Tag Archives: triples

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty-one

MINNESOTA 4, WASHINGTON 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Friday, August 21.

Batting stars:  Jim Holt was 2-for-2.  Cesar Tovar was 2-for-4 with two triples and two runs.  Tom Tischinski was 1-for-3 with a home run.

Pitching stars:  Bert Blyleven struck out seven in six innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and two walks.  Stan Williams pitched three shutout innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out two.

Opposition star:  Ed Stroud was 3-for-4 with a walk.

The game:  The Senators opened the game with two singles but did not score.  In the second, however, Ed Brinkman singled and Paul Casanova tripled to give Washington a 1-0 lead.  They had a man on third with none out, but did not score him.  They added a run in third, though, when Mike Epstein tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly.  The got one more run in the fourth when Tim Cullen doubled and scored on Stroud's single.

The Twins got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Tovar tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly.  They tied it in the sixth when Holt singled, Tovar hit an RBI triple, and Danny Thompson had a run-scoring single.  Tischinski homered in the seventh to give the Twins the lead at 4-3.

And that was it.  The Senators got only one hit after the fourth inning, a leadoff single by Stroud in the seventh.  He was bunted to second, but remained there.  Well, he's probably not there any more, but you know what I mean.

WP:  Williams (8-0).

LP:  Casey Cox (7-9).

S:  None.

Notes:   Thompson was again at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Tischinski was behind the plate in place of George Mitterwald.  Holt pinch-hit for Blyleven in the sixth and stayed in the game in center field, with Tovar moving to left and Brant Alyea coming out of the game.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Harmon Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .320.  Williams had an ERA of 2.06.

Tischinski was batting .182.

There were four triples in the game, which I'm sure is nowhere near the record but still seems noteworthy, given the number of games in which you don't even see one.  Tovar led the league in triples in 1970 with 13, nearly twice his next-highest season total (7 in 1967).  He also led the league in doubles with 36,

This was Tischinski's only major league home run.  At least it was a game-winner.  He hit only eleven home runs in the minors, with six of them coming in 1963 with Class A Rocky Mount.

Record:  The Twins were 73-48, in first place in the American League West, six games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game One Hundred Twenty

NEW YORK 4, MINNESOTA 3 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Thursday, August 20.

Batting stars:  Rich Reese was 3-for-4 with a triple.  Harmon Killebrew was 2-for-4.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-3 with a home run (his ninth) and two RBIs.  George Mitterwald was 1-for-4 with a home run, his twelfth.

Pitching star:  Ron Perranoski struck out three in two shutout innings, giving up three hits and a walk.

Opposition stars:  Jim Lyttle was 2-for-4 with a double.  Mel Stottlemyre pitched seven innings, giving up three runs on seven hits and a walk and striking out three.

The game:  Reese tripled leading off the second and scored on a sacrifice fly, giving the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Yankees tied it in the fourth when Frank Baker walked and Bobby Murcer delivered an RBI double.  The Twins took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth when Cardenas homered.

It stayed 2-1 Twins until the seventh.  John Ellis led off the seventh with a double and Lyttle followed with a double, but Ellis could only reach third.  A ground out scored a run to tie it.  A fielder's choice with no one retired somehow put men on second and third.  Stottlemyre then hit a triple, scoring both runs and putting the Yankees up 4-2.

Mitterwald homered in the bottom of the seventh to cut the lead to 4-3.  The Twins got a pair of two-out singles in the eighth, but Jim Holt struck out and the Twins went down in order in the ninth.

WP:  Stottlemyre (12-10).

LP:  Bill Zepp (6-3).

S:  Lindy McDaniel (17).

Notes:  Danny Thompson remained at second base in place of Rod Carew.  Holt was in center, with Cesar Tovar in left and Brant Alyea on the bench.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Tom Hall in the seventh and stayed in the game in left field.  Rick Renick pinch-hit for Tovar in the seventh.  Frank Quilici pinch-ran for Killebrew in the eighth and stayed in the game at second base, with Thompson moving to third.

Tony Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .321.  Hall retired both men he faced and had an ERA of 2.87.  Perranoski had an ERA of 2.41.

