Tag Archives: quick hook

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-four

MINNESOTA 4, CALIFORNIA 0 IN CALIFORNIA

Date:  Friday, September 4.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 4-for-4.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two stolen bases, his twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer, his thirteenth.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven pitched 5.1 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and two walks and striking out four.  Ron Perranoski pitched 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Jim Fregosi was 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Alex Johnson was 2-for-4.  Eddie Fisher pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.

The game:  In a matchup of the first and second place teams, the Twins jumped out early.  With two out and none on in the first, Harmon Killebrew walked, Oliva singled, and Alyea hit a three-run homer, putting Minnesota ahead 3-0.

The Twins put two men on in the third and the fourth but did not score.  The Angels, who did not have a baserunner in the first three innings, got a pair of two-out singles in the fourth but did not score.

With one out in the sixth, Tony Gonzalez singled, Fregosi walked, and Johnson got an infield single, loading the bases.  Bill Rigney brought in Perranoski, who struck out Billy Cowan and retired Tommie Reynolds on a grounder to end the inning.

California got only one hit after that, a two-out triple by Fregosi in the eighth.  The Twins added a run in the eighth.  A walk to Killebrew and a single by Oliva put men on first and third with none out, and a sacrifice fly brought the final score to 4-0.

WP:  Blyleven (9-6).

LP:  Rudy May (6-12).

S:  Perranoski (26).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in the sixth and went to center, with Tovar moving to left.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson going to third.

Oliva raised his average to .316.  Perranoski lowered his ERA to 2.18.

May pitched five innings, giving up three runs on five hits and two walks and striking out five.

Oliva broke out of his slump in a big way.  The four hits were as many as he'd had in the previous eight games.

With just a three-game difference going in, this three-game series was obviously an important one for both teams.  The two teams would play again, in a four-game series, in mid-September, so it's not like the Angels had to sweep.  I'm sure, though, that they felt they at least needed to win two of the three.  Taking the first one was a big advantage for the Twins.

Showing the importance of this game is pulling Blyleven in the sixth with a shutout going and bringing in the closer, Perranoski.  You can't always tell from a written play-by-play, but it does not appear that Blyleven was being hit hard.  Still, it was an important game.  Bringing your closer in that early was unusual back then, although certainly not unheard of.  But, as we've chronicled in this series, Perranoski was sometimes asked to pitch three or more innings, and he generally got the job done when he did.

Record:  The Twins were 79-55, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Sixteen

BOSTON 11, MINNESOTA 7 IN BOSTON (GAME 2 OF DOUBLEHEADER)

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a three-run homer (his nineteenth), a walk, and two runs.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his tenth.

Pitching star:  Dick Woodson struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Carl Yastrzemski was 3-for-4 with a home run (his thirty-third), a walk, and three runs.  George Thomas was 2-for-4 with a home run (his second), a double, a walk, three runs, and three RBIs.  Billy Conigliaro was 2-for-4 with a triple and a double.  Reggie Smith was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer (his sixteenth), a double, and two runs.  John Kennedy was 2-for-5 with two RBIs.  Gary Wagner pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Mike Andrews led off with a walk and Smith and Yastrzemski followed with back to back homers, giving the Red Sox a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  In the third, two-out walks to Danny Thompson and Harmon Killebrew were followed by a three-run homer by Oliva, tying it 3-3.

The Twins took the lead in the fourth.  With one out, Leo Cardenas and George Mitterwald walked, Bob Allison had an RBI double, and a ground out scored a second run, putting the Twins up 5-3.  With one out in the fifth, Oliva walked and Alyea homered, making the score 7-3 Twins.

But it was all Boston after that.  In the bottom of the fifth Conigliaro tripled and Thomas homered, cutting the lead to 7-5.  In the seventh Smith led off with a double and Yastrzemski walked.  Rico Petrocelli followed with an RBI single.  A bunt advanced the runners and a fielder's choice with no one retired loaded the bases.  RBI singles by Kennedy and Jerry Moses put the Red Sox in the lead and a walk to Andrews made it 9-7 Boston.  The Red Sox added two runs in the eighth.  Yastrzemski led off with a double.  He was still at second with two out, but then Thomas drove him in with a double and Kennedy followed with an RBI single, bringing the score to 11-7.

