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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO (GAME 1 OF DOUBLEHEADER)
Date: Sunday, June 28.
Batting stars: Jim Holt was 3-for-4. Leo Cardenas was 3-for-5. Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5. Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with two home runs (his nineteenth and twentieth) and three RBIs. Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a home run (his tenth), two home runs, and two RBIs.
Pitching stars: Tom Hall struck out seven in 6.2 innings, giving up one run on seven hits and two walks. Bill Zepp pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits.
Opposition stars: Luis Aparicio was 2-for-4 with a double. Walt Williams was 2-for-5. Jim Magnuson pitched two perfect innings, striking out one.
The game: Consecutive singles by Paul Ratliff, Holt, and Danny Thompson put the Twins on the board in the second. In the third Oliva hit a two-out single and Killebrew followed with a two-run homer, making it 3-0.
The Twins continued to build the lead. In the fourth Holt singled, went to second on a ground out, and scored on a Hall single. Singles by Tovar and Cardenas followed, making it 5-0 Twins. Oliva homered leading off the sixth to make it 6-0.
The White Sox had two singles leading off the first and had a single and a walk in the fifth, but otherwise did not threaten through six innings. Finally in the seventh, Ken Berry hit a one-out single. With two down Williams singled and Aparicio followed with an RBI double, getting Chicago on the board at 6-1.
That was all the White Sox did, though. In the eighth Killebrew homered. Later in the inning Ratliff walked, went to third on a Holt single, and scored on a sacrifice fly. In the ninth Tovar singled, took third on a Cardenas single, and scored on a fielder's choice to bring the total to 9-1.
WP: Hall (3-2).
LP: Joel Horlen (6-9).
S: Zepp (1).
Notes: Ratliff was at catcher in place of George Mitterwald. Holt was once again in left in place of Brant Alyea. Thompson was again at second in place of Rod Carew. Frank Quilici came in for defense in the eighth, going to second with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game. Herman Hill pinch-ran for Oliva in the ninth and remained in the game in right field.
Oliva was batting .322. Killebrew was batting .306. Hall had an ERA of 2.23. Zepp had an ERA of 2.55.
Quilici was 0-for-1 and was batting .169.
This was the first start of the season for Hall. They clearly weren't worried about stretching him out, as he pitched 6.2 innings. He had pitched multiple innings in relief several times, pitching more than three innings five times, with a high of five innings. He had pitched 3.2 innings as recently as June 25. He was not taking anyone's place in the rotation at this point, but instead was making a spot start due to a doubleheader.
This was the first career save for Zepp. He would end up with four, two in 1970 and two in 1971. The save rule was clearly different then, as he entered the game with two out in the seventh with the Twins leading 6-1.
Horlen pitched five innings, allowing six runs on twelve hits and no walks and striking out one. Horlen was having the worst year of his career. He would not win a game the rest of the season, finishing 6-16, 4.86, 1.39 WHIP. The weak Chicago offense didn't help him--in his next six starts, the White Sox would score a total of eight runs, with a high of two. He missed all of August, leading one to believe he may have been pitching with an injury much of the season. He had pitched over two hundred innings in six consecutive seasons prior to 1970, when he pitched 172. He was a fine pitcher from 1963-1969, and also had a good year out of the bullpen for Oakland in 1972, his last season.
After scoring nine runs over their previous four games, the Twins scored eighteen in their next two. That's baseball.
Record: The Twins were 43-24, in first place in the American League West, three and a half games ahead of California.
MINNESOTA 9, CHICAGO 1 IN CHICAGO
Date: Saturday, June 27.
Batting stars: Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a walk. Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a three-run homer (his ninth) and three runs. Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), two runs, and two RBIs. George Mitterwald was 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Danny Thompson was 2-for-5.
Pitching star: Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game, giving up one run on two hits and a walk and striking out eight.
Opposition stars: Bob Spence was 1-for-3 with a home run. Floyd Weaver struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.
The game: Tovar led off the game with a single, Leo Cardenas reached on an error, and Oliva hit a three-run homer to put the Twins up 3-0. The Twins got a pair of singles in the second and did not score. Oliva led off the third with a single and went to second when the White Sox tried to throw behind him at first base. Reese then delivered an RBI single to make it 4-0. Tovar homered in the fourth to increase to lead to 5-0.
