Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Two

MILWAUKEE 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 2-for-4.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Luis Tiant pitched five innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks and striking out two.  Pete Hamm pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Bob Burda was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his third) and a walk.  Lew Krausse pitched 8.2 innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out four.

The game:  With two out in the first Mike Hegan and Burda walked and Dave May delivered an RBI single, putting the Brewers up 1-0.  The Twins got a pair of one-out singles in the third but did not score.  Milwaukee got a pair of leadoff singles in the fifth but did not score.  So, it was still 1-0 going to the sixth.

With one out in the sixth Hegan walked and Burda followed with a two-run homer, making it 3-0.  Neither team threatened again until the ninth, when Roberto Pena and future Twin Phil Roof hit one-out singles and Krausse delivered a two-out single, increasing the Brewers' lead to 4-0.

The Twins finally got something going in the ninth.  Danny Thompson led off with a single and Tony Oliva bunted him to second (presumably bunting for a hit).  Harmon Killebrew doubled home the first Twins run.  After a ground out, Holt singled home Killebrew (who was not pinch-run for) to make the score 4-2.  But that was all there was, as Leo Cardenas grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Krausse (11-11).

LP:  Tiant (6-1).

S:  Ken Sanders (3).

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was again in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Alyea pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the sixth.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going behind the plate.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Hamm in the eighth.

Tiant was 0-for-1 and was batting  .417  Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .326.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .304.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-4 and slipped below .300 at .298.  Williams allowed two runs in one inning and had an ERA of 1.79.

Hamm lowered his ERA to 6.75.

Thompson now had six multi-hit games in his last seven starts.  He was 16-for-32 in those seven starts and raised his average from .200 to ,290,

This was Tiant's first appearance since May 28.  He would remain in the Twins' rotation through the month of August.

Bob Burda had thirteen home runs in his career, one of them obviously in this game.  A first baseman/right fielder, he was traded to Milwaukee in early June and got the only semi-regular playing time of his career.  He wasn't up to it, batting .248/.303/.342 with four home runs in 222 at-bats.  He had a very good year as a pinch-hitter for St. Louis in 1971, batting .296 in 71 at-bats.  Traded to the Red Sox for 1972, he could not repeat his success and was out of baseball after that year.

Record:  The Twins were 65-37, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 18

Eddie Moore (1899)
Danny Kaye (1913)
Mike Fornieles (1932)
Chuck Cottier (1936)
Satch Davidson (1936)
Curt Flood (1938)
Carl Morton (1944)
Billy Grabarkewitz (1946)
Sachio Kinugasa (1947)
Scott McGregor (1954)
Dave Geisel (1955)
Brady Anderson (1964)
Mike Lieberthal (1972)
Wandy Rodriguez (1979)
Michael Pineda (1989)

Entertainer Danny Kaye was one of the original owners of the Seattle Mariners.

Satch Davidson was a National League umpire from 1969-1984.

Sachio Kinusaga played in 2,215 games in Japan from 1970-1987.

Six players born on this day made their major league debuts in 2017:  Jaycob Brugman, Max Fried, Jarlin Garcia, Kyle Martin, Alex Mejia, and Gift Ngoepe.  I don't know, but I suspect this may be a record.

We would also like to wish a happy birthday to Scot's oldest son.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 18 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred One

MINNESOTA 2, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Monday, August 3.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 3-for-4 with a double.  Rich Reese was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched eight innings, giving up one run on five hits and no walks and striking out six.  Tom Hall struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jerry McNertney was 2-for-3.  Marty Pattin pitched an eight inning complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out five.

The game:  There was no score until the fifth, when Roberto Pena singled, stole second, and scored on McNertney's single.  The Twins tied it in the sixth when Thompson hit a one-out single, Harmon Killebrew drew a two-out walk, and Reese followed with an RBI double.

The Twins wasted George Mitterwald's leadoff double in the seventh.  In the eighth, however, Thompson led off with a double and scored on a Reese two-out RBI single to give the Twins their first lead of the game.  Hall came in to retire the Brewers in the ninth and preserve the victory.

WP:  Perry (16-9).

LP:  Pattin (7-9).

S:  Hall (3).

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Jim Kaat pinch-ran for Mitterwald in the seventh, with Tom Tischinski going in to catch in the eighth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .326.  Perry was 0-for-2 and was batting .306.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .304.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-4 and was batting .301.  Hall had an ERA of 2.71.

