Tag Archives: Rod Carew

Keeping Track

Happy Birthday–October 1

Ray Kolp (1894)
Carmen Hill (1895)
Jimmie Reese (1901)
Jim Russell (1918)
Hal Naragon (1928)
Chuck Hiller (1934)
Rod Carew (1945)
Bill Bonham (1948)
Pete Falcone (1953)
Jeff Reardon (1955)
Vance Law (1956)
Mark McGwire (1963)
Roberto Kelly (1964)
Chuck McElroy (1967)
John Thomson (1973)
Brandon Knight (1975)
Matt Cain (1984)
Erik Komatsu (1987)
Xander Bogaerts (1992)
Charlie Barnes (1995)

Jimmie Reese played in the majors only briefly, but was a coach in the majors or minors for most of his life.  He was Babe Ruth's roommate for a short period and uttered the famous line that in reality, he roomed with Babe Ruth's suitcase.  He is also remembered for his skill with a fungo bat, to the extent that he would sometimes pitch batting practice with it.

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

Continue reading Happy Birthday–October 1 →

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Fifty-four

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MINNESOTA 5, OAKLAND 3 IN OAKLAND

Date:  Tuesday, September 22.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer (his twenty-third), a double, a stolen base (his fifth), and three runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Kaat pitched five innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out three.  Ron Perranoski pitched 3.2 innings, giving up one run on three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Joe Rudi was 5-for-5 with two doubles.  Bert Campaneris was 2-for-5 with a double, a stolen base (his forty-second), and two runs.  Sal Bando was 0-for-0 with four walks.  Paul Lindblad pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits and a walk and striking out one.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off with a walk and Oliva hit a two-run homer to give the Twins a quick 2-0 lead.  The Athletics loaded the bases with two out in the bottom of the first but did not score.  Campaneris led off the third with a double and Rudi followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 2-1.  Oakland had men on first ands second with two out, but did not score.

The Twins stretched their lead in the sixth.  Oliva singled, Harmon Killebrew walked, and Reese reached on an error, loading the bases.  Jim Holt then delivered a two-run single, putting the Twins up 4-1.  Oakland got one back in the bottom of the sixth when Bando walked, went to third on Dave Duncan's single, and scored on a sacrifice fly.

The Twins got a three-run lead again in the seventh on doubles by Oliva and Reese.  The Athletics tried to come back in the ninth.  Campaneris singled, stole second, and scored on Rudi's single, making it 5-3 and bringing the tying run to the plate with two out.  But Felipe Alou grounded out to end the game.

WP:  Kaat (13-10).

LP:  Chuck Dobson (16-14).

S:  Perranoski (32).

Notes:  Holt was in center field, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Paul Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.

Carew pinch-hit for Kaat in the sixth.  Tom Tischinski went behind the plate in the seventh in place of Ratliff.  Frank Quilici went to third base in place of Killebrew in the ninth.

Carew was 0-for-1 and was batting .374. Oliva was batting .321.  Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .300.  Stan Williams gave up a run in a third of an inning and had an ERA of 2.07.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.30.

Tischinski was 0-for-1 and was batting .196.

This was the first appearance for Carew since he was injured exactly three months earlier.

This was the clincher for the Twins.  They had won back-to-back division championships.  It will be interesting to see what their lineup looks like in the next game.

Record:  The Twins were 93-61, in first place in the American League West, 8.5 games ahead of Oakland.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-seven

MINNESOTA 5, CALIFORNIA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, May 23.

Batting stars:  Leo Cardenas was 3-for-4.  Jim Holt was 2-for-4 with two doubles.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp retired all seven batters he faced.  Stan Williams struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.  Ron Perranoski pitched a perfect inning.

Opposition stars:  Ken McMullen was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Andy Messersmith pitched seven innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on eight hits and one walk and striking out five.

The game:  Each team scored two in the second.  For the Angels, Alex Johnson doubled and scored on McMullen's single.  Two walks loaded the bases with one out and a ground out made it 2-0.  For the Twins, Harmon Killebrew walked.  With two out, Cardenas hit a single-plus-error to score a run and Paul Ratliff followed with an RBI double, tying it 2-2.

