Tag Archives: Minnesota Twins

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-five

MINNESOTA 12, CHICAGO 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, July 5.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a home run (his twenty-fourth), two walks, two runs, and two RBIs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams retired all ten men he faced, striking out one.

Opposition star:  Duane Josephson was 2-for-4 with a triple.

The game:  The Twins started the scoring in the second.  Killebrew walked, Rich Reese singled, and Paul Ratliff was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with one out.  All the Twins could get out of it was a Cardenas sacrifice fly, leaving them up 1-0.  In the third, though, the offense came alive.  Cesar Tovar and Holt singled, putting men on first and third, and Oliva singled in a run.  A wild pitch scored another, and Killebrew singled to bring home a third.  Singles by Ratliff and Cardenas brought home a run and a sacrifice fly plated one more, making it 6-0 Twins through three.

The Twins added some more runs in the fifth.  Killebrew led off with a home run.  Reese walked and went to third on a stolen base-plus error.  Cardenas walked, Danny Thompson singled in a run, Tovar was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Holt singled in two runs, pushing the Twins' lead to 10-0.

The White Sox got on the board in the sixth.  Jim Kaat had shut them down through five and a third innings on just four singles, but with one out in the sixth Walt Williams walked, Luis Aparicio doubled, Tom McCraw had an RBI double, Carlos May drove in a run with a ground out, and Josephson tripled home a run.  That was as good as it got for Chicago, though, as Williams came in at that point and retired every White Sox batter for the rest of the game.

The Twins added single runs in the sixth and seventh.  In the sixth, Ratliff was hit by a pitch with two out and scored on a Cardenas double.  In the eighth an error, an Oliva single-plus-error, and an intentional walk loaded the bases and Reese was hit by a pitch to bring in the game's final run.

WP:  Kaat (7-6).

LP:  Bob Miller (3-4).

S:  Williams (7).

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Herman Hill pinch-ran for Tovar in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the seventh and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Oliva was batting .326.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .311.  Williams had an ERA of 1.67.

Kaat had pitched very well through five innings, but his final line was 5.2 innings, three runs, seven hits, two walks, and no strikeouts.

Ex-Twin Bob Miller started for the White Sox and pitched just two innings, allowing five runs on five hits and a walk and striking out one.

I find it odd that Chicago manager Don Gutteridge would order an intentional walk to Killebrew in the eighth inning.  I mean, yes, he's Harmon Killebrew, but the score was 11-3, it was the eighth inning, and the White Sox had just one more turn at bat.  It just seems like a bit of poor sportsmanship to me.  Not that anything should've been done about it--I'm not saying it was outrageously outrageous or anything.  I just don't see the point of it.  Play the game.  Let the big man hit.

Record:  The Twins were 49-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-four

CHICAGO 5, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA (12 INNINGS)

Date:  Saturday, July 4.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-5 with a double.  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-6.

Pitching stars:  Dave Boswell pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and no walks and striking out one.  Bill Zepp pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Stan Williams pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Knoop was 2-for-4.  Ed Herrmann was 2-for-5 with a home run, his seventh.  Walt Williams was 2-for-6.  Tommy John pitched 8.1 innings, giving up three runs on nine hits and two walks and striking out seven.

The game:  The White Sox had men on first and third with one out in the second, but Gail Hopkins was thrown out trying to score on a grounder to third and a fly out ended the inning.  Chicago got on the board in the fourth, though.  Carlos May was hit by a pitch and Hopkins reached on a fielder's choice, putting men on first and second with none out.  Herrmann singled home a run and another run scored on a double play, making it 2-0 White Sox.

The Twins only once got a man as far as second base for six innings.  In the seventh, however, Cardenas hit a two-out double and George Mitterwald followed with an RBI single, cutting the lead to 2-1.

Chicago had men on second and third with none out in the eighth but did not score.  Herrmann homered leading off the ninth to make it 3-1.  In the bottom of the ninth Tony Oliva led off with a double and stayed on second on Rick Renick's infield single to short.  Oliva was then picked off second, a huge mistake in the ninth inning.  Bob Allison then walked, putting men on first and second.  Cardenas had an RBI single, making it 3-2 and putting men on first and third, and Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly to send the game to extra innings.