The Twins had only two hits after the fifth and did not have more than one man on base.

WP:  Wagner (3-1).

LP:  Ron Perranoski (7-5).

S:  None.

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

Bob Allison pinch-hit for Woodson in the fourth.  Frank Quilici replaced Renick in the seventh and went to second base, with Thompson moving to third.  Reese pinch-hit for Mitterwald in the eighth, with Tom Tischinski going behind the plate.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Perranoski in the eighth.

Oliva was batting .320.  Tom Hall allowed three runs in three innings and had an ERA of 2.99.  Perranoski allowed three runs in one inning and had an ERA of 2.48.

Pete Hamm allowed two runs in one inning and had an ERA of 6.00.

Bert Blyleven started but faced just five batters, retiring only one.  He gave up a walk, two home runs, recorded a strikeout, gave up a double, and was removed from the game.  He was apparently not injured or ill, as he would come back to pitch the next day.  It was apparently just a quick hook.  Maybe that's what you do when you've lost eight straight games.

When you saw the Twins had scored seven runs, you may have thought, well, they finally got their bats going.  Well, not really.  They hit two home runs, but only had five hits.  They drew eight walks and took advantage of some of them, but other than that their offense was no better than it had been.

George Thomas would play briefly for the Twins in 1971, at the end of his career.  This was the last home run he would hit in his career.

This was the ninth consecutive loss for the Twins.  I wonder what the record is for most consecutive losses in a season where you win 98 or more games.  It seems like it can't be a lot more than nine.

This game was the make-up of a rainout on June 3.

Record:  The Twins were 69-47, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Eight

OAKLAND 3, MINNESOTA 0 IN MINNESOTA (GAME 1)

Date:  Sunday, August 9.

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

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

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

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

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

WP:  Dobson (14-10).

LP:  Bert Blyleven (3-3).

S:  None.

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

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

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

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

The Twins had only four hits, all singles.

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

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Seventy-six

MINNESOTA 2, OAKLAND 1 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Monday, July 6.

Batting star:  Cesar Tovar was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his nineteenth.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched 6.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits and five walks and striking out one.  Ron Perranoski struck out five in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Diego Segui pitched four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks and striking out three.  Bob Locker pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.   Mudcat Grant struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  The Twins got a man to third with one out in the first but did not score.  In the second, Sal Bando walked and Tommy Davis was hit by a pitch.  A double play moved Bando to third and Dave Duncan's RBI single put the Athletics ahead 1-0.

The Twins tied it in the third.  Tovar hit a one-out single, and two-out singles by Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew produced a run.  In the fourth Leo Cardenas walked and two-out singles by Zepp and Tovar produced a run, putting the Twins ahead 2-1.

And that was it for scoring.  Oakland had their chances.  They had men on first and third in the fifth.  They had a man on second with one out in the sixth.  They had men on first and second with two out in the seventh.  But none of them scored, and the Twins took a 2-1 victory.

WP:  Zepp (4-0).

LP:  Segui (3-5).

S:  Perranoski (19).

Notes:  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Oddly, in a one-run game, the Twins did not put in a defensive substitute for Killebrew.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .325.  Tovar was batting .316.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .313.  Zepp had an ERa of 2.53.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.67,

It was Zepp's first start since May 30.  He would stay in the rotation until almost the end of the season.  Bill Rigney was obviously not concerned about "stretching him out", as he pitched 6.1 innings.

John McNamara had a pretty quick hook on Segui, pulling him one batter into the fifth inning when he had given up just two runs.  He had allowed a lot of baserunners (nine), and maybe McNamara thought he'd pushed his luck as far as he could.  It was only Segui's fourth start of the season, as he'd been in the bullpen earlier.  He'd gone seven innings in each of his first two starts, so again, "stretching him out" doesn't seem to have been a concern.  He'd gone only 1.1 innings in his third start, and gave up four runs, so maybe the manager just didn't have much confidence in him.

