Tag Archives: run them into the ground

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: ALCS Game Two

BALTIMORE 11, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Sunday, October 4.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer (his second) and a walk.  Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 with a home run.

Pitching star:  Stan Williams pitched three perfect innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  Mark Belanger was 3-for-4 with a walk and three runs.  Boog Powell was 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs.  Dave McNally was 2-for-5 with a double.  Frank Robinson was 1-for-3 with a two-run homer, two walks, and two runs.  Dave Johnson was 1-for-5 with a three-run homer.  McNally also pitched a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits and five walks and striking out five.

The game:  Belanger and Paul Blair opened the game by drawing walks.  With one out Powell hit an RBI double, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.  It went to 3-0 in the third when Belanger singled and Robinson hit a two-run homer.  In the fourth Andy Etchebarren reached second on a single-plus-error and scored on McNally's single, making it 4-0 Baltimore.

The Twins got back into the game in the bottom of the fourth.  Leo Cardenas walked and Killebrew hit a two-run homer followed by a solo homer by Oliva, cutting the margin to 4-3.  But there it stayed until the ninth.  The Twins missed a chance in the fifth.  Williams drew a one-out walk and went to second on a Cesar Tovar single.  Cardenas followed with another single, but Williams was thrown out at the plate.  They had another chance in the sixth when George Mitterwald hit a two-out double, but an infield out ended the inning.

The Orioles broke it open in the ninth, scoring seven runs.  McNally led off with a double and Belanger singled him to third.  A one-out walk to Robinson loaded the bases.  Powell then hit a two-run double, Merv Rettenmund followed with an RBI single, an error brought home a fourth run, and Johnson capped the inning with a three-run homer.  It was 11-3, and that would be the final score.

WP:  McNally (1-0).

LP:  Tom Hall (0-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Rick Renick was at third base, with Killebrew moving to first and Rich Reese out of the lineup.  Danny Thompson was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Bob Allison pinch-hit for Williams in the seventh.  Jim Holt pinch-ran for Brant Alyea in the eighth inning and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left.  Frank Quilici pinch-hit for Luis Tiant in the ninth.

Hall pitched 3.1 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and three walks and striking out four.

Hall had pitched very well down the stretch, but the fact that he was the number two starter showed how injuries hurt the Twins starting rotation.  Dave Boswell was unavailable and Tiant might as well have been, being used in mop-up relief.  Bert Blyleven would not have been a bad choice, but he was even younger than Hall (age 20 versus age 22) and Hall had really pitched better.  Jim Kaat would've been another choice, but perhaps Bill Rigney wanted to start Hall at home, where he might be less nervous, then to make him deal with a road crowd.  I haven't looked ahead, and don't remember, who started game three.  We'll see tomorrow.

I guess I didn't need to worry about Williams being overused in game one, as he threw three more perfect innings in game two.  The ninth-inning runs came mostly off of Ron Perranoski, who was in his second inning of work after pitching a perfect inning the day before.

The Twins had now played five ALCS games against Baltimore and lost all five.  They were now facing an elimination game in Baltimore.

Record:  The Twins trailed the best-of-five series, 0-2.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Six

MINNESOTA 2, OAKLAND 1 IN MINNESOTA (11 INNINGS)

Date:  Friday, August 7.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Jim Holt was 2-for-5 with a home run, his third.  Rich Reese was 1-for-1 with a home run (his eighth) and three walks.

Pitching star:  Jim Perry pitched an eleven-inning complete game, giving up one run on five hits and three walks and striking out seven.

Opposition stars:  Reggie Jackson was 1-for-2 with a double and two walks.  Bert Campaneris was 1-for-5 with a home run, his sixteenth.  Catfish Hunter pitched seven innings, giving up one run on six hits and two walks and striking out one.  Mudcat Grant pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk.

The game:  Campaneris led off the game with a home run, giving the Athletics a 1-0 lead.  Reese led off the second inning with a home run, tying the score 1-1.

And there was no more scoring until the eleventh.  The Twins got a one-out double from Oliva in the fourth, a leadoff double from George Mitterwald in the fifth, and started the sixth with a single and a walk.  Jackson hit a two-out double in the seventh.  The Athletics got a man to second in the eighth and in the ninth.  The Twins loaded the bases with none out in the tenth when Cesar Tovar walked, Danny Thompson reached on a sacrifice bunt/error, and Oliva was intentionally walked, but Harmon Killebrew hit into a 5-2-3 double play and Rick Renick grounded out.

Came the eleventh.  Oakland went down in order.  Holt led off the bottom of the inning with a home run and the Twins were victorious.