The Twins missed a good chance in the tenth.  Tovar led off and got to third on a single-plus-error.  Danny Thompson hit a short fly ball for the first out.  Harmon Killebrew and Oliva were both intentionally walked, filling the bases, and the strategy worked, as pinch-hitter Tom Tischinski hit into a double play.  In the twelfth, Bob Spence led off with a walk.  Walt Williams replaced him on first on a fielder's choice.  He then scored when Luis Aparicio reached on an error.  Aparicio went all the way to third and scored on a sacrifice fly, making it 5-3.  The Twins went down in order in the bottom of the twelfth.

WP:  Wilbur Wood (4-7).

LP:  Dick Woodson (1-2).

S:  Jerry Crider (2).

Notes:  Thompson was again at second in place of Rod Carew.  Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Reese to the bench.

There were lots of bench moves.  Frank Quilici pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh.  Jim Holt replaced Brant Alyea in left field in the ninth with the Twins trailing and Alyea due to bat in the bottom of the inning.  Alyea would make only one brief appearance between this game and July 16, so he presumably was dealing with an injury.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Holt in the ninth and Herman Hill pinch-ran for Allison, with Hill staying in the game in center and Tovar moving to left.  Reese pinch-hit for MItterwald in the ninth and Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Ron Perranoski in the ninth, with Ratliff staying in the game to catch, Reese staying in the game at first base, and Killebrew moving to third.  Jim Kaat pinch-hit for Stan Williams in the tenth, but when the White Sox changed pitchers Tischinski pinch-hit for Kaat.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .324.  Tovar was batting .312.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .308.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.68.  Perranoski gave up one run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.75.  Williams had an ERA of 1.78.  Woodson gave up two unearned runs in two innings and had an ERA of 2.70.

Tischinski was batting zero (0-for-2).  Hill was 0-for-1 and was batting .118.  Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .175.  Boswell had an ERA of 6.22.

As you can see above, the Twins used seven bench players (not counting Kaat).

Crider, of course, is an ex-Twin, having played for them in 1969.

The loss ended the Twins' five-game winning streak.  It was their second extra-inning game in four days.

Despite lasting twelve innings, the game took just 3:31 to play.

RecordL  The Twins were 48-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-three

MINNESOTA 8, CHICAGO 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, July 3.

Batting stars:  Danny Thompson was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Rick Renick was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer (his twenty-third) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Duane Josephson was 2-for-3.  Floyd Weaver struck out four in three shutout innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  The White Sox scored first, tallying twice in the first inning.  One-out singles by Luis Aparicio and Carlos May put men on first and third.  A passed ball scored one run and Josephson's two-out single made it 2-0 Chicago.

The Twins came back with four in the bottom of the first.  Tovar and Thompson led off the inning with singles.  A wild pitch scored a run and Tony Oliva delivered an RBI double to tie it 2-2.  Killebrew then walked, a run-scoring single by Jim Holt put the Twins ahead, and an error made it 4-2 Twins after one.

It was all Twins after that.  In the second Tovar doubled and scored on a Thompson single to make it 5-2.  In the fifth, Thompson and Oliva singled and Killebrew hit a three-run homer to bring the score to 8-2.

The White Sox never had two men on base after the first inning and only once advanced a man to second.

WP:  Perry (12-6).

LP:  Joel Horlen (6-10).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Renick was at third, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Frank Quilici came in to play second in the sixth, with Thompson moving to shortstop and Leo Cardenas leaving the game.

Oliva was batting .325.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .308.

Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .177.

It was Perry's seventh complete game of the season.

The Twins were once again able to get to Joel Horlen.  He pitched five innings and allowed eight runs (seven earned) on ten hits and a walk and struck out one.  Horlen had been a good pitcher for several years, but he started to decline in 1969 and the decline was more pronounced in 1970--he went 6-16, 4.86.  He was especially bad against the Twins--0-4, 8.03, 1.99 WHIP.  He would do better in 1971 and have a decent year mostly pitching out of the bullpen for Oakland in 1972 before ending his playing career.