Without going back through the box scores, I couldn't find out how many times Kaat was used as a pinch-runner.  It was more than a few times, however.

It's interesting that Bill Rigney went with Hall to close out a 2-1 game.  First, it's surprising to me that Perry didn't finish the game--he had given up just a single in the seventh and had retired the side in order in the eighth.  Having decided to go to the pen, the choice of Hall was probably influenced by the fact that Ron Perranoski and Stan Williams had each pitched in three consecutive games.  It certainly worked out.

Pattin threw eleven complete games in 1970.  That was only good for tenth in the league.  Mike Cuellar led the league with twenty-one.

Thompson had six multi-hit games in his last seven starts.  He went 14-for-27 in those starts and raised his average from .200 to .282.

Record:  The Twins were 65-36, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of California, which had regained second place from Oakland.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 17

Louis Santop (1890)
Hank Leiber (1911)
Lum Harris (1915)
Mayo Smith (1915)
Don Zimmer (1931)
Keith Lieppman (1949)
Antonio Munoz (1949)
Pete LaCock (1952)
Darrell Porter (1952)
Mark Littell (1953)
Jerry Turner (1954)
Doug Simunic (1956)
T. R. Bryden (1959)
Chili Davis (1960)
SBG (1965)
Tyler Houston (1971)
Rob Bell (1977)
Trevor Bauer (1991)
Randy Dobnak (1995)

Catcher Louis Santop was a star in the Negro Leagues, hitting .349 over fifteen seasons.

Keith Lieppman was Oakland's Director of Player Development from 1992-2021, when he became a special advisor for player development.

Antonio Munoz was a long-time star in Cuba, winning eight home run titles and becoming the all-time leader in walks.

Doug Simunic was the manager of the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks from 1996-2017.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 17 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred

MINNESOTA 4, DETROIT 3 IN DETROIT

Date:  Sunday, August 2.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a home run (his eighteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his thirty-third) and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits and four walks and striking out three.

Opposition stars:  Bill Freehan was 2-for-4.  Daryl Patterson struck out three in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  Oliva homered in the first inning to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Tigers tied it in the second when Norm Cash walked, went to second on Bill Freehan's single, and scored on a double by Don Wert.  The Twins went back in front in the fourth when Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer.  They added a run in the fifth on singles by Zepp, Tovar, and Oliva, making the score 4-1.

It stayed 4-1 until the ninth.  Cash led off the inning with a single and Wert drew a one-out walk, bringing the tying run to the plate.  Ron Perranoski came in and retired Elliot Maddox on a line out, but Ike Brown singled to load the bases and an error brought home two runs.  It was 4-3 with men on first and third and two out.  Stan Williams then came in to retire Mickey Stanley on a line out to end the game.

WP:  Zepp (6-1).

LP:  Joe Niekro (10-9).

S:  Williams (8).

Notes:  Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Charlie Manuel was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Manuel in the sixth and stayed in the game in left field.

Oliva was batting .327.  Killebrew was batting .306.  Tovar was batting .304.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.96.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.90.  Williams had an ERA of 1.56.

Niekro gave up four runs in 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits and no walks and striking out one.

Manuel was with the Twins for all but a month of the 1970 season, but started only six games.  This was the second of those six, and as you can see above, he played barely over half the game.  In his month in AAA, when he actually got to play, he batted .329 with an OPS of 1.027.  I understand that he probably wasn't a very good defender, but this was a team that was playing Brant Alyea, Holt, and Rick Renick in left field.  There should've been more than six starts for Manuel.

This was the longest start of Zepp's career to date.  He would make only one longer, a shutout of the White Sox on September 11.

The Twins finished their road trip 3-3.  They would now come home for ten games against Milwaukee, California, and Oakland.

Record:  The Twins were 64-36, in first place in the American League West, 7.5 games ahead of California and Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-nine

MINNESOTA 12, DETROIT 4 IN DETROIT (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, August 1.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 4-for-6 with a double, a walk, and two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with five RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched 6.1 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks and striking out two.  Dick Woodson pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and two walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Don Wert was 2-for-4 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.  Al Kaline was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and a walk.  Ike Brown was 2-for-4 with a home run, his third.  Mickey Lolich pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and four walks and striking out five.

