Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-five

MINNESOTA 5, CLEVELAND 2 IN CLEVELAND

Date:  Tuesday, July 28.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 3-for-4 with a double.  Brant Alyea was 2-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-5 with a two-run homer, his thirty-first.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out two.  Tom Hall struck out four in three perfect innings.

Opposition star:  Tony Horton was 2-for-4.

The game:  The Indians scored in the first, as Graig Nettles singled, Roy Foster walked, and Horton delivered an RBI single.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the third, but a force out and two popups kept them off the board.  In the fourth, however, Alyea homered to tie it 1-1.

It stayed 1-1 until the sixth.  With one out, Foster, Ray Fosse, and Horton all singled, loading the bases.  All Cleveland could get was a Buddy Bradford sacrifice fly, but it was enough to put the Indians up 2-1.

But in the bottom of the sixth the Twins went into the lead to stay.  Thompson led off with a single.  With two out Rick Renick hit an RBI double and Killebrew hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-2.  They added an insurance run in the eighth when Rich Reese singled, went to third on a Thompson double, and scored on a ground out.

Cleveland did not get a hit after the sixth inning.

WP:  Kaat (10-7).

LP:  Sam McDowell (15-5).

S:  Hall (2).

Notes:  The Twins won with a B lineup.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Rick Renick was at third, with Killebrew moving to first and Reese on the bench.  Bob Allison was in right field, with Oliva moving to center and Cesar Tovar on the bench.  Danny Thompson was at shortstop, with Leo Cardenas on the bench.

Tovar pinch-hit for Kaat in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Jim Holt went to right field and Reese went to first base in the seventh, with Killebrew moving to third and Allison and Renick coming out of the game.

Oliva was batting .323.  Killebrew was batting .310.  Tovar was 0-for-1 and was batting .304.  Hall had an ERA of 2.83.

Allison was 0-for-3 and was batting .157.

Alyea made his first start since July 18.  He had pinch-hit twice in that time.

Hall bounced back nicely from three sub-par outings.

McDowell pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and two walks and striking out four.  It was his only loss to the Twins in 1970:  he went 3-1, 2.70 against them in four starts.  For his career against the Twins, he was 11-11, 3.70 in 38 games (30 starts).

In consecutive games, the Twins had faced Dave McNally, Jim Palmer, and Sudden Sam McDowell.

Ex-Twins in this game were Nettles and Rich Rollins.  Nettles was 1-for-3.  Rollins pinch-hit and was 0-for-1.

Record:  The Twins were 62-33, in first place in the American League West, seven games ahead of California.  The seven game lead was their largest to date.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-four

MINNESOTA 5, BALTIMORE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 27.

Batting stars:  Frank Quilici was 3-for-4.  Jim Holt was 2-for-3 with a home run, his second.  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a home run, his ninth.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and no walks and striking out four.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Dave Johnson was 2-for-4 with a double.  Don Buford was 1-for-4 with a home run, his thirteenth.  Moe Drabowsky struck out four in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Holt started the scoring with a home run in the second inning.  In the third Quilici singled and Blyleven reached on an error.  With one out Reese hit a two-run triple and Tony Oliva followed with an RBI double, giving the Twins a 4-0 lead.

The Orioles got on the board in the sixth when Buford homered.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the sixth when Mitterwald homered.  The Twins left the bases full in that inning, and Baltimore got a run closer in the seventh when Brooks Robinson singled, was balked to second, and scored on Johnson's double.

But that was it.  The Orioles got only one hit after that, a single by Andy Etchebarren in the ninth.

WP:  Blyleven (5-3).

LP:  Jim Palmer (14-7).

S:  Perranoski (25).

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Danny Thompson replaced Harmon Killebrew at third base in the eighth.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .322.  Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .312.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-5 and was batting .305.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.49.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.35.

Blyleven was given what, for that era, were quick hooks, usually pulled after about six innings.  While one would like to think that the Twins were interested in protecting a young arm, what I suspect is that Bill Rigney was simply reluctant to trust the young rookie and so would pull him at the first sign of trouble.

Palmer lasted just five innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks and striking out one.  It was a rare bad game for Palmer, who would win twenty games and finish fifth in Cy Young voting.  His game score of thirty-three was tied for his worst of the season.  He had trouble with the Twins in 1970, going 0-2, 4.66 in three starts.  For his career, he was much better:  21-12, 2.78 in 45 games (39 starts).