California went right back into the lead in the third.  An error and a Jim Fregosi single put men on first and third with none out.  A sacrifice fly put the Angels ahead and McMullen followed with an RBI triple to make it 4-2 California.

The Twins had men on second and third with one out in the third, and the Angels had men on first and third with two out in the fourth, but it remained 4-2 until the fifth.  Zepp reached on an error and was bunted to second.  A ground out moved him to third and Oliva's infield single brought him home.  Killebrew then doubled, with Oliva scoring from first to tie the score 4-4.

The Twins had men on first and third with none out in the sixth but did not score.  With two out in the eighth, Holt doubled and Cardenas followed with an RBI single to give the Twins their first lead at 5-4.  Jim Spencer led off the California ninth with a single, but he was erased on a double play and a line out ended the game.

WP:  Williams (4-0).

LP:  Ken Tatum (2-1).

S:  Perranoski (11).

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.

Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the sixth.  Mitterwald went behind the plate in the ninth and Frank Quilici went to third in place of Killebrew.

Rod Carew was 0-for-4 and was batting .402.  Oliva was batting .329.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .315.  Tovar was 1-for-2 and was batting .301.  Zepp had an ERA of 1.69.  Williams had an ERA of 1.50.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.42.

Jim Kaat started and pitched 3.2 innings, giving up four runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks and striking out two.

Carew was on an 0-for-8 streak.

The Twins had three relievers with ERAs below two.

Six of the game's nine runs were unearned.

The plate umpire was Jake O'Donnell.  That's the same Jake O'Donnell who was an NBA referee from 1967-1995.  He umpired in the American League from 1968-1971.  He's the only person to officiate a major league baseball all-star game and an NBA all-star game.  He also umpired the 1971 ALCS.  The seasons didn't overlap as much back then, but it's still pretty remarkable that he was able to do both.

Record:  The Twins were 26-11, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-five

MINNESOTA 10, KANSAS CITY 5 IN KANSAS CITY

Date: Wednesday, May 20.

Batting stars: Rod Carew was 4-for-5 with a home run (his third), a triple, a double, a stolen base (his third), two runs, and two RBIs. Jim Holt was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs. Paul Ratliff was 1-for-2 with a two-run homer (his second) and two walks. Leo Cardenas was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer, his fifth. Rich Reese was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer (his second), a walk, and two runs.

Pitching star: Tom Hall struck out five in three innings, giving up one run on four hits and two walks.

Opposition stars: Joe Keough was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third), a walk, and two runs. Eliseo Rodriguez was 2-for-4 with a triple, a double, and two runs. Pat Kelly was 2-for-4 with a stolen base, his sixteenth. Amos Otis was 2-for-5 with a home run (his fifth) and a double. Mike Fiore was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.

The game: Otis homered in the first to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. Carew, who had singled in the first, homered in the third to tie it 1-1. Kansas City regained the lead in the fourth when Rodriguez doubled, Kelly walked, and Fiore hit a two-run double to make it 3-1. Holt singled and Ratliff homered in the sixth to tie it 3-3, but Keough homered in the home half of the sixth to once again give the Royals the lead at 4-3.

The Twins took control from there. With two out in the seventh Reese walked, Holt singled, and Cardenas hit a three-run homer to give the Twins their first lead at 6-4. With one out in the eighth Tovar walked and scored on a triple by Carew, who had doubled in the sixth inning. With two out, Killebrew hit an RBI single and Reese followed with a two-run homer, giving the Twins a 10-4 advantage. Kansas City added one in the ninth when Rodriguez tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly, but the Twins' lead was never in jeopardy.

WP: Dave Boswell (2-5).

LP: Bob Johnson (1-2).

S: Hall (1).

Notes: Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea. Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald. Mitterwald came in to catch in the seventh as part of a double switch. Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at third base.

