Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirteen

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WASHINGTON 1, MINNESOTA 0 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Thursday, August 13.

Batting stars:  None.  The Twins had only one hit.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched an eight-inning complete game, giving up an unearned run on five hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Dick Bosman pitched a complete game shutout, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out seven.  Wayne Comer was 2-for-4.  Frank Howard was 1-for-1 with two walks.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off the game with a bunt single, and that would turn out to be the only Twins hit.  With one out in the bottom of the first, Comer laid down a bunt and reached third on a single-plus-error.  Howard was intentionally walked and Rick Reichardt hit into a force out, scoring Comer.

That was it for the scoring.  The Twins had only one other baserunner.  Kaat walked with one out in the sixth and was erased on a double play.  The unearned run in the first held up and Washington won 1-0.

WP:  Bosman (12-8).

LP:  Kaat (10-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in center, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Danny Thompson was again at second in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Rick Renick pinch-hit for Tischinski in the ninth.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Kaat in the ninth, but then Alyea pinch-hit for Manuel despite the fact that there was no pitching change.  The only explanations I can think of are that Manuel got hurt during the at-bat or that Bill Rigney thought there was a pitching change when there wasn't.  We note that Manuel was used as a pinch-hitter again the next day, so if he was injured it wasn't very serious.  But those are the only things I can think of for why you would do that.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .318.

Tischinski was 0-for-2 and was batting .182.

Bosman was a pretty good pitcher from 1968-1972.  He spent much of 1968 in the bullpen and went 2-9, but with a 3.69 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP.  It was the Year of the Pitcher, so maybe you don't think that's too impressive, but in 1969 he led the league in ERA at 2.19, going 14-5 with a WHIP of 1.01.  In this year, 1970, he was 16-12, 3.00 ERA, 1.23 WHIP.  He was not quite as good in the next two seasons, but he still was a combined 3.70 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP.  He didn't do much the next two years, but bounced back in 1975 to go 11-6, 3.63, 1.17 WHIP.  For his career, which went from 1966-1976, he was 85-82, 3.67, 1.26 WHIP.  He's certainly not a Hall of Famer, and he never even made an all-star team.  But still, a very respectable career.

The Twins were swept by the last-place Senators.  It was their sixth consecutive loss.  They had scored eleven runs in those six games and been shut out twice.  In their last nine games they had scored only eighteen runs.  They would now go to fourth-place Boston for a four-game series.

Record:  The Twins were 69-44, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twelve

WASHINGTON 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Wednesday, August 12.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 1-for-1.  Luis Tiant was 1-for-2 with a double.

Pitching stars:  Stan Williams pitched a perfect inning.  Dick Woodson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Tom Hall pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Frank Howard was 2-for-3 with a home run (his thirty-first), a double, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Mike Epstein was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifteenth).  Jim Hannan pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits and two walks and striking out five.

The game:  Ed Stroud led off with a single and Howard hit a two-run homer to give the Senators a 2-0 lead.  The Twins got a run back in the second, but missed a chance for more.  Frank Quilici led off with a single and Tiant doubled, putting men on second and third with none out, but all the Twins could manage was an RBI ground out, cutting the lead to 2-1.

The Twins did tie it in the sixth.  Leo Cardenas led off with a double.  He was still on second with two out, but then an error brought him home, making the score 2-2.

It only stayed tied until the next time Washington batted.  Lee Maye reached on an error and scored on Howard's double.  Epstein then hit a two-run homer to give the Senators a 5-2 lead.  The Twins got one back in the eighth when Cesar Tovar singled, Harmon Killebrew drew a one-out walk, and Oliva followed with a pinch-hit RBI single.  The Twins had the tying run on base with one out, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the inning.

Danny Thompson led off the ninth with a single and Bob Allison singled with one out, again putting the tying run on base.  But Tovar grounded into a double play and the game was over.

WP:  Hannan (8-5).

LP:  Tiant (7-2).

S:  Joe Grzenda (5).

Notes:  Charlie Manuel was given a rare start in right field, with Oliva given a rare day out of the lineup.  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.

Jim Holt pinch-hit for Williams in the seventh.  Oliva pinch-hit for Manuel in the eighth and stayed in the game in right field.  Thompson pinch-hit for Ratliff in the ninth.  Allison pinch-hit for Hall in the ninth.