The game:  The Twins got a pair of one-out singles in the first but did not score.  Brown homered in the bottom of the first to put the Tigers on the board, but they also could not take advantage of a pair of one-out singles.  The Twins tied it in the second.  Rich Reese led off with a walk and one-out singles by Tom Tischinski and Kaat loaded the bases.  All the Twins could get, though, was a sacrifice fly, as they again stranded two men.

Detroit put two on in the third and again could not score.  In the fourth, Kaat drew a two-out walk, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on a Tovar single to put the Twins up 2-1.  The Twins added a run in the fifth when Brant Alyea hit a two-out double and scored on a Reese single.  The Twins again missed a chance for more, as they loaded the bases with two out, but the score stayed 3-1.

The Tigers tied it in the seventh.  Wert led off the inning with a home run.  With one out Jim Price walked, Cesar Gutierrez singled him to third, and a ground out brought home the tying run.  The Twins went back in front in the eighth when Tischinski reached on an error, went to third on a Charlie Manuel single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  Once again, however, the Twins loaded the bases with two out and could not make it pay.  It cost them, as Kaline homered in the bottom of the eighth to tie it 4-4.

The Twins finally broke through in the tenth.  With one out, Tovar singled and scored on a Thompson double.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked, but Tony Oliva delivered an RBI double and Rick Renick hit a two-run double, making the score 8-4.  Reese was intentionally walked, a ground out put men on second and third, and Paul Ratliff was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Bob Allison walked to force in a run, Tovar singled in two, and Thompson finished the scoring with an RBI single.  An eight-run tenth gave the Twins a 12-4 lead.  Detroit tried to rally in the bottom of the inning, loading the bases, but Norm Cash flied out to end the game.

WP:  Ron Perranoski (7-2).

LP:  Fred Scherman (3-3).

S:  Dick Woodson (1).

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tischinski was again behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in left field in the seventh.  Manuel pinch-hit for pitcher Stan Williams in the eighth.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Tischinski in the eighth, with Ratliff going behind the plate.  Renick pinch-hit for Holt in the ninth and went to left field.  Allison pinch-hit for Perranoski in the tenth.

Oliva was 1-for-6 and was batting .323.  Killebrew was 1-for-5 and was batting .306.  Tovar was batting .303.  Williams retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 1.57.  Perranoski gave up a run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.91.

Allison was 0-for-1 and was batting .170.

The Twins stranded fifteen men, but were still 7-for-15 with men in scoring position.  The Tigers stranded eight and were 0-for-6 with men in scoring position.

The Twins received three intentional walks in the tenth inning.  I don't know what the record for intentional walks in an extra inning, or in any inning, is, but it seems like it can't be much more than three.  They received a total of ten walks in the game.

Record:  The Twins were 63-36, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of Oakland, who had moved into second place ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–January 15

Johnny Nee (1890)
Ray Chapman (1891)
Steve Gromek (1920)
Georges Maranda (1932)
Dr. Mike Marshall (1943)
Bobby Grich (1949)
Rance Mulliniks (1956)
Jerry Narron (1956)
Don Cooper (1956)
Delino DeShields (1969)
Ray King (1974)
Matt Holliday (1980)
Armando Galarraga (1982)
Mitch Garver (1991)

Johnny Nee was a long-time minor league manager and scout.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–January 15 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-eight

DETROIT 10, MINNESOTA 9 IN DETROIT

Date:  Friday, July 31.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventeenth.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5 with two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-5.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-5.  Charlie Manuel was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit homer.  Bob Allison was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit two-run homer.

Pitching star:  Tom Hall struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jim Northrup was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twentieth), two runs, and four RBIs.  Dick McAuliffe was 1-for-3 with two walks and two RBIs.

The game:  Cesar Gutierrez led off the third with a single, Mickey Stanley drew a two-out walk, and Northrup hit a three-run homer to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.  It stayed 3-0 until the sixth, when the Twins got six runs.  Thompson singled and Oliva homered to cut the lead to 3-2.  Harmon Killebrew then walked, Reese singled, Alyea hit a two-run single-plus-error, and Cardenas singled to give the Twins a 5-3 lead.  The next two batters went out, but singles by Cesar Tovar and Thompson produced another run, making it 6-3 Twins.

That lead lasted until the seventh, when Detroit got a touchdown of its own.  Don Wert singled and Russ Nagelson walked.  Elliot Maddox had an RBI double and McAuliffe delivered a two-run single to tie it 6-6.  Stanley and Northrup each singled to give the Tigers a 7-6 lead.  Al Kaline drew a walk to load the bases.  Bill Freehan was hit by a pitch to force in a run and Nagelson walked again to force home another run.  Detroit led 9-6 through seven.

