chance allowed to pitch the ninth, he was left in after starting the inning with a walk and a double.

MINNESOTA 4, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, May 10.

Batting stars:  Jerry Zimmerman was 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI.  Rich Rollins was 1-for-3 with a double, scoring once and driving in two.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and no walks with seven strikeouts.  Mel Nelson pitched a perfect inning of relief.

Opposition stars:  Joel Horlen pitched seven innings, allowing four runs on nine hits and no walks with four strikeouts.  Dave Nicholson was 1-for-3 with a home run.  Danny Cater was 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The game:  Harmon Killebrew singled in a run in the first to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Nicholson led off the third with a homer to tie it 1-1.  Two singles and a ground out gave the Twins a 2-1 lead in the fourth.  In the sixth, Rollins had an RBI double and Zimmerman delivered a run-scoring single to make it 4-1.  The White Sox scored one in the eighth.  In the ninth, Moose Skowron singled and Pete Ward doubled to cut the lead to 4-3 with none out.  A walk put men on first and second.  Nelson then came in and retired the next three batters to save the game.

Of note:  Zoilo Versalles was 0-for-4.  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-4.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a double and a run.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 with an RBI.  Bob Allison was 1-for-4.

Record:  The win moved the Twins back into first place, a half game ahead of Chicago and California.

MINNESOTA 6, CHICAGO 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Zoilo Versalles was 1-for-3 with a home run (his second) and a walk.  Jimmie Hall was 2-for-4 with two RBIs.  Camilo Pascual was 1-for-3 with a home run, his second.

Pitching star:  Pascual pitched a complete game, giving up one run on seven hits and no walks with three strikeouts.

Opposition stars:  Ron Hansen was 2-for-3.  Ken Berry was 2-for-3.  Greg Bollo pitched two perfect innings.

The game:  Versalles led off the bottom of the first with a home run and Hall singled in a run later in the inning to make it 2-0 after one.  Hall singled in another run in the third and Pascual homered in the fourth to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.  Rich Rollins contributed a two-run single in the fifth.  Meanwhile, the White Sox did not even put together a threat until the seventh, when they opened the inning with two singles and Moose Skowron later singled in their lone tally.  It was the last hit they would get, as the last seven White Sox were retired.

Of note:  Jerry Kindall was 0-for-3 with a walk and a run.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 with a run.  Bob Allison was 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base, his fourth.

Record:  The win gave the Twins a record of 13-7 and left them tied for second with California (though ahead based on winning percentage), a half game behind Chicago.