Tiant was batting .429.  Oliva was batting .320.  Williams had an ERA of 2.06.  Hall had an ERA of 2.41.

Manuel was 0-for-3 and was batting .189.  Allison was 1-for-1 and was batting .185.

Tiant pitched five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits and no walks and striking out three.

The Twins had lost five in a row and had scored eleven runs in those five games, being outscored 24-11.  They had scored eighteen runs in their last eight games.  Obviously, the losing streak was causing their lead in the AL West to shrink.

Record:  The Twins were 69-43, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Ten

OAKLAND 7, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, August 10.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirty-fifth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Pete Hamm pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits.

Opposition stars:  Rick Monday was 4-for-5 with a home run (his eighth), two doubles, two runs, and two RBIs.  Tony LaRussa was 3-for-4 with a double.  Tommy Davis was 3-for-5.  Don Mincher was 3-for-5.  Diego Segui was 2-for-3.  Segui also pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and six walks and striking out three.  Mudcat Grant pitched three innings, giving up one run on three hits and no walks and striking out two.

The game:  It was close most of the way.  In the second, Sal Bando doubled and scored on Frank Fernandez' single to get the Athletics on the board.  The Twins got two on in the bottom of the second but did not score.  Monday homered with one out in the third to make it 2-0 Oakland.

The Twins eventually tied it, but missed on some good chances to get ahead.  In the bottom of the third Bill Zepp led off with a single-plus-error and Cesar Tovar had a bunt single to put men on first and third.  A double play scored a run.  A single and a walk followed that, but a ground out ended the inning.  In the fourth a single by Cardenas and walks to Tom Tischinski and Charlie Manuel loaded the bases with one out, but all the Twins could manage was a sacrifice fly, tying the score 2-2.

The Athletics put two on with two out in the sixth but did not score.  In the seventh, however, Monday doubled, went to third on a Davis single, and scored on Mincher's single to put Oakland up 3-2.  They put it out of reach in the eighth.  LaRussa led off with a double and Grant followed with a bunt single.  Bert Campaneris had an RBI single, Monday drove in a run with a double, and Davis and Mincher hit RBI singles to make the score 7-2.

Killebrew led off the eighth with a homer, but that was the last run the Twins scored.  They got a pair of two-out singles in the eighth, but a popup ended the inning and thpie Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Segui (7-8).

LP:  Ron Perranoski (7-4).

S:  Grant (20).

Notes:  The switch to Holt in center and Tovar in left appears to be permanent, as the Twins did it again in this game.  Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the fourth.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Perranoski in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field, with Tovar moving to second base and Thompson leaving the game.  Brant Alyea pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going behind the plate.  Jim Kaat pinch-hit for Dick Woodson in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .321.  Zepp allowed two runs in four innings and had an ERA of 2.87.  Perranoski gave up an unearned run in one inning and had an ERA of 2.16.  Stan Williams had a rare bad game, allowing three runs in a third of an inning, and had an ERA of 2.09.

I don't understand using Kaat as a pinch-hitter when Mitterwald and Frank Quilici were still on the bench, unless for some reason they were unavailable that day.  I know Kaat was always considered a good hitter, but he was "a good hitter for a pitcher" rather than an actual good hitter.  At this point in the season, he was batting .177 with an OPS of .401.  His career numbers are a batting average of .185 and an OPS of .494.  Not that Mitterwald and Quilici were great batters, but they were clearly better than that.

Once again, ex-Twins came back to haunt the Twins.

The loss was the Twins' third in a row and meant that they ended their homestand 5-5.  They next had a seven-game road trip, three in Washington and four in Boston.

Record:  The Twins were 69-41, in first place in the American League West, 6.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Nine

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OAKLAND 6, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, August 9.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a triple, a walk, and two RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run, his thirty-fourth.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Don Mincher was 2-for-3 with two home runs (his nineteenth and twentieth), three runs, and four RBIs.  Felipe Alou was 2-for-4.  Jim Roland pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins opened the first with two singles, but a strikeout and a double play ended the inning.  The Athletics started the scoring in the fourth.  With two out, Tommy Davis singled and stole second.  Sal Bando was intentionally walked, but the strategy backfired when Mincher hit a three-run homer.