The Twins came back again.  Manuel hit a pinch-hit homer in the eighth to cut the margin to 9-7.  In the ninth Oliva led off with a walk, but Killebrew lined into a double play.  Reese then singled, however, and Allison hit a two-run pinch-hit homer to tie it 9-9.

But it was all for naught.  Kaline led off the bottom of the ninth with a walk.  The next two batters grounded out, making two out with a man on second.  Wert was intentionally walked.  Pinch-hitter Ike Brown walked to load the bases, and Maddox walked to force in the deciding run.

WP:  Tom Timmerman (4-3).

LP:  Pete Hamm (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt went to left field in the seventh in place of Alyea.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Tischinski in the eighth, with Paul Ratliff going behind the plate.  Manuel pinch-hit for Hall in the eighth.  Allison pinch-hit for Holt in the in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field.

Oliva was batting .326.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .307.  Tovar slipped under .300 at .299.  Bert Blyleven allowed five runs in six innings and had an ERA of 2.87.  Ron Perranoski allowed four runs without retiring anyone and had an ERA of 1.84.  Hall had an ERA of 2.75.

Allison raised his average to .173.  Hamm allowed one run in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 10.80.

Denny McLain started for Detroit.  He allowed four runs in five innings.

Russ Nagelson presumably tied a record by drawing two walks in an inning.  He drew those walks as a pinch-hitter, which puts into more select company.  I don't know how many guys walked twice in the same inning as a pinch-hitter--I'm sure there are some, but I doubt that it's all that common.

What a frustrating way to lose a game.  Not only do you force in two runs in the seventh with a bases-loaded hit batsman and a bases-loaded walk, but you force in the deciding run with a bases-loaded walk.  And not only that, but the Tigers did not get a hit in the bottom of the ninth--they scored on four walks.

Not that it excuses anything else, but I don't understand the intentional walk to Don Wert.  For his career, he batted .242/.314/.343.  At this point in 1970 he was batting .234/.315/.339.  Yes, it brought up the pitcher's spot, but Bill Rigney had to figure the Tigers would pinch-hit.  The pinch-hitter, Ike Brown, was batting .279/.392/.512.  They did not gain a platoon advantage with this--both Wert and Twins pitcher Hamm were right-handed, as was Brown.  It does not make much sense to me.

The Twins had lost three in a row and five out of seven.

Record:  The Twins were 62-36, in first place in the American League West, 6.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-seven

CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 2 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Thursday, July 30.

Batting star:  Brant Alyea was 1-for-1 with two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry struck out seven in seven innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and a walk.  Tom Hall struck out two in a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Roy Foster was 2-for-4.  Vada Pinson was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eleventh.  Steve Hargan pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks and striking out five.

The game:  There were no baserunners until the bottom of the third.  Eddie Leon and Larry Brown led off the inning with singles and an error brought home a run.  Foster singled home a run later in the inning and it was 2-0 Indians.

The Twins got their first baserunner in the fourth when Cesar Tovar reached on an error, but he was quickly erased by a double play.  Pinson homered in the seventh to make it 3-0, and Hargan still had a no-hitter going at that point.

Finally, with two out in the eighth, George Mitterwald singled for the Twins' first hit.  Leo Cardenas followed with a single, and a wild pitch moved runners to first and second.  Charlie Manuel drew a pinch-hit walk, loading the bases, and Alyea delivered a two-run pinch-hit single to cut the margin to 3-2.

But that was as good as it got.  Tovar grounded out to end the inning.  Harmon Killebrew drew a two-out walk in the ninth, putting the tying run on base, but Jim Holt popped up to end the game.

WP:  Hargan (5-2).

LP:  Perry (15-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Alyea.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Manuel pinch-hit for Quilici and Alyea pinch-hit for Perry.  Jim Kaat pinch-ran for Manuel, and Danny Thompson then went to second base.  Dave Boswell pinch-ran for Killebrew in the ninth.  It would be Boswell's last appearance in a major league game in 1970, as he missed the rest of the season due to injury.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .324.  Perry was 0-for-2 and was batting .317.  Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .307.  Tovar was 0-for-4 and was batting .301.  Hall had an ERA of 2.79.