Ex-Twin Mudcat Grant was having an excellent year out of the Oakland bullpen.  After this game his ERA was 0.87.  To no one's surprise, he couldn't do that over the whole season, but he ended up 8-3, 24 saves, 1.86 ERA, 1.06 WHIP.  He also ended up in Pittsburgh, as he was traded in mid-September.

Also playing for Oakland was ex-Twin Don Mincher.  He went 0-for-4 and was batting just .228.  He would raise that to .248 by season's end, and would hit 27 home runs.

The next-to-last batter of the game was a pinch-hitter named Tony LaRussa.  I suppose I've heard that LaRussa played in the majors, but I didn't know anything about his career.  As it turns out, there's not much to know.  He first came up to the Kansas City Athletics as an eighteen-year-old and was used mostly as a pinch-runner/defensive replacement, going 11-for-44 in 34 games.  He did not make it back to the majors until 1968.  1970 is when he got most of his big league playing time, batting .198/.301/.255 in 52 games (106 at-bats).  For his career he batted .199/.292/.250 in 132 games (176 at-bats).

The Twins had won seven of eight games.  This was the first of a ten-game road trip that would take them to Oakland, California, and Baltimore.  The Baltimore leg of the trip would come after the all-star break.

Record:  The Twins were 50-26, in first place in the American League West, four games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-four

MILWAUKEE 4, MINNESOTA 1 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Thursday, June 25.

Batting star:  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Tom Hall struck out six in 3.2 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk.  Bill Zepp pitched two perfect innings.  Steve Barber pitched a scoreless inning, giving up two walks.

Opposition stars:  Lew Krausse pitched a complete game, giving up one run on four hits and no walks and striking out three.  Russ Snyder was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Brewers jumped on Twins starter Jim Perry for three runs in the first inning.  With one out Snyder doubled and scored on a Dave May single.  Tito Francona walked and Bob Burda delivered an RBI single.  Another run scored on a ground out, making it 3-0 Milwaukee.  In the second Phil Roof singled and Tommy Harper drew a one-out walk, chasing Perry from the game.  Hall came in and gave up a run-scoring single to Snyder and it was 4-0 Brewers.

The Twins did not get a hit until the fifth, when Reese hit a one-out single.  They got on the board in the seventh when, with one out, Tony Oliva doubled, Harmon Killebrew singled, and Reese drove in a run with a single.  That brought the tying run up to bat, but a pair of fly outs ended the inning.  The Twins got only one more baserunner, when George Mitterwald reached on an error in the eighth.

WP:  Krausse (5-10).

LP:  Perry (10-6).

S:  None.

Notes:  Danny Thompson made his major league debut in this game, playing second base.  Jim Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Herman Hill and Paul Ratliff were used as pinch-hitter for pitchers.

Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .301.  Hall had an ERA of 2.41.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.75.  Barber had an ERA of 2.70.

Mitterwald was 0-for-3 and was batting .199.

Perry lasted only 1.1 innings, allowing four runs on four hits and two walks and striking out one.  It seems like a really quick hook for that era--I wonder if he was battling an injury or illness.  If so, it was minor, because he made his next start and did well.

Krausse had a few good years and also some not-very-good years.  This was one of the not-very-good ones, as he went 13-18, 4.75, 1.40 WHIP.  His game score of 82 in this game was his second-highest of the season, topped only by a shutout of the White Sox on July 7.  He did have eight complete games in 1970, his career high.

This game was a make-up of a rained out game on May 15.

Record:  The Twins were 41-23, in first place in the American League West, three games behind California.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game Nine

NEW YORK 2, MINNESOTA 0 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Thursday, April 10.

Batting stars:  Chris Gomez was 2-for-4.  A. J. Pierzynski was 0-for-1 with two hit-by-pitches.