Carew's average reached a season high of .432. Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .319. Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .315. Tovar was 1-for-4 and was batting .300.

Mitterwald was 0-for-2 and was batting .179.  Boswell pitched six innings and gave up four runs, giving him an ERA of 6.31.

As you may have noticed, Carew hit for the cycle in this game:  a single in the first, a home run in the third, a double in the sixth, and a triple in the eighth.  He grounded out in his other at-bat.  This was the seventh time in eight games that he had more than one hit, the fifth time he had more than two, and the second time he had four.  Over that span he was 22-for-37 and raised his average more than a hundred points, from an already-high .328 to .432.

Neither starter pitched particularly well.  Boswell, as noted above, pitched six innings, giving up four runs on six hits and a walk and striking out four.  Johnson struck out seven in seven innings, but gave up six runs on ten hits and four walks.

When I was a kid, I loved the name "Eliseo Rodriguez".

This was Hall's eleventh relief appearance.  It was the sixth time he'd gone more than one inning, the fourth time he'd gone more than two, and the third time he'd gone three or more.  It was his first career save.

I can't hear the name "Amos Otis" without thinking of the Jerry Reed song "Amos Moses".

The Twins had won seven in a row, ten of twelve, and thirteen of sixteen.

Record:  The Twins were 25-10, in first place in the American League West, 1.5 games ahead of California.  They had the best record in the American League, but not in all of baseball--that honor went to Cincinnati, who was 28-11.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-three

MINNESOTA 7, KANSAS CITY 5 IN KANSAS CITY

Date:  Monday, May 18.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-5 with a two-run homer, his second.  Cesar Tovar was 1-for-2 with three walks, a stolen base (his twelfth), and two runs.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his fourth) and a walk.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a home run (his twelfth) and a walk.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

Opposition stars:  Joe Keough was 3-for-4 with two runs.  Ex-Twin Jackie Hernandez was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.  Amos Otis was 2-for-5 with a two-run homer, his fourth.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the second when Rick Renick singled and Cardenas followed with a two-run homer.  The Royals came right back to tie it in the bottom of the second.  Keough singled and scored from first on a Rich Severson double.  Severson advanced to third on a pickoff error and scored on Hernandez' single, making it 2-2.

The Twins took the lead in the fifth when Tovar walked and Carew followed with a two-run homer.  Kansas City cut the lead to 4-3 in the sixth when Keough singled, went to second on a ground out, took third on a wild pitch, and scored on a Hernandez single.  The Twins went back up by two in the seventh when Tovar walked, Carew singled, and Tony Oliva had an RBI single.

The Royals again came back in the seventh.  Paul Schaal reached on an error and Otis hit a two-out two-run homer to tie it 5-5.  In the eighth, two walks and two wild pitches put men on second and third and Charlie Manuel had a pinch-hit sacrifice fly to put the Twins ahead.  Killebrew homered for an insurance run in the ninth.

WP:  Bill Zepp (1-0).

LP:  Mike Hedlund (2-3).

S:  Perranoski (10).

Notes:  Renick was at third base, with Killebrew at first and Rich Reese on the bench.  Reese pinch-hit for Renick in the eighth and went to first base, with Killebrew moving to third.  Frank Quilici took over for Killebrew at third in the ninth.

Jim Holt replaced Brant Alyea in left field in the seventh.  Manuel pinch-hit for George MItterwald, who was making a return to the lineup, in the eight inning.  Paul Ratliff pinch-hit for pitcher Zepp in the eighth.  Ratliff stayed in the game to catch, with Perranoski coming in to pitch.

Carew raised his average to .419.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .326.  Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .319.  Renick was 1-for-2 and was batting .313.  Zepp struck out the only man he faced and had an ERA of 2.03.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.57.

Mitterwald was 0-for-3 and was batting .184.

Jim Kaat started and pitched 6.2 innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk and striking out three.  Bill Butler started for Kansas City and pitched six innings, giving up five runs on six hits and six walks and striking out one.