The Twins started their homestand 5-0.  They had just gone 3-4 against those same two teams on the road.

Record:  The Twins were 48-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 18

Ty Cobb (1886)
Dick Coffman (1906)
Gino Cimoli (1929)
Moose Skowron (1930)
Zoilo Versalles (1939)
Steve Hovley (1944)
Drew Coble (1947)
Roy Howell (1953)
Jim Clancy (1955)
Scott Bailes (1961)
Willie Blair (1965)
Joe Randa (1969)
Jose Rodriguez (1974)
Byron Buxton (1993)

Drew Coble was an American League umpire from 1982-1999.

We would also like to wish a very happy birthday to cheaptoy.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 18 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-two

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, July 2.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-2 with a home run (his twenty-second) and a walk.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer (his sixth), a double, and two runs.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-4 with a home run, his eighth.

Pitching star:  Tom Hall pitched seven innings, giving up one run on two hits and a walk and striking out six.

Opposition stars:  Eliseo Rodriguez was 2-for-3 with a triple and two runs.  Aurelio Monteagudo pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

The game:  Killebrew got the first hit of the game, a home run leading off the bottom of the second.  Rich Reese followed with a single, and with one out Cardenas hit a two-run homer, putting the Twins up 3-0.

Neither team had another hit until the fifth, when Cardenas doubled and went to third on a wild pitch.  George Mitterwald walked and Hall hit into a double play, scoring Cardenas.  Tovar followed with a home run to make it 5-0 Twins.

Rodriguez got the first Royals hit in the sixth, a leadoff triple, and scored on Jackie Hernandez' sacrifice fly to make it 5-1.  Cookie Rojas got a leadoff double in the seventh and got as far as third base with two out, but he got no farther.  In the eighth Rodriguez and Ed Kirkpatrick led off with singles, putting men on first and third with none out.  Pat Kelly drew a one-out walk to load the bases and Rojas hit a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2, but that was all Kansas City could get.  The Royals went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Hall (4-2).

LP:  Al Fitzmorris (4-3).

S:  Stan Williams (6).

Notes:  Danny Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew.  Rick Renick was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Herman Hill came in to play center in the eighth as part of a double switch, with Tovar moving to left and Renick coming out of the game.  Frank Quilici came in to play second base in the ninth, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew leaving the game.

Tony Oliva was 0-for-3 and was batting .323.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .305.  Hall had an ERA of 2.05.  Stan Williams gave up a run in two innings and had an ERA of 1.81.

Thompson was 0-for-4 and was batting .174.  Hill was 0-for-1 and was batting .125.

Hall had given up two runs in 13.2 innings in two starts.  He would make one more start, then return to the bullpen.  Bill Rigney apparently thought he was more valuable there, despite his success as a starter.

Hill was very fast, stealing 58 bases in the minors in 1967, and was considered an excellent defender.  Unfortunately, as we've observed before, none of the other "five tools" mean much if you can't hit, and he couldn't.  He did hit .300 in Denver in 1969, but a) it was Denver, and b) he still only had an OPS of .744.  He admittedly didn't get much of a chance in the majors, but he batted just .083 in 24 major league at-bats.

Aurelio Monteagudo had all the vowels in his first name, and all but one of the vowels in his last name.  Maybe he's who Hrbek could've bought a vowel from.

Record:  The Twins were 47-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–December 17

Cy Falkenberg (1879)
Ray Jablonski (1926)
Cal Ripken (1935)
Jerry Adair (1936)
Leo Cardenas (1938)
Bob Ojeda (1957)
Marvell Wynne (1959)
Curtis Pride (1968)
Alex Cintron (1978)
Chase Utley (1978)
Fernando Abad (1985)
Taylor Rogers (1990)

Cal Ripken was in the Orioles organization for many years, managing in the minors from 1961-1974, coaching in the majors from 1976-1986 and 1989-1992, and managing the big club from 1987-1988.  He had a son, also named Cal, who had a fairly decent major league career.