Pitching stars:  Rick Reed pitched four innings, giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks and striking out two.  Johan Santana struck out eight in four shutout innings of relief, giving up four hits.

Opposition stars:  David Wells pitched a complete game shutout, giving up three hits and striking out six.  Hideki Matsui was 3-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Bernie Williams was 3-for-4.  John Flaherty was 2-for-4 with a double.

The game:  The Yankees had men on first and second with two out in the first and second and third with one out in the second, but did not score either time.  That changed in the third.  With one out, Jason Giambi walked and went to third on Williams' single-plus-error.  Matsui then delivered a two-run double to give New York a 2-0 lead.

And that was it for the scoring.  The Twins got a one-out double from Gomez in the fourth, but he was stranded on second.  They put two on with two out in the fifth and did nothing with them.  They did not get a man past first after that, managing only a pair of singles over the next four innings.

WP:  Wells (2-0).  LP:  Reed (0-2).  S:  None.

Notes;  Gomez was at short in place of Cristian Guzman.  Dustan Mohr was in left in place of Jacque Jones.  Michael Cuddyer was in right.

Gomez was batting .364.

The Twins had five starters in this game with batting averages below .200.  At the bottom was Rivas at .091.  Matthew LeCroy was batting .125.  Torii Hunter was batting .129.  Cuddyer was batting .143.  Mohr was batting .158.

The Twins made no lineup substitutions.

I don't know why Reed came out after just four innings.  He had thrown seventy pitches, which is a lot for four innings but doesn't seem like a lot for a game.  He would not miss his next start.  Santana obviously did an excellent job, which didn't help in this game but did save the rest of the bullpen for the next one.

You probably remember that Wells threw a perfect game against the Twins.  For his career, he was actually better against them than Mussina was:  19-6, 2.34, 1.01 WHIP in 200.1 innings (38 games, 25 starts).

After sweeping Detroit to start the season, the Twins had now been swept by Toronto and New York.  In the Yankee series, they were outscored 11-4.  In the losing streak they were outscored 30-10.  They would next travel to Toronto to take another shot at the Blue Jays.

Record:  The Twins were 3-6, in fourth place in the American League Central, five games behind Kansas City.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: ALCS Game Three

5 Comments

MINNESOTA 3, TORONTO 2 IN TORONTO (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, October 11.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 2-for-5 with a double.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-5 with a double.  Mike Pagliarulo hit a pinch-hit home run.

Pitching stars:  David West struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit and three walks.  Carl Willis pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit and striking out one.  Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Jimmy Key pitched six innings, giving up two runs on five hits and a walk and striking out one.  Joe Carter was 1-for-3 with a walk.

The game:  With two out in the first inning Carter homered to get the Blue Jays on the board.  They weren't done, as John Olerud walked, Kelly Gruber singled, and Candy Maldonado delivered an RBI double, giving Toronto a 2-0 lead.

The Twins did not get a hit until the fourth, when Puckett hit a double.  Nothing came of it, and nothing came of the Blue Jays' fourth, when they opened the inning with a pair of walks.  The Twins got on the board in the fifth, when Shane Mack tripled and scored on a ground ball.

In Toronto's fifth, two more walks and a wild pitch put men on second and third, but again nothing came of it.  The Twins tied it in the sixth when Knoblauch hit a one-out double and Puckett drove him in with a single.  The Blue Jays threatened again in the seventh when Devon White singled, was bunted to second, and Carter was intentionally walked, but again they did not score.  There were no further threats through nine, so we went to extra innings.

Well, only one extra inning.  With one out in the tenth, Pagliarulo pinch-hit for Scott Leius and hit a 1-0 pitch over the fence to give the Twins their first lead at 3-2.  Aguilera came on and retired Toronto in order in the bottom of the tenth to give the Twins a victory.

WP:  Mark Guthrie.  LP:  Mike Timlin.  S:  Aguilera (2).