WP:  Perry (17-9).

LP:  Marcel Lachemann (2-1).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was again in center, with Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Thompson was at shortstop, with Frank Quilici at second and Leo Cardenas on the bench.  Killebrew pinch-hit for Reese in the tenth and stayed in the game at first base.

Oliva was .329.  Perry was 1-for-4 and was batting .303.

I don't know when the last time is that someone pitched eleven innings in a game, but I'm pretty sure it hasn't happened in the last few years.

The Twins had played twenty-five innings in the last two games and used four pitchers.  There were a total of six runs scored in those innings, four by the Twins and two by the opposition.  Each game was decided by a walkoff home run.

It's not every game you have Catfish start and he gets replaced by Mudcat.

Record:  The Twins were 68-38, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Three

MINNESOTA 5, MILWAUKEE 2 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Tuesday, August 4.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching star:  Bert Blyleven struck out twelve in a complete game, giving up two runs on seven hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4.  Bob Humphreys struck out two in two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  It was scoreless until the third, when singles by Ted Kubiak, Harper, and Russ Snyder put the Brewers ahead 1-0.  The Twins took the lead in the fourth.  Back-to-back one-out doubles by Harmon Killebrew and Reese brought home the first run.  With two out, Leo Cardenas doubled and Blyleven contributed an RBI single to give the Twins a 3-1 advantage.

The Twins added two more in the fifth.  With one out, Oliva singled and Killebrew was hit by a pitch.  Reese singled home a run, leaving men on first and third, and a sacrifice fly made the score 5-1.

Blyleven took it from there.  He gave up a run in the seventh when Dave May singled and scored on a Roberto Pena double, but Milwaukee did not get the tying run up to bat in that or any other inning as the Twins won 5-2.

WP:  Blyleven (6-3).

LP:  Bobby Bolin (3-9).

S:  None.

Notes:  Jim Holt was in center in place of Cesar Tovar.  Danny Thompson remained at second in place of Rod Carew.  Charlie Manuel made a rare start in left in place of Brant Alyea.  Tovar went to left in the seventh, replacing Manuel.  Frank Quilici went to second in the ninth, with Thompson moving to third and Killebrew coming out of the game.

Oliva was batting .328.  Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .304.  Tovar was 1-for-1 and was back up to .300.  Blyleven had an ERA of 2.78.

This was the third complete game for Blyleven.  He would have five for the season.

This was only the second time Tovar did not start, and each time he came in for defense late in the game.  He would not get a full game off until late September.

Bolin pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits and a walk and striking out none.  He did not have a good season in 1970, but he struggled with the Twins more than most:  0-3, 5.91, 1.69 WHIP.  For the season he was 7-11, 4.63, 1.46 WHIP.

Record:  The Twins were 66-37, in first place in the American League West, eight games ahead of California and Oakland.  This was the largest lead the Twins had up to this point in the season.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Eighty-five

MINNESOTA 6, BALTIMORE 3 IN BALTIMORE

Date:  Saturday, July 18.

Batting stars:  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with a home run (his thirteenth) and three runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer, his twenty-ninth.  Frank Quilici was 1-for-4 with a two-run homer.

Pitching stars:  Jim Perry pitched 6.2 innings, giving up three runs on ten hits and a walk and striking out four.  Ron Perranoski pitched 2.1 innings, giving up three hits and a walk and striking out two.

Opposition stars:  Frank Robinson was 4-for-5.  Don Buford was 3-for-5 with a home run (his eleventh), a double, and two runs.  Paul Blair was 2-for-5.

The game:  Oliva led off the second with a single and went to third on a Brant Alyea double.  He was then picked off third base, but a throwing error allowed him to score and give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Orioles got the run back in the bottom of the second when Brooks Robinson singled, went to second on Dave Johnson's walk, and scored on a Mark Belanger single.  Baltimore took a 2-1 lead in the third on Buford's leadoff home run.

It stayed 2-1 until the sixth.  Reese led of the inning with a single and Killebrew hit a two-run homer to put the Twins up 3-2.  Oliva followed with a single.  The next two batters went out, but Quilici hit a two-run homer to give the Twins a 5-2 lead.

The Orioles scored in the seventh when Buford doubled and scored on Frank Robinson's single.  Oliva got the run back for the Twins in the eighth when he led off the inning with a home run, making it 6-3.

Baltimore did not quit.  Buford led off with a bunt single, but was erased on a double play.  Still, Boog Powell and Frank Robinson singled, bringing Brooks Robinson up to bat as the tying run.  He flied out to right field, however, and the game went to the Twins.