Continue reading Happy Birthday–December 17 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-one

MINNESOTA 2, KANSAS CITY 1 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, July 1.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Rick Renick was 1-for-4 with a home run, his sixth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out nine in seven innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits and one walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Jim Rooker pitched nine innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and five walks and striking out five.  Amos Otis was 2-for-4.  Paul Schaal was 1-for-2 with two walks.

The game:  The Royals had men on first and second with one out in the first but did not score.  Instead, Renick homered leading off the second to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  Neither team really threatened after that until the sixth, when the Twins failed to capitalize on a Danny Thompson leadoff double.  In the seventh, Kansas City tied it.  Ed Kirkpatrick reached on a two-base error and scored on a two-out single by Tommy Matchick.

The Twins threatened in the bottom of the seventh.  Herman Hill, pinch-running for Brant Alyea, was on second with two out.  Tovar singled, but Hill was thrown out at the plate.  The Royals threatened in the ninth, loading the bases with one out, but Cookie Rojas grounded into a double play.  Kansas City threatened again the tenth, putting two on with two out, but Lou Piniella flied out to end the inning.

In the tenth, leadoff batter George Mitterwald reached on an error.  Jim Kaat pinch-ran for him.  Pinch-hitter Frank Quilici bunted and reached on another error, putting men on first and third.  Tovar was intentionally walked, loading the bases with none out.  Pinch-hitter Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly to win the game.

WP:  Perranoski (5-2).

LP:  Rooker (4-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Renick was at third, with Harmon Killebrew moving to first and Reese going to the bench.  Hill pinch-ran for Alyea in the seventh and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Bob Allison and Quilici pinch-hit for pitchers.  Kaat pinch-ran for Mitterwald.  Reese pinch-hit for Thompson.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .326.  Killebrew was 0-for-4 and was batting .307.  Tovar was batting .306.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.38.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.65.

Hill was 0-for-1 and was batting .133.

This was Blyleven's seventh major league start.  The Twins scored three or fewer runs in five of them.

The only ex-Twin to play for the Royals in this game was Jackie Hernandez, who went 1-for-4.

This was the third time Perranoski had pitched as many as three innings in a game in 1970.

Record:  The Twins were 46-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy

MINNESOTA 8, KANSAS CITY 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, June 30.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a home run (his twenty-first) and two runs.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5.  Rick Renick was 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit grand slam, his fifth homer.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.  Dick Woodson pitched a perfect inning.  Stan Williams pitched three shutout innings, giving up a walk and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Bob Oliver was 2-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and three RBIs.  Paul Schaal was 2-for-4 with a home run, his second.  Amos Otis was 2-for-4 with a stolen base (his sixteenth) and three runs.

The game:  In the first Schaal singled and Oliver hit a two-run homer, giving the Royals an early 2-0 lead.  The Twins got one back in the second when Rich Reese reached on a two-base error and scored on a Leo Cardenas single.  The lead went back to two in the third when Otis reached on a single-plus-error and scored on Oliver's double.  The score went to 5-1 in the fifth when Schaal led off with a homer, Otis and Lou Piniella singled, and a double play brought home a run.

The Twins came back in the sixth.  Killebrew led off the inning with a home run, cutting the lead to 5-2.  With one out Holt singled and Cardenas and George Mitterwald walked, loading the bases.  Bob Johnson came in to face pinch-hitter Renick, who hit a grand slam and put the Twins up 6-5.  They added two more in the seventh when Killebrew and Reese singled and both scored on a Holt triple.

Kansas City did not get a hit after the fifth inning.

WP:  Woodson (1-1).

LP:  Johnson (1-5).

S:  Williams (5).

Notes:  Herman Hill was again in center, with Tovar moving to second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Danny Thompson went to third in the eighth inning in place of Killebrew.  Paul Ratliff and Renick were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .327.  Killebrew was batting .313.  Tovar was batting .303.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.74.  Williams had an ERA of 1.70.

Hill was 0-for-5 and was batting .143.