The two pitchers who got the decisions combined to pitch one-third of an inning and face three batters.  Zepp, as noted above, struck out the only man he faced.  Hedlund faced two batters in the eighth and walked both of them, with the first coming around to score the go-ahead run.

Perranoski had appeared in fifteen of the Twins' thirty-three games, pitching 28.2 innings.

Hernandez had ten RBIs in 1970.  Twenty percent of them came in this game.

Infielder Rich Severson was in his rookie year.  He appeared in nearly half of the team's games, getting 240 at-bats and batting .250/.300/.317.  He was back in AAA for most of 1971, getting just 33 at-bats with the big club.  He was in AAA in 1972 and 1973, then he was done.  He did not hit a lot in AAA either, batting .254 with an OPS of .637 over four seasons.  He passed away in 2016 at the relatively young age of seventy-one.

Carew had six consecutive multi-hit games.  He was 17-for-28 over that span, raising his average from .328 to .419.  The .419 would be his high point for the season.

The Twins had won five in a row and eight of ten.

Record:  The Twins were 23-10, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-two

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MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 1 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Sunday, May 17.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 2-for-5.  Paul Ratliff was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched a complete game, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out four.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Phil Roof was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Bobby Bolin struck out two in two perfect innings.

The game:  Steve Hovley led off the second with a single.  The next two batters went out, but Roof singled and pitcher Lew Krausse delivered an RBI single to put the Brewers up 1-0.

It looked like the 1-0 lead might hold up.  The Twins got a man to third in the third inning, but did not otherwise threaten through five.  In the sixth, however, Perry led off with a single.  Cesar Tovar hit into a force out, but Carew singled and Tony Oliva hit an RBI double to tie the score.  Harmon Killebrew was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Rich Reese hit into a force out to give the Twins the lead, and error scored two runs, and Leo Cardenas singled home one more running, putting the Twins up 5-1.  In the seventh, Tovar reached on an error and scored on a Carew single to make it 6-1.

Perry remained in control, allowing no hits in innings three through eight.  He allowed a pair of two-out singles in the ninth, but Ted Savage flied out to end the game.

WP:  Perry (6-2).

LP:  Krausse (3-7).

S:  None.

Notes:  Paul Ratliff remained at catcher in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Alyea in the sixth and remained in the game in left field.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew's 2-for-5 lowered his average to .407.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .331.  Killebrew was 0-for-3 and was batting .321.  Alyea was 1-for-3 and was batting .303.  Perry had an ERA of 2.54.

Holt was 0-for-1 and was batting .147.

Carew was 14-for-23 over his last five games and 18-for-38 over his last nine games.  He had two or more hits in five games in a row and seven of the nine.  In one of the games in which he did not get two hits, he was a pinch-hitter and only batted once.

Bobby Bolin had been a fine pitcher for the Giants throughout the '60s.  He struggled in 1970 and 1971, but had a couple of fine seasons working out of the Boston bullpen before retiring after the 1963 campaign.  He both started and relieved throughout his career, which kept his counting numbers down.  In thirteen seasons he was 88-75, 3.40, 1.24 WHIP in 1576 innings (495 games, 164 starts).  He never led the league in anything and he never got any Cy Young support, but he was someone you'd be very happy to have on your pitching staff for several years.

The Twins had won their fourth consecutive game and twelve out of sixteen.

Record:  The Twins were 22-10, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-one

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MINNESOTA 11, MILWAUKEE 7 IN MILWAUKEE

Date:  Saturday, May 16.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4 with a home run, a hit-by-pitch, three runs, and three RBIs.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks, a stolen base (his eleventh), and four runs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-5 with a home run (his seventh), two runs, and four RBIs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-5 with a home run, his eleventh.  Brant Alyea was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his seventh.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski struck out two in a scoreless inning, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Future Twin Phil Roof was 3-for-4 with a home run (his second), a walk, and two runs.  John Kennedy was 2-for-3 with a home run, his second.  Steve Hovley was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-5 with a triple and a double.  Ted Kubiak was 2-for-5.  Russ Snyder was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer.