WP:  Perry (14-7).

LP:  Dave McNally (12-7).

S:  Perranoski (22).

Notes:  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tom Tischinski was at catcher in place of George Mitterwald.  Brant Alyea was back in the lineup, his first start since July 4.  Jim Holt replaced Alyea in left in the sixth inning.  Danny Thompson replaced Killebrew at third in the seventh.

Tischinski was 1-for-4 and was batting .333.  Killebrew was batting .325.  Oliva was batting .324.  Cesar Tovar was 0-for-5 and was batting .309.  Perry was 1-for-3 and was batting .309.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.50.

Quilici was batting .191.  This game featured the fourth of his five career home runs.  His season high was two.

Killebrew had hit a home run in five consecutive games.

Perranoski had pitched three innings in the previous game and pitched 2.1 innings in this game.  When men were men.

Record:  The Twins were 56-29, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.  They still had the best record in the American League, but were still well behind the Big Red Machine (64-27).

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Sixty-eight

1 Comment

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

Date:  Sunday, June 28.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WP:  Murphy (1-0).

LP:  Woodson (0-1).

S:  Wilbur Wood (11).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty-three

BOSTON 6, MINNESOTA 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Saturday, June 13.

Batting stars:  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two runs.  Rich Reese was 2-for-4 with a double.  Rod Carew was 2-for-5 with a triple.

Pitching star: Stan Williams pitched two shutout innings and struck out one.

Opposition stars:  George Thomas was 3-for-4 with two doubles, a hit-by-pitch, and three runs.  Reggie Smith was 2-for-5 with two doubles.  Ray Culp pitched eight innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on nine hits and three walks and striking out three.

The game:  Thomas doubled with one out in the first, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch to give the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.  The Twins tied it in the bottom of the first when Tovar led off with a single-plus-error, went to third on a ground out, and scored on a wild pitch.

The Twins took the lead in the second.  Paul Ratliff led off the inning with a walk.  With one out Tovar, Carew, and Oliva all singled, scoring two runs and putting them up 3-1.

It stayed 3-1 until the sixth.  Thomas led off with a double and scored on a Carl Yastrzemski single to cut the lead to 3-2.  Smith then doubled, putting men on second and third with none out.  The next two batters were retired, but Billy Conigliaro hit a two-run single to put Boston ahead 4-3.  Singles by Jerry Moses and Culp resulted in another run, making it 5-3 Red Sox.  In the seventh, George Thomas singled, Carl Yastrzemski walked, and an error scored Thomas to make it 6-3.

The Twins rallied in the ninth.  Leo Cardenas reached on an error, Ratliff singled, and Rick Renick walked, loading the bases with none out and bringing up the top of the Twins order.  Tovar hit a sacrifice fly to make it 6-4, but Carew struck out and Oliva grounded to second, ending the game.

WP:  Culp (5-6).

LP:  Jim Kaat (5-4).

S:  Sparky Lyle (9).

Notes:  We once again had Jim Holt in left and Ratliff behind the plate, replacing Brant Alyea and George Mitterwald, respectively.  Charlie Manuel and Renick were used as pinch-hitters for pitchers.

Carew was batting .372.  Oliva was 1-for-5 and was batting .330.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 and was batting .315.  Williams had an ERA of 2.09.

Kaat had pitched in three of the last five Twins games, starting two of them.  He again wasn't awful, but wasn't very good, either:  five innings, four runs, seven hits, no walks, no strikeouts.  I'm sure Kaat was more than willing to pitch that often, and I'm sure he said he felt fine, but it wasn't really working very well.

We tend to remember Sparky Lyle as a Yankee, but he was a fine reliever in Boston for five years before coming to New York.  As a Red Sock, he was 22-17, 2.85, 69 saves, 1.29 WHIP in 331.1 innings (160 games, all in relief).

Record:  The Twins were 35-18, in first place in the American League West, 2.5 games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Fifty

NEW YORK 5, MINNESOTA 2 IN NEW YORK

Date:  Tuesday, June 9.

Batting star:  Jim Holt was 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

Pitching stars:  Bill Zepp pitched two shutout innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Bobby Murcer was 3-for-4 with a walk, a stolen base (his fifth), and two RBIs.  Danny Cater was 2-for-4.  Stan Bahnsen was 2-for-4.  He also pitched a complete game, giving up two runs on four hits and four walks and striking out seven.  Roy White was 2-for-5.