This was the second time Jim Kaat had pitched in relief and then started two days later as if nothing had happened.  Neither time did it go well.  In this game, he pitched four innings and allowed five runs on seven hits and a walk, striking out one.  In the two starts combined, he had an ERA of 7.20 and a WHIP of 2.20.  I'm sure Kaat was more than willing to take the ball both times, but the fact that someone is willing to do something does not necessarily mean it's a good idea to let them do it.

The Royals' starter was Don O'Riley.  He pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on six hits and two walks and struck out none.  This was his first major league start.  He would start again on July 4, which would be his last major league start.  For his career he pitched in 27 games, 18 in 1969 and 9 in 1970.  He pitched 46.2 innings, pitching 23.1 in each of his two seasons.  He was 1-1, 6.17, 1.76 WHIP.  I suspect that makes him not unusual for a pitcher on an expansion team.

Record:  The Twins were 45-25, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-nine

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, June 29.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 4-for-5 with a triple.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Herman Hill was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched 8.2 innings, giving up four runs on ten hits and two walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Lou Piniella was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs.  Ex-Twin Pat Kelly was 2-for-5 with a double.  Future Twin Tom Burgmeier pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and two walks.

The game:  Most of the action came early.  With one out in the top of the first, Cookie Rojas and Amos Otis singled, followed by doubles by Ed Kirkpatrick and Piniella to make it 3-0.  With two out Tommy Matchick added an RBI single to make it 4-0 after a half inning.

The Twins responded in the bottom of the first.  They started the inning with consecutive singles by Tovar, Hill, Oliva, and Killebrew, plating two runs.  A sacrifice fly later in the inning cut the lead to 4-3 after one.

The Royals put two on in the second and third but could not score.  Hill and Oliva started the bottom of the third with singles.  The next two batters went out, but Jim Holt delivered an RBI single to tie it 4-4.  With two out in the fifth, Perry doubled and Tovar followed with an RBI triple to give the Twins their first lead at 5-4.

And that's where it stayed.  Kansas City had only two hits after the third inning and did not put a man past first base, leaving the Twins with a 5-4 victory.

WP:  Perry (11-6).

LP:  Dick Drago (6-5).

S:  Ron Perranoski (18).

Notes:  Hill was in center field, with Tovar moving to second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Interestingly, Frank Quilici was not used as a defensive replacement for Killebrew.

Perry was 1-for-4 and was batting .357.  Oliva was batting .330.  Killebrew was batting .309.  Tovar was batting .301.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.74.

These were the first two hits of Herman Hill's career.  In fact, they were the only two hits of Herman Hill's career.  He had been 0-for-2 in 1969 and was 2-for-22 in 1970.  His career batting line was ,083/.083/.083.  He had batted .300 in AAA Denver in 1969, but batted just .248 in AAA Evansville in 1970.

The two Twins pitchers shared the first four letters of their last names--Perry and Perranoski.  What's the significance of that?  Well, nothing, as far as I know.  I just found it interesting.

Drago pitched 5.2 innings, allowing five runs on twelve hits and a walk and striking out two.  He's largely forgotten now, but Dick Drago was a pretty fair pitcher for quite a while.  He was with Kansas City from 1969-1973, posting double digit wins in four of the five seasons and nine in the other.  He was with Boston from 1974-1975 and 1978-1980, with stops in California and Baltimore in between.  He closed out his career in Seattle in 1981.  He posted sub-four ERAs in nine of his thirteen seasons.  His career numbers are 108-117, 3.62, 1.31 WHIP.  He pitched 1875 innings and appeared in 519 games, 189 of them starts.  He never made an all-star team, never led the league in anything, and only once got Cy Young consideration (fifth in 1971), but for over ten years he was a pitcher you'd be happy to have on your team.

Record:  The Twins were 44-25, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-eight

1 Comment

CHICAGO 11, MINNESOTA 10 IN CHICAGO (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Date:  Sunday, June 28.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his eleventh) and three runs.  George Mitterwald was 3-for-5 with a home run (his sixth) and four RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-5 with a hit-by-pitch and two stolen bases (his sixteenth and seventeenth).