Quilici was 7-for-14 in his last four games, raising his average from .195 to .242.  That was the highest his average had been since the end of April, and would be the highest it would be the rest of the season.

The Twins ended their homestand 5-4.  They would not go on a six-game road trip to Cleveland and Detroit.

Record:  The Twins were 61-33, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-three

BALTIMORE 11, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 26.

Batting star:  Jim Perry was 1-for-1 with a home run and a walk.

Pitching star:  Perry pitched six innings, giving up three runs on twelve hits and no walks and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Merv Rettenmund was 3-for-5 with a walk and a stolen base, his fifth.  Dave Johnson was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Brooks Robinson was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch and two runs.  Boog Powell was 2-for-5 with a grand slam (his twenty-fifth homer) and six RBIs.  Mark Belanger was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Elrod Hendricks was 2-for-5.  Dave McNally pitched a complete game, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out five.

The game:  It was close for a while.  In fact, there was no score through four innings.  In the fifth, singles by McNally, Don Buford, and Rettenmund loaded the bases and Powell delivered a two-run single to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead.  Perry homered in the bottom of the fifth to make it 2-1.  Baltimore got the run back in the sixth on singles by Hendricks, Johnson, and Belanger, increasing the lead to 3-1.

The Orioles put it away in the eighth.  Singles by Robinson and Johnson and a walk to McNally loaded the bases with two out.  Buford walked to force in a run.  Dick Woodson then came in to replace Tom Hall.  He walked Rettenmund, forcing in another run, and the Powell hit a grand slam, giving Baltimore a 9-1 lead.

The Orioles tacked on two more in the ninth when Robinson was hit by a pitch, Johnson walked, Belanger had an RBI single, and Buford hit a sacrifice fly.

WP:  McNally (13-7).

LP:  Perry (15-8).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Frank Quilici was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison was used as a pinch-hitter for the pitcher.  Danny Thompson replaced Harmon Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .322.  Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .314.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-3 and was batting .309.  Hall had an ERA of 2.96.

Allison was 0-for-1 and was batting .167.  Dave Boswell retired the only man he faced and had an ERA of 5.97.

In his last three games (one of them a start), Hall had pitched 9.1 innings and allowed ten runs (nine earned) on nine hits and nine walks while striking out ten.  His ERA went from 2.03 to 2.96.

In his last five games, Steve Barber had pitched 6.2 innings and allowed seven runs on eleven hits and five walks while striking out four.  His ERA went from 2.70 to 4.63.  After this game, he would not pitch for the Twins again until late September.

I don't remember ever doing a game recap before where the same player was the only batting star and the only pitching star.

Record:  The Twins were 60-33, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-two

BALTIMORE 6, MINNESOTA 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, July 25.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a home run (his fifteenth) and two runs.  Frank Quilici was 2-for-3.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a double.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two hits.

Opposition stars:  Dave Johnson was 3-for-5 with a double.  Brooks Robinson was 3-for-5.  Boog Powell was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Don Buford was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his twelfth), a walk, and two runs.  Dick Hall pitched four innings, giving up one run on four hits and striking out one.

The game:  The Twins got off to a poor start.  In the top of the first Buford was hit by a pitch, went to second on a wild pitch, and scored on an error.  The error put Paul Blair on third base, and he scored on Powell's double to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead out of the gate.

The Twins did not get a baserunner until two out in the third, when starting pitcher Bill Zepp singled.  Baltimore loaded the bases in the fourth but did not score.  In the bottom of the fourth, the Twins scored four runs to take the lead.  Rich Reese and Oliva singled and Killebrew followed with an RBI double.  With one out, George Mitterwald was intentionally walked to load the bases.  Leo Cardenas followed with a two-run single and Quilici had an RBi single, giving the Twins a 4-2 lead.

It lasted until the sixth.  Frank Robinson singled, Brooks Robinson reached on an error, and Elrod Hendricks singled to load the bases with none out.  Johnson singled in a run to make it 4-3, and with one out Terry Crowley delivered a pinch-hit single to tie it 4-4.  Baltimore took the lead in the eighth when Dick Hall singled and Buford hit a two-run homer.