The game:  The Yankees put men on first and third in the first inning but did not score.  It looked like it would cost them, as the Twins scored two in the second.  Harmon Killebrew led off with a walk, Holt hit a one-out double, and Leo Cardenas singled them both home, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead.

New York matched the two runs in the bottom of the second, though.  Ron Woods walked, Gene Michael singled, and Bahnsen had a bunt single, loading the bases with one out.  Horace Clarke struck out, but Murcer delivered a two-run single, tying the score 2-2.

Cesar Tovar led off the third with a single-plus-error but was stranded at second.  Paul Ratliff hit a two-out triple in the fourth but was also stranded.  In the sixth, singles by Thurman Munson and John Ellis and a walk to Woods loaded the bases with none out.  All the Yankees got out of it was a sacrifice fly by MIchael, but it was enough to put New York ahead 3-2.  They added two more in the seventh when Murcer and White singled, moved up on a ground out, and scored on a fielder's choice-plus-error, giving the Yankees a 5-2 lead.  The Twins did not get a hit after the fourth inning.

WP:  Bahnsen (4-4).

LP:  Jim Kaat (5-3).

S:  None.

Notes:  Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Ratliff was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  The Twins made no position player substitutions.

Rod Carew returned to the lineup and was 0-for-3.  He was batting .385.  Tony Oliva was 0-for-4 and was batting .332.  Killebrew was 0-for-2 and was batting .320.

Kaat was pitching in consecutive games, although with an off-day in-between.  He didn't do terribly, but he wasn't great, either.  He pitched six innings, giving up five runs (three earned) on twelve hits and two walks and striking out two.  Bringing him in to pitch relief might not have been the best idea, although I'm sure he was more than willing to do it.

It's interesting how many times pitchers have shown up in the best batter lists lately.  I'm all for the DH, but there were at least some pitchers who could hit back in the day.

We think of the Yankees of this era as being bad teams, but they were not bad in 1970.  They were 93-69-1, and no, I did not check to see what happened that they had a tie.  Presumably a rain-shortened game.  But anyway, they had a very good team.  They just weren't as good as Baltimore.

Record:  The Twins were 34-16, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.  Again, the difference was all in the loss column, as the Angels were 34-20.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Forty-seven

MINNESOTA 2, WASHINGTON 1 IN WASHINGTON

Date:  Friday, June 5.

Batting stars:  Frank Quilici was 2-for-3.  Tony Oliva was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out seven in seven innings, giving up one run on five hits and a walk.  Ron Perranoski pitched two perfect innings.

Opposition stars:  Lee Maye was 2-for-3 with a home run, his fourth.  Casey Cox pitched seven innings, giving up two runs on seven hits and three walks and striking out three.  Darold Knowles pitched two shutout innings, giving up one hit.

The game:  Cesar Tovar led off the game with a walk, stole second, and scored on an Oliva single to put the Twins up 1-0.  Maye led off the bottom of the first with a home run, tying it 1-1.

The Twins put men on second and third with two out in the fourth, but it stayed 1-1 until the fifth.  Quilici led off with a single, was bunted to second, and scored on a Tovar single to put the Twins up 2-1.

And that was it.  The Senators only twice got a man to second and never got a man to third, as the Twins held the 2-1 victory.

WP:  Blyleven (1-0).

LP:  Cox (3-4).

S:  Perranoski (13).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici was at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Carew would not return until June 9, so he apparently was dealing with some minor injury or illness.

Oliva was batting .325.  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-4 and was batting .317.  Blyleven had an ERA of 1.29.  Perranoski had an ERA of 1.80.

Quilici was batting .191.

As you have probably figured out by now, this was Blyleven's major league debut.  He had been 4-2, 2.50 at AAA Evansville.  The story he told so often was true--the first man he faced, Lee Maye, hit a home run off him.  And in fact, he did strike out Frank Howard in the sixth.

We're in early June, and neither Tovar, Killebrew, nor Oliva has been given a game off yet.  I know this is the old days when men were men, but I suspect Bill Rigney was somewhat of an old-school manager even for his time.

The Senators played two ex-Twins:  second baseman Bernie Allen, who was 1-for-3, and John Roseboro, who pinch-hit and was 0-for-1.

Casey Cox was a pretty fair pitcher for several years:  39-42, 3.70, 1.32.  I suspect his won-lost record is affected by the fact that he spent his entire career with bad teams:  the Senators/Rangers and the early-seventies Yankees.  He appeared in 308 games, starting 59 of them.  Slightly more than half of his starts--30--came in 1970.

Record:  The Twins were 32-15, in first place in the American League West, two games ahead of California.

 

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 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.