Pitching stars:  Ron Perranoski pitched a scoreless inning, giving up a hit and a walk.  Tom Hall pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Ken Berry was 2-for-4 with a home run (his sixth) and two RBIs.  Syd O'Brien was 2-for-4 with a double.  Bill Melton was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fourteenth), two runs, and two RBIs.  Danny Murphy was 1-for-1 with a home run.  He also pitched four innings, giving up an unearned run on three hits and three walks.  Luis Aparicio was 1-for-3 with a home run (his third), two walks, and two runs.

The game:  The Twins scored four in the top of the first inning.  Tovar led off with a single, went to second on a ground out, stole third, and scored on a sacrifice fly.  Oliva then singled, Brant Alyea walked, and Mitterwald hit a three-run homer, putting the Twins up 4-0.

The lead lasted until the bottom of the first.  O'Brien led off with a double and Aparicio walked.  Starter Dave Boswell then came out of the game due to injury.  Dick Woodson came in.  Carlos May walked, loading the bases.  An error brought home two runs, Ed Herrmann singled home a run, Rich McKinney hit a two-run double, and after McKinney was picked off Berry hit a home run, giving the White Sox a 6-4 lead after one inning.  It went to 8-4 in the second, as singles by Melton, Bob Spence, Berry, and Barry Moore plated two runs.

The Twins got back into it in the third.  Harmon Killebrew walked, Oliva singled, and Alyea was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with none out.  A pair of RBI ground outs and a run-scoring double by Frank Quilici cut the Chicago lead to 8-7 through three innings.

The Twins put two on in the fifth but did not score.  In the bottom of the fifth, solo homers by Murphy and Aparicio made it 10-7 White Sox.  Melton homered in the sixth to make it 11-7.

In the seventh, walks to Jim Holt and Paul Ratliff and a two-out RBI single by Rick Renick cut the lead to 11-8.  In the eighth Killebrew singled and Oliva followed with a two-run homer to make it 11-10.  But that was as good as it got.  The Twins had men on first and second with two out, but a ground out ended the inning.  In the ninth Tovar singled and stole second with one out, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game.

WP:  Murphy (1-0).

LP:  Woodson (0-1).

S:  Wilbur Wood (11).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Quilici pinch-hit for Thompson in the third and stayed in the game at second base.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for pitcher Steve Barber in the third.  Holt pinch-hit for Alyea in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for Quilici in the seventh.  Herman Hill pinch-hit for pitcher Jim Kaat in the seventh, but when Wood then came in to pitch Renick pinch-hit for Hill.  Renick stayed in the game in left field, with Holt moving to center and Tovar to second.  Tom Tischinski pinch-hit for pitcher Ron Perranoski in the eighth.

Oliva was batting .327.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .305.  Bill Zepp gave up two runs in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 2.80.  Perransoki had an ERA of 1.75.  Hall had an ERA of 2.18.

Thompson was 0-for-1 and was batting .188.  Quilici was 1-for-2 and was batting .180.  Boswell gave up two runs in zero innings and had an ERA of 6.55.

Boswell had doubtless been pitching with an injury all season, but it apparently finally became too much for him in this game.  He would make his next start, however, making five starts in July before finally giving up.

Hall, as you may remember, had pitched 6.2 innings in the first game of the doubleheader, then came in to pitch an inning in the second game.  I wonder when the last time is someone started the first game of a doubleheader and then relieved in the second game.  I especially wonder when the last time is someone started and pitched that many innings in the first game and then relieved in the second game.  In the b-r.com game log, under days rest, it says "-1".

The Twins used seven reserve position players in this game.  I don't know if it was a better game when teams had that many players on the bench, but I think it was more fun.  They also used seven pitchers.

Tom Tischinski was one of those seven.  He got his first at-bat of the season in this game, going 0-for-1.  He would stay with the Twins the rest of the season as the third catcher.

Wood got a hit in this game, going 1-for-1.  He had two hits in all of 1970, going 2-for-18.

The Twins closed out their road trip of three of the worst teams in the league with a record of 5-6.  They would now go home to play two of those same teams, Kansas City and Chicago.

Record:  The Twins were 43-25, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.