This was Hargan's sixth start of the season.  He started the season in the bullpen, made two starts, was injured, went back to AAA, and finally came back in mid-July.  This was his second consecutive complete game.  He would throw one more, then go 7.1 in his next start.  He would finish the season with four complete games in his last five starts.  So, out of nineteen starts, he had eight complete games.

Record:  The Twins were 62-35, in first place in the American League West, 6.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-six

CLEVELAND 9, MINNESOTA 8 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Wednesday, July 29.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a home run (his sixteenth) and four RBIs.  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Danny Thompson was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a home run, his thirty-second.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit and one walk.

Opposition stars:  Dean Chance was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Graig Nettles was 1-for-3 with a home run (his sixteenth), a walk, and two runs.  Vada Pinson was 1-for-5 with a grand slam, his tenth homer.

The game:  Killebrew homered leading off the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  With one out in the bottom of the second, Larry Brown walked, Eddie Leon singled, and Chance delivered an RBI single.  With two out, Lou Klimchock walked to load the bases and Duke Sims walked to force in a run, putting the Indians up 2-1.

Cleveland appeared to take control of the game in the third.  Nettles led off the inning with a walk.  With one out walks to Brown and Leon filled the bases.  Chance then delivered another RBI single, followed by Pinson's grand slam.  The Indians led 7-1 after three.

The Twins got a couple of hits in the fourth, but did nothing with them.  Nettles homered in the fourth to make it 8-1.  In the fifth Leon walked, was bunted to second, and scored on Buddy Bradford's double, making it 9-1.

Then the Twins came back.  In the sixth Reese singled and Oliva homered to make it 9-3.  They wasted a one-out double in the seventh.  In the eighth, however, Cesar Tovar walked, Reese singled, and Oliva singled home a run.  A pickoff error brought home another run and it was 9-5.

Come the ninth.  Singles by Thompson, Brant Alyea, Charlie Manuel, and Tovar cut the lead to 9-7 and put the tying run on base with none out.  Reese bunted to move the tying run to scoring position.  Oliva hit a sacrifice fly to make it 9-8, but Rick Renick grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Chance (6-5).

LP:  Dave Boswell (3-7).

S:  Phil Hennigan (3).

Notes:  Jim Holt started in left in place of Alyea.  Thompson was at shortstop in place of Leo Cardenas.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.

Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for the pitcher in the fifth.  Renick went to third in the sixth in place of Killebrew.  Manuel pinch-hit for the pitcher in the seventh.  He stayed in the game in left field, with Holt moving to center, Tovar moving to second, and Quilici coming out of the game.  Alyea pinch-hit for the pitcher in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .327.  Killebrew was batting .310.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .304.  Williams had an ERA of 1.58.

Manuel was 1-for-2 and was batting .182.  Boswell allowed five runs in 2.1 innings and had an ERA of 6.42.  Pete Hamm made his major league debut and allowed three runs in 1.2 innings, giving him an ERA of 16.20.

Killebrew was pulled in the sixth with the Twins down 9-3.  I have no problem with that move.  I suspect, though, that Bill Rigney regretted the move when Renick came up in the eighth with the score 9-5 and a man on second and struck out.  He probably regretted it further in the ninth, when Renick came up with the tying run on second and two out and grounded out to end the game.  Again, I don't mean to imply Rigney did anything wrong--he was trying to get the big guy off his feet in what was then a blowout game.  But that's baseball.

If you know anything about Dean Chance, you know he was a terrible batter.  His career line is .066/.113/.069.  He had sixteen RBIs in his career.  I haven't checked, but it wouldn't surprise me if this was the only two-hit game or two-RBI game in his career.  He had three hits and three RBIs in all of 1970.  But that's baseball.

There were several ex-Twins in this game.  Nettles and Chance, of course.  Also Ted Uhlaender, who was 0-for-4, and Fred Lasher, who allowed three runs in one inning of work.

Hamm was twenty-two when he made his major league debut.  He would make ten appearances for the Twins in 1970 and thirteen in 1971.  He didn't do well in the majors, but he had a very good year in AAA Portland, and at age twenty-three, one would've thought this was a promising young pitcher.  Instead, the Twins sold him to Chicago after the 1971 season and they sent him to AA.  He dominated the Eastern League, as you'd expect, but he never got promoted and his playing career was done after the 1972 season.  I've always thought there has to be some sort of story there, but I've never been able to find out what it is.

Record:  The Twins were 62-34, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of California.