The Twins came back.  Killebrew hit a two-out home run in the fourth to make it 3-1.  In the fifth, Leo Cardenas and George Mitterwald singled and Tovar delivered a two-out two-run triple to tie the score at 3-3.

But that was as good as it got for the Twins.  Mincher homered again in the seventh to give Oakland a 4-3 lead.  In the ninth Mincher drew a two-out walk, followed by an Alou single and a two-run single-plus-error by Frank Fernandez, giving the Athletics a 6-3 lead.

The Twins did try to comeback in the ninth.  Rick Renick hit a one-out double.  With two out, Mitterwald walked, bringing the tying run to the plate.  But Charlie Manuel grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Roland (2-2).

LP:  Jim Kaat (10-8).

S:  Mudcat Grant (19).

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Danny Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the seventh and went to left field, with Tovar moving to center.  Brant Alyea pinch-hit for Kaat in the seventh.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the ninth.  Manuel pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .323.  Williams gave up two runs (one earned) in two innings and had an ERA of 1.75.

Kaat pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk and striking out five.  Oakland starter Blue Moon Odom pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out one.

As you can see, ex-Twins came back to haunt them in this game.  In addition to Mincher's two homers and Roland's 2.1 scoreless innings, Grant pitched 1.1 scoreless innings.

While the Twins had only one .300 hitter at this point, they had three .290 hitters:  Killebrew (.297), Tovar (.297), and Thompson (.292).

Record:  The Twins were 69-40, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Seven

Note:  I thought I had published this, but apparently I didn't.  Sorry about that.

MINNESOTA 3, OAKLAND 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, August 8.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 2-for-4.  Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, his ninth.

Pitching stars:  Luis Tiant pitched 6.2 innings, giving up one run on five hits and four walks and striking out four.  Stan Williams pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Bert Campaneris was 2-for-4.  Sal Bando was 1-for-4 with a home run, his nineteenth.  Bob Locker pitched three perfect innings.  Mudcat Grant struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Bando hit a one-out homer in the second inning to give the Athletics a 1-0 lead.  A pair of walks followed, but Oakland did nothing further.  The Twins took the lead in the bottom of the second when Killebrew led off with a walk and Reese followed with a two-run homer.  The Twins added a run in the third when Tiant led off with a double, went to third on a Cesar Tovar single, and scored on a Thompson single.

And that was it.  The Athletics got two on in the fourth with an error and a walk.  They had two on with two out in the seventh on a single and a walk.  But those were the only times they got a man past first base, and the Twins took a 3-1 win.

WP:  Tiant (7-1).

LP:  Rollie Fingers (5-9).

S:  Williams (9).

Notes:  Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Frank Quilici came in to play second base in the ninth inning, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew going to the bench.

Tiant was 1-for-2 and was batting .423.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .329.  Tiant had an ERA of 2.86.  Williams had an ERA of 1.67.

Rollie Fingers started for Oakland and pitched just two innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk and striking out three.  Fingers had been in the starting rotation since late May, but would start only two more games in 1970 and only twelve more in his career.

Record:  The Twins were 69-38, in first place in the American League West, nine games ahead of California.  This was the Twins largest lead of the season to this point.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eight

OAKLAND 3, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1)

Date:  Sunday, August 9.

Batting star:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out seven in five shutout innings of relief, giving up only a walk.  Ron Perranoski struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Chuck Dobson pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out six.  Don Mincher was 3-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his fourth) and two RBIs.

The game:  With two out in the first Tommy Davis singled and scored on Mincher's double.  Sal Bando followed with a single to give the Athletics a 2-0 lead.  The Twins drew a pair of walks in the bottom of the first but did not score.  In the third, Bert Campaneris doubled and scored on Mincher's single to make it 3-0.

And that was it for the scoring.  The Twins did not get a hit until the fifth.  The first inning was the only time they had more than one man on base.  The only other time they got a man past first was in the ninth.  Killebrew led off with a single, and pinch-runner Frank Quilici got to third on a pair of ground outs.  But a third ground out ended the game.

WP:  Dobson (14-10).

LP:  Bert Blyleven (3-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was back in center, with Cesar Tovar moving to left.  Danny Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Blyleven in the third.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the eighth.  Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .326.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.99.  Hall had an ERA of 2.49.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.19.