The Twins got one back in the bottom of the eighth when Oliva led off with a home run.  Killebrew followed with a single, but did not get past first base (and oddly, was not pinch-run for).  Jim Holt singled in the ninth but was erased on a double play to end the game.

WP:  Dick Hall (8-3).

LP:  Tom Hall (5-4).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt went to left in the ninth as part of a double switch, with Renick coming out of the game.  Alyea pinch-hit for Quilici in the ninth.

Oliva was batting .323.  Killebrew was batting .317.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-5 and was batting .311.  Dick Woodson did not give up a run in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.25.  Tom Hall gave up two runs in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.48.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.41.

Bill Zepp started for the Twins and pitched five innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks and striking out two.  Jim Hardin started for the Orioles and pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.

The pitcher's spot came up for the Orioles with one out in the top of the eighth in a tie game.  The pitcher, Dick Hall, had already pitched two innings.  He was allowed to hit, and he got a single, eventually scoring the go-ahead run.

It's probably not that uncommon that the winning and losing pitcher had the same last name.  I wonder if it's ever happened before that the name was "Hall".  Not that Hall is that uncommon, but it's not Smith, either.

Record:  The Twins were 60-32, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety-one

2 Comments

MINNESOTA 8, BALTIMORE 0 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 24.

Batting stars:  Frank Quilici was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Rick Renick was 2-for-4 with a home run, his seventh.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-5.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a home run (his thirtieth), a walk, and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer (his fourteenth) and two runs.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched a complete game shutout, giving up seven hits and a walk and striking out five.

Opposition star:  Andy Etchebarren was 2-for-4.

The game:  Tovar led off the bottom of the first with a double and scored on a Reese single to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Renick led off the second with a homer to make it 2-0.

Neither team threatened again until the fifth, when Quilici singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single.  Killebrew walked and Oliva followed with a three-run homer to make the score 6-0 Twins.  The Twins added two more in the seventh.  Killebrew led off with a home run.  Oliva reached on an error, Renick singled, and George Mitterwald singled to bring the score to 8-0.

Despite getting seven hits and a walk, the Orioles only once had a man in scoring position.  That was in the eighth, when Don Buford hit a one-out single and Paul Blair followed with a walk.  But the next two batters went out and it remained 8-0.

WP:  Kaat (9-7).

LP:  Mike Cuellar (13-6).

S:  None.

Notes:  Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Renick in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Danny Thompson replaced Killebrew at third base in the eighth.

Oliva was batting .319.  Tovar was batting .316.  Killebrew was batting .315.

The Twins continued to have success against Cuellar.  He had pitched a complete game victory against them eight days earlier.  Other than that game, though, he had posted game scores of fifty-one and forty-five, and in this game his score was twenty-seven.  For the season against the Twins he was 2-2, 4.88, 1.41 WHIP.  Against the entire league, Cuellar was 24-8, 3.48, 1.15 WHIP.

This was the only shutout for Kaat in 1970.

The Twins scored more runs in this game than they had in their previous three.

Record:  The Twins were 60-31, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.  That's the biggest lead the Twins have had so far--they were also six games up on July 11.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Ninety

MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 23.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 3-for-3 with a home run, his eighth.  Rich Reese was 3-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and three walks and striking out eight.

Opposition stars:  Jim Northrup was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighteenth.  Joe Niekro pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and no walks and striking out one.

The game:  In the second the Tigers got a pair of one-out walks and a two-out single, loading the bases, but did not score.  The Twins got a pair of one-out singles in the fifth but did not score.  So, it was 0-0 until the sixth, when Northrup homered with one out.  The Twins got the run back in the bottom of the sixth.  With one out Reese reached third on a single-plus-error and scored on a grounder to first.

Detroit again loaded the bases in the seventh but did not score.  Mitterwald led off the bottom of the eighth in a home run to put the Twins up 2-1.  The Tigers did not get a baserunner in the eighth or ninth, and the Twins' lead held up.

WP:  Blyleven (4-3).

LP:  Niekro (10-8).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Frank Quilici was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Quilici in the seventh, with Danny Thompson going to second base.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .319.  Harmon Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .315.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-4 and was batting .314.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.44.

Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .195.