Notes:  Scott Erickson was the starting pitcher, so Junior Ortiz was behind the plate.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the ninth.  Al Newman came in to play shortstop.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Ortiz in the tenth.  Brian Harper came in to catch.  As stated above, Pagliarulo pinch-hit for Leius in the tenth and stayed in the game at third base.

Erickson pitched four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and five walks and striking out two.  He came out in the fifth after giving up a leadoff walk to Roberto Alomar.  It was a quick hook, in a way, but five walks (and three in the last inning-plus) will tend to make a manager do that.  The Twins bullpen came through in a big way, pitched six scoreless innings.  In addition to the pitchers listed under "pitching stars", Guthrie came in to retire the only man he faced, Rob Ducey.

Toronto stranded ten men and went 1-for-9 with men in scoring position.  The Twins were not a lot better, stranding six and going 1-for-7 with men in scoring position.  The Blue Jays drew eight walks, but could get only five hits.  It had to be a tough loss for Toronto--their first home game of the series, they had all kinds of chances to win, and yet they could not do it.

Record:  The Twins led the best-of-seven series 2-1 and regained home field advantage.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-two

CHICAGO 6, MINNESOTA 1 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 25.

Batting star:  Brian Harper was 3-for-4.

Pitching stars:  David West struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up a walk.  Tom Edens pitched a perfect inning.  Rick Aguilera pitched a scoreless inning, walking one and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Alex Fernandez pitched 7.2 innings, giving up one run on eight hits and six walks and striking out seven.  He threw 135 pitches.  Bo Jackson was 2-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  With two out and none on in the second, Lance Johnson walked and Mike Huff and Scott Fletcher hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead.  In the bottom of the second, Kent Hrbek doubled, Chili Davis walked, and Harper singled, loading the bases with none out.  Shane Mack struck out but Mike Pagliarulo singled.  One run scored, but Harper was trapped off third and that pretty much killed the rally with the Twins still trailing 2-1.

Chicago put the game out of reach in the fourth.  A walk, a single, and a ground out put men on second and third with one out.  A sacrifice fly scored one, then Tim Raines had an RBI double, Robin Ventura walked, Frank Thomas reached on an error to score a run, and Jackson had an RBI single.  It was 6-1 White Sox, and that was where it would stay.  The Twins had two on in the third, two on in the fourth, two on in the fifth, and two on in the eighth, but they did not score again.

WP:  Fernandez (9-12).  LP:  Allan Anderson (5-10).  S:  None.

Notes:  Randy Bush pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the eighth, but after a pitching change Pedro Munoz pinch-hit for Bush.  Al Newman went to shortstop in the ninth.

Kirby Puckett was 1-for-4 and was batting .321.  Harper raised his average to .315.  Mack was 0-for-4 and was batting .306.

Carl Willis gave up two unearned runs in 1.2 innings.  His ERA went to 2.43.  Aguilera's ERA was 2.10.  Edens lowered his ERA to 5.57.

The Bo Jackson here is post-injury Bo Jackson.  He missed most of 1991, playing six minor league games and getting a September call-up.  He did not play at all in 1992, then was a part-time player in 1993 and 1994 before having to give it up.

Anderson pitched 3.1 innings, giving up four runs on four hits and three walks and striking out two.  He got a pretty quick hook--he was pulled in the fourth with the score 2-1, runners on second and third, and one out.  His line looks worse because Willis allowed both of the runners to score.

This was Alex Fernandez' first full year in the majors.  He's pretty much been forgotten about now, but he was a really good pitcher for several years.  From 1993-1997 he was 74-46, 3.53, 1.23 WHIP, averaging 220 innings per year.  He then got injured, missed all of 1998, and was able to make just 32 more starts from 1999-2000 before his career ended.  For five years there, though, he was about as good as anyone.

Record:  The Twins were 91-61, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

Toronto won and Boston did not play, so the Blue Jays' lead in the East was 2.5 games.

 

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-nine

MINNESOTA 7, KANSAS CITY 2 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Tuesday, September 10.