In their last four games, the Twins had scored seven runs and given up six.

Blyleven pitched just three innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks and striking out three.  It seems like a really quick hook.  The Twins did have a rested bullpen, though.

The Twins had only four hits, all singles.

Record:  The Twins were 69-40, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Six

MINNESOTA 2, OAKLAND 1 IN MINNESOTA (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, August 7.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5 with a home run, his third.  Rich Reese was 1-for-1 with a home run (his eighth) and three walks.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched an eleven-inning complete game, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Reggie Jackson was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.  Bert Campaneris was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixteenth.  Catfish Hunter pitched seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mudcat Grant pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Campaneris led off the game with a home run, giving the Athletics a 1-0 lead.  Reese led off the second inning with a home run, tying the score 1-1.

And there was no more scoring until the eleventh.  The Twins got a one-out double from Oliva in the fourth, a leadoff double from George Mitterwald in the fifth, and started the sixth with a single and a walk.  Jackson hit a two-out double in the seventh.  The Athletics got a man to second in the eighth and in the ninth.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the tenth when Cesar Tovar walked, Danny Thompson reached on a sacrifice bunt/error, and Oliva was intentionally walked, but Harmon Killebrew hit into a 5-2-3 double play and Rick Renick grounded out.

Came the eleventh.  Oakland went down in order.  Holt led off the bottom of the inning with a home run and the Twins were victorious.

WP:  Perry (17-9).

LP:  Marcel Lachemann (2-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in center, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Thompson was at shortstop, with Frank Quilici at second and Leo Cardenas on the bench.  Killebrew pinch-hit for Reese in the tenth and stayed in the game at first base.

Oliva was .329.  Perry was 1-for-4 and was batting .303.

I don't know when the last time is that someone pitched eleven innings in a game, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened in the last few years.

The Twins had played twenty-five innings in the last two games and used four pitchers.  There were a total of six runs scored in those innings, four by the Twins and two by the opposition.  Each game was decided by a walkoff home run.

It's not every game you have Catfish start and he gets replaced by Mudcat.

Record:  The Twins were 68-38, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Five

MINNESOTA 2, CALIFORNIA 1 IN MINNESOTA (14 INNINGS)

Date:  Thursday, August 6.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 3-for-5 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-6.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-6 with a home run, his tenth.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp struck out nine in eight innings, giving up one run on four hits and three walks.  Tom Hall struck out four in four shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.  Stan Williams pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Bill Voss was 2-for-6 with a home run, his second.  Andy Messersmith pitched seven shutout innings, giving up five hits and a walk and striking out four.  Eddie Fisher struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  The Twins had two on with one out in the first but did not score.  That was the only time a team had two men on base until the seventh, when the Angels loaded the bases with one out.  A popup and a strikeout ended the inning.

There was no score until the eighth, when Voss homered to give California a 1-0 lead.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the eighth but missed a chance for more.  Charlie Manuel led off the inning with a pinch-hit walk and Tovar singled.  A bunt moved men to second and third and Tony Oliva was intentionally walked to bring up Harmon Killebrew.  Killebrew was then hit by a pitch to force home a run.  That was it, though, as a pair of strikeouts ended the inning.

The next threat came in the twelfth, when Tommie Reynolds doubled with one out.  Joe Azcue was intentionally walked and Chico Ruiz got an infield single, loading the bases.  But a pair of forceouts ended the inning with no scoring.  Each team missed a chance in the thirteenth.  The Angels had two on with two out and a ground out ended the inning.  The Twins also had two on with two out and a strikeout ended the inning.

The Twins finally put it away in the fourteenth.  Mitterwald led off with a home run and the Twins won 2-1.

WP:  Williams (7-0).

LP:  Paul Doyle (3-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was again in center field, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp and Jim Kaat pinch-ran for Manuel.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Holt and stayed in the game in left field, with Tovar moving to center.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .328.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and feel below .300 at .297.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.80.  Hall had an ERA of 2.65.  Williams had an ERA of 1.73.

This was the first time all season Killebrew had been below .300.  He would not get back above it the rest of the season.

The Twins went through fourteen innings with just three pitchers.  The Angels used five.

The fourteen inning game took just three hours, forty-seven minutes.