The game:  Cesar Tovar walked to open the game, stole second, and scored on a pair of ground outs to put the Twins up 1-0.  They took control of the game in the third when Tovar again started a rally.  He doubled and scored on a Rod Carew single.  Oliva and Killebrew then hit back-to-back home runs to give the Twins a 5-0 lead.

Kennedy homered in the bottom of the third to put the Brewers on the board.  The Twins came back in the bottom of the third as Tovar again stated a rally.  He walked and Carew followed with a two-run homer, making it 7-1.

Tovar started one more rally in the sixth.  He doubled and Carew was hit by a pitch.  Oliva had an RBI single, Rich Reese hit a sacrifice fly, and Alyea hit a two-run homer, bringing the score to 11-1.

Milwaukee tried to make a game of it.  In the sixth Hovley doubled and Max Alvis singled him in to make it 11-2.  In the seventh, Roof singled, Kubiak moved him to third, and Snyder hit a three-run homer to cut the lead to 11-5.  It did not kill the rally--Hegan doubled and future Twin Danny Walton singled, bringing the score to 11-6.  Roof homered in the eighth to cut the lead to 11-7, but that was all the Brewers could do.

WP:  Dave Boswell (1-5).

LP:  Gene Brabender (1-5).

S:  Ron Perranoski (9).

Notes:  Paul Ratliff remained behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in left in the sixth inning.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third in the eighth.

Carew was batting .408, the first time all year (and maybe in his career) that he was over .400.  Oliva was batting .333.  Killebrew was batting .330.  Alyea was batting .302.  Stan Williams gave up two runs in 1.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.80.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.69.

Boswell pitched 6.1 innings, giving up five runs on ten hits and a walk and striking out three.  His ERA was 6.37.

Brabender started for Milwaukee.  He pitched just two innings, giving up five runs on five hits and two walks and striking out two.

Carew was 12-for-18 over his last four games, raising his average from .328 to .408.  He was 16-for-33 over his last eight games,

Bill Rigney must have considered Alyea to be an awful outfielder.  He has frequently done what he did here, replacing him with Holt in the sixth inning when he knew that spot in the batting order would have to come up at least one more time.

The Brewers used five pinch-hitters:  Hank Allen, Greg Goossen, Mike Hershberger, Jerry McNertney, and Ted Savage.  These days, of course, teams don't even have five substitutes available.

Record:  The Twins were 21-10, in first place in the American League West by winning percentage, but tied with California in games.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty

MINNESOTA 5, KANSAS CITY 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, May 14.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.  Leo Cardenas was 2-for-3.  Paul Ratliff was 2-for-4 with a double.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Luis Tiant pitched four innings, giving up two runs on four hits and three walks and striking out three.  Tom Hall struck out seven in five shutout innings, giving up one hit and no walks.

Opposition stars:  Joe Keough was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Pat Kelly was 2-for-4.  Jim Rooker pitched five shutout innings of relief, giving up five hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  The Twins took the lead in the bottom of the first.  Cesar Tovar singled, stole second, and scored on a Tony Oliva single.  Harmon Killebrew walked, moving Oliva to second, and Reese had an RBI single to make it 2-0 Twins.

The Royals had two on with one out in the second, and the Twins had two on with one out in the third, but it stayed 2-0 until the fourth.  Bob Oliver singled and scored on Keough's triple.  Paul Schaal followed with a sacrifice fly, and that quickly the game was tied 2-2.  But the Twins came right back in the bottom of the fourth.  Jim Holt and Cardenas led off with singles and Ratliff hit an RBI double to give Minnesota the lead.  The next two batters went out, but Carew came through with a two-run single to put the Twins in front 5-2.

And that's where it stayed.  The Twins put two on with one out in the fifth and again in the eighth, but could not add to their lead.  The Royals only had two baserunners after the fourth and only got one to second base.

WP:  Hall (1-1).

