MINNESOTA 7, BOSTON 0 IN MINNESOTA
Date: Wednesday, August 26.
Batting stars: Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with a double, two walks, a stolen base (his twenty-fourth), two runs, and three RBIs. Jim Holt was 2-for-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a triple.
Pitching stars: Bert Blyleven pitched a complete game shutout, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out eight.
Opposition star: George Scott was 2-for-3.
The game: The Twins got on the board in the first when Tovar singled, stole second, and scored on a two-out single by Harmon Killebrew. In the second, Leo Cardenas hit a one-out double, George Mitterwald hit a run-scoring single-plus-error, and Tovar delivered a two-out RBI single to make it 3-0 Twins.
The Twins missed some chances to add to their lead, wasting a leadoff triple by Oliva in the third and getting men on first and second with one out to no avail in the fourth. In the sixth, however, the Twins put it out of reach. Mitterwald led off with a walk and went to third when Blyleven reached on a two-base error. Tovar doubled them both home to make it 5-0. Walks to Rich Reese and Killebrew loaded the bases with two out and Holt hit a two-run single to increase the lead to 7-0.
Blyleven was in complete control. The Red Sox never got a man to third and only twice got a man as far as second. All four Boston hits were singles.
WP: Blyleven (8-5).
LP: Ray Culp (13-12).
S: None.
Notes: Oliva was batting .321.
Holt was in center, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea on the bench. Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew. Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew in the eighth and went to second, with Thompson moving to third.
This was Blyleven's first career shutout. He would end his career with sixty. He led the league in shutouts three times--in 1973 (9). 1985 (5), and 1989 (5).
Culp was a good pitcher and he had a fine 1970 season, but he didn't have it in this game. 5.1 innings, seven runs (six earned), seven hits, four walks, and five strikeouts.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Twins.
Record: The Twins were 74-51, in first place in the American League West, 3.5 games ahead of California.