The game calmed down a bit from there, but in the sixth Thompson singled, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single, making it 6-0. Spence homered in the eighth to get Chicago on the board at 6-1. The Twins then scored three in the ninth. Oliva singled, Reese drew a two-out walk, and RBI singles by Jim Holt, Mitterwald, and Thompson followed, bringing the final score to 9-1.
WP: Blyleven (3-2).
LP: Garry Janeski (7-5).
S: None.
Notes: Bob Allison was in left in place of Brant Alyea. Thompson was at second in place of Rod Carew. Holt replaced Allison in left in the sixth. Frank Quilici replaced Harmon Killebrew in the ninth, with Quilici going to second and Thompson moving to third.
Oliva was batting .321. Killebrew was 0-for-5 and was batting .302. Blyleven had an ERA of 2.82.
Thompson raised his average to .167.
The stolen base in this game was the first of Mitterwald's career. He stole 14 bases in his career, with a high of three (done four times). He was caught stealing 17 times.
Janeski pitched 3.1 innings, allowing five runs on nine hits and no walks and striking out three. He was a rookie in 1970 and remained in the starting rotation all season despite going 10-17, 4.77, 1.51 WHIP. He was traded to Washington after the season for Rick Reichardt and had a poor season there. He was in AAA from 1972-1974, making four appearances for Texas in 1972.
Spence's home run was the first of four major league home runs he hit, all in 1970. His entire major league career (1969-1971) was spent with the White Sox, but 1970 was the only time he got more than 27 at-bats (130). His numbers were .202/.265/.306. He hit well in AAA--.286/.392/.493--but couldn't translate that to major league success, although he didn't get very much of a chance, either. He was a first baseman, and Chicago was playing Gail Hopkins at first base, so you'd think they might have given him more of a shot. But by 1971 they had Carlos May, and in 1972 they had Dick Allen, so Spence wasn't going to get a shot by then.
Record: The Twins were 42-24, in first place in the American League West, three games ahead of California.
CHICAGO 4, MINNESOTA 2 IN CHICAGO
Date: Friday, June 26.
Batting stars: Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4. Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double. Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with a home run (his fifth) and a walk.
Pitching star: Dick Woodson struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.
Opposition stars: Luis Aparicio was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base (his fourth) and two runs. Bob Miller pitched five innings, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk and striking out two. Jerry Crider pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out three.
The game: Tovar led off the game with a double but did not score. In the bottom of the first Aparicio singled, went to third on Syd O'Brien's double, and scored on a sacrifice fly to give the White Sox a 1-0 lead. In the second, Rich McKinney reached second on an error. Ken Berry walked and Miller singled home a run. Berry then stole third and scored on another sacrifice fly to make it 3-0 Chicago.
The Twins got on the board in the third. Jim Kaat was hit by a pitch, Tovar singled, a ground out moved the runners up, and another ground out brought home a run. Reese homered leading off the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2.
But that's as close as the Twins got. In the fifth Aparicio walked, went to third on a stolen base-plus-error, and scored on, yes, another sacrifice fly to make it 4-2.
The Twins had two on with none out in the sixth but did not score. They got a one-out single in the ninth, bringing the tying run to bat, but again could not do anything with it.
WP: Miller (3-3).
LP: Kaat (6-6).
S: Crider (1).
Notes: Jim Holt remained in left in place of Brant Alyea. Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.
Herman Hill and Bob Allison pinch-hit for pitchers. Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for George Mitterwald in the ninth. Rick Renick pinch-hit for Thompson in the ninth.
Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .315. Killebrew was batting .309. Bill Zepp did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.70. Woodson had an ERA of 1.86.
Thompson was batting zero (0-for-7). Hill was batting zero (0-for-5). Mitterwald was 0-for-3 and was batting .195.
Kaat pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on six hits and four walks and striking out two.
Both White Sox pitchers had pitched for the Twins in 1969.
The Twins had scored thirteen runs in their last five games. In each of those games, the opposition started an average to below average pitcher.
The Twins were 3-5 in their road trip against some of the worst teams in the league.
Record: The Twins were 41-24, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.