Batting stars:  Shane Mack was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his tenth.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Randy Bush was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Pedro Munoz was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his fifth.

Pitching stars:  Allan Anderson pitched five shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out two.  Rick Aguilera pitched a perfect inning and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Gubicza struck out five in five innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.  Todd Benzinger was 2-for-4 with a double.  Brian McRae was 2-for-5.

The game:  Chuck Knoblauch reached third with one out in the first inning but did not score.  The Twins got the scoring underway in the third when Gladden hit a two-out double and Knoblauch singled him home.  In the fourth Chili Davis doubled and Mack singled him home, making it 2-0.

In the fifth Jorge Pedre led off with a double but nothing came of it.  In the bottom of the fifth Mack hit a two-out single and Munoz followed with a two-run homer to give the Twins a 4-0 lead.  In the sixth, a single and two walks loaded the bases for the Royals, but Jim Eisenreich struck out to end the inning.  In the seventh, Gagne and Gladden led off with singles and Bush hit a one-out double to put the Twins up 6-0.

Kansas City scored both of their runs in the eighth.  McRae led off with a single, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on a George Brett double.  Brett went to third on Benzinger's double and scored on a ground out to cut the margin to 6-2.  That was as much as the Royals would do.  The Twins added a run in the ninth when, with two out, Bush singled, Davis walked, and Brian Harper had an RBI single.

Kansas City did threaten in the bottom of the ninth.  Two walks and a single loaded the bases with none out.  But Aguilera came on to get a short fly ball, a strikeout, and another fly ball to end the game.

WP:  Anderson (5-8).  LP:  Gubicza (8-9).  S:  Aguilera (39).

Notes:  Bush was at first base in place of Kent Hrbek.  Kirby Puckett was also given a day off, with Mack moving to center and Munoz playing right.

Scott Leius pinch-hit for Mike Pagliarulo in the eighth, staying in the game to play third base.  Al Newman came in to play second base in the eighth, replacing Knoblauch.

Harper was 1-for-5 and was batting. 317.  Mack raised his average to .315.

Terry Leach allowed two runs in 1.2 innings to make his ERA 3.10.  Aguilera lowered his ERA to 2.19.

I don't know why Anderson was pulled after five innings.  He made his next start, so injury is probably not a factor (although it's always possible he felt a slight twinge or something).  TK may have started looking at these games as tune-ups for the playoffs, since the Twins already had a big lead, or it could be that he felt like getting five shutout innings out of Anderson was a good thing that shouldn't be pushed.  He had thrown just sixty-six pitches, so it seems unlikely that was an issue.

I'm always a little intrigued when I run across a player I've never heard of.  This was the second career major league game for Jorge Pedre.  His fifth-inning double was the only double of his career.  A catcher, he played in ten games in 1991 and in four for the Cubs in 1992.  For his career he was 5-for-23, batting.217/.308/.348.  He was an eleventh-round draft choice for the Braves in 1986.  He hit well in Class A, but not much after that--.249/.303/.373 in AA, .228/.275/.351 in AAA.  He looks like your stereotypical good defensive catcher--I don't know how good his defense actually was, but you figure he must've done something to justify his presence on rosters.  Wikipedia indicates that he is now working at a refinery on their emergency response team.

The Royals used six pinch-hitters in this game.  Sadly, with expanded bullpens and the severe restrictions on September call-ups, this will probably never happen again.

The White Sox defeated Oakland 3-1 to avoid falling farther behind, but time was running out on them.

Record:  The Twins were 85-54, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto led Boston by four games.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game One Hundred Thirty-four

CLEVELAND 8, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, September 4.

Batting stars:  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a double.  Chili Davis was 2-for-4.  Dan Gladden was 2-for-5.  Kent Hrbek was 1-for-4 with a three-run homer, his sixteenth.