LP:  Dave Morehead (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Alyea and Mitterwald may have had minor injuries or illnesses, as they each missed a few consecutive games.

Charlie Manuel was going to pinch-hit for Tiant, but when Kansas City changed pitchers Rick Renick replaced him.

Carew was batting .389.  Oliva was 1-for-3 and was batting .331.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .327.  Tiant had an ERA of 2.96.

Holt was 1-for-4 and was batting .152.

Morehead started for the Royals and pitched three innings, giving up five runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out three.

Hall, who had pitched only twice between April 25 and May 9, had now pitched in three of four games, pitching a total of nine innings.  He had pitched 2.2 innings just two days earlier.

I wonder when the last time is each team had a relief pitcher pitch five shutout innings.  For that matter, I wonder when the last time is each team had a relief pitcher pitch five innings.

Carew was now 9-for-14 over the last three games.  Reese was 6-for-15 over the last four games.  Since April 22 he had raised his average from .148 to .239.

This was a makeup game from April 13, which had been snowed out.  The attendance was 2121.

Record:  The Twins were 20-10, in second place in the American League West, a half game behind California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-nine

MINNESOTA 5, BALTIMORE 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Wednesday, May 13.

Batting stars:  Rod Carew was 4-for-5 with two runs.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and a walk.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched three perfect innings.  Ron Perranoski pitched three shutout innings, giving up three hits and walking four.

Opposition stars:  Dou Buford was 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base.  Boog Powell was 2-for-4 with a walk.  Paul Blair was 2-for-5 with a double and two RBIs.  Brooks Robinson was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Frank Robinson was 2-for-5.

The game:  Each team scored two in the first.  For the Orioles, Mark Belanger walked, Frank Robinson singled, and Paul Blair hit a two-out two-run double.  For the Twins, Carew singled and Killebrew hit a two-out two-run homer.

Baltimore had a man on second in the third and again in the fourth but did not score.  They broke through in the fifth, though.  Buford and Belanger opened the inning with singles.  Frank Robinson followed with a single-plus-error, bringing home one run, and Powell had an RBI single to make it 4-2 Orioles.  The Twins came back in the sixth.  Singles by Carew and Killebrew and a walk to Rich Reese loaded the bases with one out.  A force out scored one run and Leo Cardenas had an RBI single to tie it.  The Twins missed a chance to take the lead when Jim Holt was thrown out trying to go from first to third on the hit.

Baltimore opened the eighth with two singles, but a line drive double play ended the threat.  They had a pair of two-out walks in the ninth and did not score.  In the tenth Powell walked, Brooks Robinson hit a one-out double, and Dave Johnson was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Andy Etchebarren hit into a double play to end the inning.

The Twins had not gotten a man past first base since the sixth.  In the tenth, however, Cesar Tovar walked, Tony Oliva hit a one-out double, and Killebrew was intentionally walked, loading the bases.  Up to then, the Twins' tenth went exactly like the Orioles tenth.  The difference was that instead of hitting into a double play, Reese hit a double, bringing in the deciding run.

WP:  Perranoski (2-1).

LP:  Ed Watt (1-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Paul Ratliff caught in place of George Mitterwald.

Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Zepp in the seventh, with Dave Boswell pinch-running for Manuel.

Carew was batting .368.  Killebrew was batting .333.  Oliva was batting .331.  Zepp had an ERA of 2.08.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.75.

Holt was 0-for-4 and was batting .138.

Jim Kaat started and pitched four innings, giving up four runs on nine hits and a walk and striking out two.  Baltimore starter Jim Palmer pitched 5.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out four.

Each team turned three double plays.  For each team, one of them was a line drive double play.

Carew was 6-for-10.  Spoiler alert:  he would go on a tear for the next week or so.  We'll keep track of it.

Reese was 7-for-18, raising his average from .182 to .226.

I mentioned this once before, but Zepp was a key pitcher for the 1970 Twins.  He's pretty much forgotten now, because the Twins traded him after the season and because this was the only good year he had, but this was one of several games in which he was instrumental in the victory.