The Twins once again did not score much for Blyleven, but he managed to make two runs be enough.  The Tigers stranded eight men, six of them in two innings when they left the bases full.

Niekro had not yet become a knuckleball pitcher in 1970, relying mostly on fastballs and sliders at this point in his career.

The Twins had scored exactly two runs in each of their last three games, winning two of them 2-1.  They were now 3-2 on their nine-game homestand, with four against Baltimore coming up.

Record:  The Twins were 59-31, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty-nine

MINNESOTA 2, DETROIT 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, July 20.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4.  Frank Quilici was 1-for-2 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on two hits and no walks and striking out three.  Ron Perranoski retired all four men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Don Wert was 2-for-3 with a double.  Mickey Lolich pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.

The game:  The Twins put two on with none out in the first, but a double play took them out of the inning.  Neither team threatened again until the fifth, when Quilici walked, singles by Perry and Tovar loaded the bases, and Harmon Killebrew delivered a two-out two-run single, putting the Twins up 2-0.

The Tigers did not get a hit, or even a baserunner, until the sixth, when Wert led off with a single.  They did not get another hit until the eighth.  At that time Bill Freehan was hit by a pitch with one out, Wert doubled, and Elliot Maddox hit a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 2-1.  The tying run was on third with two out, but Perranoski came in to retire Jim Price on a ground out to end the inning.  Detroit went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Perry (15-7).

LP:  Lolich (9-11).

S:  Perranoski (24).

Notes:  Rick Renick was again in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt replaced Renick in left in the seventh.  Danny Thompson replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .319.  Tovar was batting .318.  Perry was 1-for-2 and was batting .316.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.43.

Quilici was 1-for-2 and was batting .197.

Lolich was having an off year, although he wasn't that bad.  He was 9-11 at this point, but with an ERA of .356.  He would finish the season 14-19, with a 3.80 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP.  He still pitched 272.2 innings and had 13 complete games, he clearly didn't have a lot of short starts.  He would come back in 1971 to win 25 games and lead the league in complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts.  He would finish second in Cy Young voting to Vida Blue.

Record:  The Twins were 58-31, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty-eight

DETROIT 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, July 21.

Batting stars:  George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his seventh) and a double.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his twenty-first.

Pitching stars:  Dick Woodson struck out three in two perfect innings.  Dave Boswell pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Dick McAuliffe was 4-for-5 with a stolen base, his fifth.  Willie Horton was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his seventeenth) and a walk.  Norm Cash was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Denny McLain pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  The Twins had two on in the first and the Tigers had two on in the second, but there was no score until the third.  McLain and McAuliffe led off with singles, and an error scored the game's first run.  Detroit would take control of the game in the fifth.  Singles by Cesar Guiterrez, McAuliffe, and Mickey Stanley plated one run.  A wild pitch put men on second and third, a sacrifice fly scored a run, and Horton hit a two-run homer, giving the Tigers a 5-0 lead.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fifth, as Rich Reese singled and Mitterwald hit a two-run homer.  But that was it for the scoring, as 5-2 is where it stayed.  Mitterwald hit a two-out double in the seventh, and the Twins opened the eighth with singles, but the score remained 5-2.

WP:  McLain (1-2).

LP:  Bill Zepp (5-1).

S:  Tom Timmerman (16).

Notes:  Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .321.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .320.  Tovar was batting .316.  Woodson had an ERA of 2.30.

Boswell had an ERA of 6.00.  This was his second relief appearance of the season.

Jim Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to second base in place of Rod Carew.  Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Danny Thompson and Paul Ratliff were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Zepp pitched 4.1 innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out three.  This was his second consecutive poor start, after having made two very good starts.

McLain had been suspended for the first three months of the season, so this was only his sixth start.  After winning the Cy Young award in 1968 and 1969, he would never have a good season again.  His ERA after this game was 4.78.  Despite getting a hit in this game, he was not a good batter:  his career numbers are .133/.166/.153.

The Twins had started their homestand 1-2.

Record:  The Twins were 57-31, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty-seven

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MINNESOTA 4, CLEVELAND 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, July 20.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat struck out seven in seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks.  Ron Perranoski pitched two shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Ray Fosse was 2-for-3.  Graig Nettles was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Tony Horton was 2-for-4.