Pitching stars:  Allan Anderson pitched two shutout innings, giving up two hits and striking out one.  Mark Guthrie struck out three in a scoreless inning, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Alex Cole was 4-for-5 with a double.  Albert Belle was 2-for-5 with a home run (his twenty-fifth), a double, and five RBIs.  Willie Blair pitched eight innings, giving up three runs on eight hits and one walk and striking out one.

The game:  With one out in the first Chuck Knoblauch and Puckett singled and Hrbek followed with a three-run homer to put the Twins ahead 3-0.  That was as good as it got for them.  In the third, a walk, an error, and a bunt single loaded the bases for the Indians with none out.  A force out followed, but Carlos Baerga was hit by a pitch to force in a run and Belle followed with a bases-clearing double to give Cleveland a 4-3 lead.

The Indians added a run in the fourth when Jim Thome led off with a single, went to third on a pair of productive outs, and scored on Cole's single.  In the fifth Baerga led off with a single and Belle hit a two-run homer to make the score 7-3.  In the seventh, singles by Jose Gonzalez, Carlos Martinez, and Thome brought home another run to make it 8-3.

Meanwhile, the Twins did not get a man past first base in innings two through seven.  Puckett hit a two-out double in the eighth.  The Twins tried to get back into it in the ninth.  Singles by Davis and Brian Harper and a walk to Shane Mack loaded the bases with none out.  Mike Pagliarulo then hit into a double play, scoring a run but pretty much taking the Twins out of the inning.

WP:  Blair (2-2).  LP:  David West (4-4).  S:  Shawn Hillegas (7).

Notes:  The Twins used their standard lineup.  Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Greg Gagne in the seventh.  Al Newman then went in to play shortstop.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Newman in the ninth.

Puckett raised his average to .331.  Harper was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Mack was 0-for-2 with two walks and was batting .308.

West started for the Twins.  He pitched well for two innings.  His line was 2.1 innings, four runs (three earned), two hits, two walks, and two strikeouts.  It seems like a pretty quick hook--again, the sequence in the third was walk, error, bunt single, ground out, hit batsman, double.  Only one hard-hit ball, although obviously the walk and the hit batsman weren't helpful.  Still, with a big lead in the division, Tom Kelly might have given West more of a chance to work out of trouble.  As it happened, the Twins burned through five relievers, including Carl Willis and Terry Leach, in a game they didn't win anyway.

Willis allowed two runs in one inning to raise his ERA to 2.29.  Leach gave up a run in one inning to make his ERA 2.88.

Tom Edens gave up a run in 1.2 innings to raise his ERA to 7.20.

People have forgotten what an awesome hitter Albert Belle was.  He had a reputation for being a jerk, and he way have been, but the jerk could hit.  1991 was his first season as a regular, and it was the first of ten consecutive seasons in which he hit twenty-three or more home runs.  He had eight consecutive seasons in which he hit thirty homers or more, and in three of them he hit forty-eight or more.  He had an OPS of over 1.000 four times and an OPS of over .900 two more times.  Injuries forced him to retire in 2000, after his age-thirty-three season, but his career numbers were .295/.369/.564 with 381 home runs in basically ten seasons.  Whatever else he may have been, Albert Belle was a great batter.

This was the last save of Shawn Hillegas' career.  He had ten total, seven of them in 1991.  Steve Olin is listed as the closer, but he had just seventeen saves, and Hillegas and Dave Otto each had seven.  He was not a particularly good pitcher:  in 181 major league games (62 starts) he was 24-38, 4.61, 1.47 WHIP.  He was substantially better as a reliever, although not a star or anything:  9-12, 3.77, 1.37 WHIP.  Given his lack of success as a starter, I don't know why teams kept giving him starts rather than putting him in the bullpen, but they did.  There was obviously something about him that convinced teams he could be a successful starting pitcher, even though the stats provide no evidence to back it up.

Chicago defeated Kansas City 4-1 and Oakland lost to Milwaukee 2-0, so the White Sox moved back into second place.

Record:  The Twins were 80-54, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of Chicago.

In the East, Toronto took a three game lead over Detroit.