This was Perranoski's thirteenth appearance.  He pitched more than one inning in ten of them; exactly two innings in six of them; and more than two innings in three of them.

Record:  The Twins were 19-10, in second place in the American League West, one game behind California.

 

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Twenty-four

MINNESOTA 9, DETROIT 6 IN DETROIT

Date:  Thursday, May 7.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 3-for-4 with a three-run homer, his eighth.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a two-run homer (his fifth), a walk, a stolen base, and three runs.  Rod Carew was 2-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, a stolen base (his second), and two runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Willie Horton was 2-for-4 with a triple and two RBIs.  Dick McAuliffe was 2-for-4 with a walk and two runs.  Bill Freehan was 1-for-4 with a home run, his third.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off the game with a single and Oliva hit a two-run homer to give the Twins the early lead.  In the second, singles by Jim Holt and Paul Ratliff were followed by an RBI ground out to make it 3-0.  In the fourth Oliva reached on a fielder's choice, went to second on a Killebrew single, and scored on Reese's single to make it 4-0.  In the seventh, walks to Carew and Oliva were followed by Killebrew's three-run homer to increase the lead to 7-0.

Meanwhile, Twins starter Jim Perry had allowed just one hit over six innings.  Why then, you ask, is he not listed as a "pitching star"?  Well, in the seventh, McAuliffe led of with a walk and Dalton Jones singled.  With one out, Norm Cash got the Tigers on the board with an RBI double.  Horton then followed with a two-run triple, cutting the lead to 7-3.  Ron Perranoski then came into the game, but Horton scored on an error, dropping the lead to 7-4.

The Twins bounced back with a two-out rally in the eighth.  Tovar walked and scored on a Carew double.  Oliva singled, moving Carew to third, and the two of them then pulled off a double steal of second and home to make the score 9-4.

Detroit did not quit.  In the bottom of the eighth McAuliffe singled and Al Kaline reached on an error, putting men on first and second with two out.  Mickey Stanley delivered an RBI single to make it 9-5.  Horton singled to load the bases and bring the tying run to the plate, but Jim Northrup grounded out to end the threat.  Freehan hit a home run in the ninth to round out the scoring, but the Tigers did not get the tying run to bat again.

WP:  Perry (5-1).

LP:  Joe Niekro (3-2).

S:  Perranoski (8).

Notes:  Holt was in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Mitterwald pinch-hit for Ratliff in the fifth and went behind the plate.  Frank Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the seventh.

Carew was batting .362.  Oliva was batting .354.  Killebrew was batting .337.  Tovar was 1-for-3 and was batting .303.  Perry allowed four runs (three earned) in 6.1 innings and had an ERA of 2.50.  Perranoski allowed two runs (one earned) in 2.2 innings and had an ERA of 1.74.

Holt was 1-for-5 and was batting .190.  Mitterwald was 0-for-3 and was batting .194.

Future Twin Niekro lasted just 2.1 innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and no walks and striking out four.  He was not the knuckleballing Joe Niekro at this stage of his career, but was more a conventional pitcher.

Perranoski had now pitched nine innings in the last seven games, appearing in five of them.

Carew was back, having missed two weeks and thirteen games.  His batting picked up right where it left off.

I don't know if McAuliffe quite qualifies as a "Twins killer", but in 1970 he batted .295/.415/.455 against them.  That's pretty good, especially when for the season he batted .234/.358/.345.  The only team against who he did better in 1970 was Milwaukee--.297/.422/.486.  For his career he batted ,267/.348/.453 against the Twins with 23 home runs.  I remember McAuliffe as primarily a singles hitter, but my memory is faulty.  He hit double figure home runs in ten consecutive seasons and hit over twenty three times, with a high of twenty-four in 1964.  He finished with 197 home runs.

The Twins had now taken two of three from Baltimore and two of three from Detroit on their eastern trip.  They next travel to Cleveland for the last leg of their journey.

Record:  The Twins were 16-8, in first place in the American League West, a half game ahead of California.