The game:  Each team scored one in the first.  For the Indians Nettles doubled and scored on Fosse's single.  In the bottom of the first Tovar and Killebrew doubled.  The Twins threatened in the third, putting men on first and third with two out, but it stayed 1-1 until the fourth.

In the fourth Rick Renick doubled, George Mitterwald walked, and Leo Cardenas was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with none out.  A sacrifice fly was all the Twins could get out of it, but it gave them a 2-1 lead.  It went to 3-1 in the fifth when Tovar doubled, was bunted to third, and scored on an error.  The Twins went on to load the bases with one out, but a double play ended the inning.  They got one more run in the sixth on singles by Frank Quilici, Kaat, and Rich Reese.

Meanwhile, Cleveland did not get a man past first base in innings two through six.  They opened the seventh with consecutive singles but left the runners on first and third.  In the eighth, however, Nettles walked and Fosse and Horton singled, cutting the lead to 4-2 and putting men on first and second with one out.  Buddy Bradford struck out, but Eddie Leon walked to load the bases.  Ex-Twin Rich Rollins grounded out, however, and the score stayed 4-2.  Nettles got a two-out single in the ninth, but the Indians could do no more.

WP:  Kaat (8-7).

LP:  Rick Austin (1-4).

S:  Perranoski (23).

Notes:  Renick was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt pinch-hit for Mitterwald in the fifth, with Tom Tischinski them going behind the plate.  Danny Thompson went to third base in place of Killebrew in the ninth.

Killebrew was batting .324.  Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .321.  Tovar was batting .314.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.46.

Quilici was 1-for-3 and was batting .189.

Perranoski batted in the ninth and singled.  It was his only hit of the season, as he went 1-for-24.  It was also the last hit of his major league career.  He would bat only six more times in the next three seasons.  For his career, he batted .096/.147/.114, with one double, one triple, three RBIs, and six runs.

The two relief appearances coming out of the all-star break did not appear to affect Kaat in this game.

In addition to Nettles and Rollins, Cleveland used ex-Twins Fred Lasher and Dean Chance.  Each pitched a scoreless inning.

The starter for the Indians was Rick Austin.  This was his sixth major league start.  He pitched a shutout in his second start, but other than that had not had a game score over 43.  He would not have one in this game, either, although he came close--he allowed three runs on six hits and two walks in 4.1 innings for a game score of 51.  He would make only two more major league starts, then go to the bullpen.  He pitched for Cleveland from 1970-1971 and for Milwaukee from 1975-1976.  For his career he was 4-8, 4.63, 1.61 WHIP, six saves in 89 games (136 innings).

Record:  The Twins were 57-30, in first place in the American League West, 4.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty-six

CLEVELAND 3, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 19.

Batting stars:  None.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out two.  Steve Barber pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Sam McDowell struck out fourteen in a complete game, giving up one run on three hits and no walks.  Roy Foster was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Vada Pinson was 2-for-4 with a hit-by-pitch.  Graig Nettles was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fourteenth.

The game:  The Twins got on the board in the first inning, as Cesar Tovar doubled and scored on a two-out single by Tony Oliva.  That was the first Twins run of the game, but it was also the last, and it was not enough.

The Indians took the lead in the third when Jack Heidemann walked and Nettles hit a two-out two-run homer.  In the fourth Ray Fosse led off with a single, went to third on Eddie Leon's single, and scored on a balk to make it 3-1 Cleveland.

The Twins never threatened after the first inning.  In fact, they had only one more hit after the first inning, and that came with two out in the ninth when Rich Reese singled.  It brought the tying run to the plate in Harmon Killebrew, but he struck out to end the game.

WP:  McDowell (14-4).

LP:  Blyleven (3-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Frank Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski caught in place of George Mitterwald.  Alyea and Bob Allison were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .325.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting ,.321.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .309.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.67.  Stan Williams retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 1.63.

Quilici was 0-for-3 and was batting .183.

In Blyleven's three losses, the Twins scored a grand total of three runs.

Oddly, the Twins started a new series on a Sunday, having played in Baltimore the day before.  I assume this was a consequence of the all-star break, although the more common thing was to play a four-game series Thursday through Sunday after the break.  This would be the start of a nine-game homestand:  two with Cleveland, three with Detroit, and four with Baltimore.

Record:  The Twins were 56-30, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.