This was one of three home runs Bill Voss hit in 1970.  He hit nineteen for his career.  Ten of those home runs came in 1971 with Milwaukee.  He had a career high slugging percentage (.375) and OPS (.687) in 1971 and played only one more year after that.

The Twins were 3-2 on their current ten-game homestand.  The remaining five would all be with Oakland.

Record:  The Twins were 67-38, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of California and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Four

CALIFORNIA 7, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, August 5.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a double.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and one walk and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Jim Spencer was 3-for-4 with two home runs (his ninth and tenth) and four RBIs.  Tommie Reynolds was 3-for-4 with three runs.  Jarvis Tatum was 2-for-5 with a stolen base.  Mel Queen pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and striking out two.

The game:  The Angels had two men on in each of the first two innings but did not score.  In the bottom of the second Rich Reese walked and scored when Jim Holt reached third on a single-plus-error.  A ground out scored Holt.  Mitterwald then doubled and scored on a Kaat single.  Kaat went to second on a ground out and scored on a Thompson single to make it 4-0 Twins.

The Angels got on the board in the fourth when Reynolds singled, went to third on Spencer's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  In the sixth Reynolds singled and Spencer followed with a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 4-3.

The Twins got an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth when Reese singled and scored on a Mitterwald triple.  It wasn't enough.  Ray Oyler led off the eighth with a single and Ken McMullen walked.  A double play gave the Twins hope of getting out of the jam, but Reynolds hit an RBI single and Spencer followed with another two-run homer, putting California up 6-5.  They added a run in the ninth when Sandy Alomar walked, went to third on Tatum's single, and scored on a squeeze bunt.

The Twins tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth.  With one out Rick Renick and Cesar Tovar had consecutive singles, bringing the deciding run up to bat.  But Thompson and Oliva flied out and the game was over.

WP:  Queen (2-3).

LP:  Ron Perranoski (7-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Kaat in the seventh.  Renick came in to play left in the ninth as part of a double switch, with Tovar moving to center and Holt coming out of the game.

Oliva was batting .329.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .301.  Tovar was 1-for-5 and slipped back below .300 at .299.  Tom Hall gave up a run in one inning and had an ERA of 2.80.  Perranoski gave up three runs in 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.20.  Stan Williams retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 1.77.

Angels starter Tom Murphy lasted just 1.2 innings, allowing four runs on five hits and a walk and striking out none.

I find it odd that Bill Rigney would suddenly decide to put Holt in center and Tovar in left after having done it the opposite way all season.  He presumably had a reason, but I have no idea what it might have been.

Record:  The Twins were 66-38, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of California and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Three

MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 4.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven struck out twelve in a complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4.  Bob Humphreys struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  It was scoreless until the third, when singles by Ted Kubiak, Harper, and Russ Snyder put the Brewers ahead 1-0.  The Twins took the lead in the fourth.  Back-to-back one-out doubles by Harmon Killebrew and Reese brought home the first run.  With two out, Leo Cardenas doubled and Blyleven contributed an RBI single to give the Twins a 3-1 advantage.

The Twins added two more in the fifth.  With one out, Oliva singled and Killebrew was hit by a pitch.  Reese singled home a run, leaving men on first and third, and a sacrifice fly made the score 5-1.

Blyleven took it from there.  He gave up a run in the seventh when Dave May singled and scored on a Roberto Pena double, but Milwaukee did not get the tying run up to bat in that or any other inning as the Twins won 5-2.

WP:  Blyleven (6-3).

LP:  Bobby Bolin (3-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was in center in place of Cesar Tovar.  Danny Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Charlie Manuel made a rare start in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Tovar went to left in the seventh, replacing Manuel.  Frank Quilici went to second in the ninth, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.

Oliva was batting .328.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .304.  Tovar was 1-for-1 and was back up to .300.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.78.

This was the third complete game for Blyleven.  He would have five for the season.

This was only the second time Tovar did not start, and each time he came in for defense late in the game.  He would not get a full game off until late September.

Bolin pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out none.  He did not have a good season in 1970, but he struggled with the Twins more than most:  0-3, 5.91, 1.69 WHIP.  For the season he was 7-11, 4.63, 1.46 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 66-37, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of California and Oakland.  This was the largest lead the Twins had up to this point in the season.