Stottlemyre hit six triples in his career.  This was his second of the season, which was a career high for him.  While he wasn't an awful batter for a pitcher, he wasn't particularly good, either:  .160/.213/.223 in 749 at-bats.

Reese hit seventeen triples in his career.  He hit five in 1970, which was also his career high.

It was Stottlemyre's bad luck to come to the Yankees just as their dynasty was ending, and to suffer a torn rotator cuff shortly before their next dynasty began.  Had he played for the Yankees when they were good, and had he not gotten injured, he would almost certainly have had a much higher win total, made some post-season appearances, and possibly (who knows?) have made the Hall of Fame.  As it was, he went 164-139, with a career 2.97 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP.  He was an all-star five times, led the league in complete games twice, and in innings pitched once.  However, because the team was bad, he twice led the league in losses, once with an ERA of 3.80 and once with an ERA of 3.22.  I guess the point, if there is one, is that circumstances that you can 't control can play a significant role in the success of ballplayers, and of human beings generally.

The loss snapped the Twins' three-game winning streak.  Their homestand would continue with three against Washington and three against Boston.

Record:  The Twins were 72-48, in first place in the American League West, five games ahead of California.

Keeping Track

1970 Rewind: Game Thirty-nine

MINNESOTA 6, MILWAUKEE 5 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Monday, May 25.

Batting stars:  Harmon Killebrew was 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk.  Rich Reese was 1-for-3 with three RBIs.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Russ Snyder was 3-for-5 with two RBIs.  Mike Hegan was 2-for-3 with two doubles.  Tommy Harper was 2-for-4 with a double, a stolen base (his twentieth), a walk, and two runs.  Skip Lockwood pitched a complete game, giving up six runs (two earned) on seven hits and a walk and striking out six.

The game:  Cesar Tovar and Rod Carew led off the first with singles, putting men on first and third, and Tony Oliva hit an RBI ground out to put the Twins up 1-0.  The Brewers tied it in the third when Harper drew a two-out walk, stole second, and scored on Russ Snyder's single.  The Twins went back in front in the fourth.  Oliva reached on an error and scored on a Harmon Killebrew triple.  Reese followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1 Twins.

Milwaukee came back.  Ted Kubiak led off the fifth with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-2.  In the sixth Snyder singled and scored from first on Mike Hegan's double to tie it 3-3.  The Brewers took the lead in the seventh when Gus Gil singled, was bunted to second, and scored on Harper's single.

It was the Twins' turn in the seventh.  George Mitterwald reached on an error and was bunted to second.  Tovar reached on another error, sending Mitterwald to third.  With two out, Oliva reached on yet another error, scoring Mitterwald to tie it 4-4.  Killebrew walked to load the bases and Reese delivered a two-run single to give the Twins a 6-4 lead.

Milwaukee drew a pair of one-out walks in the eighth but did not score.  The first two Brewers went out in the ninth, but Harper doubled and scored on Snyder's single, cutting the lead to 6-5.  An error on Frank Quilici (in the game as a defensive replacement) put men on first and second, but future Twin Danny Walton flied out to end the game.

WP:  Tom Hall (2-1).

LP:  Lockwood (0-1).

S:  Ron Perranoski (12).

Notes:  Jim Holt was in left field in place of Brant Alyea.  Quilici replaced Killebrew at third base in the ninth.

Carew was 1-for-4 and was batting .387.  Oliva was 1-for-4 and was batting .329.  Killebrew was batting .328.  Bill Zepp pitched 6.2 innings and gave up four runs, making his ERA 2.78.  Hall did not give up a run in two-thirds of an inning and had an ERA of 2.59.  Stan Williams gave up a run in 1.1 innings and had an ERA of 1.65.  Perranoski got the last out and had an ERA of 1.64.

This was Zepp's second start of the season.  He would make one more, then go back to the bullpen until July, when he would go into the rotation.

Milwaukee made four errors in the game, and as you can see above, the errors cost them.  Lockwood was allowed to pitch a complete game despite giving up six runs, presumably on the theory that it's not his fault that his fielders couldn't field.  Still, a complete game while giving up six runs is unusual, even if four were unearned.

This was Killebrew's only triple in 1970.  For his career, he hit twenty-four triples.  He only once hit more than two in a season, and that's in 1961, when he hit seven.

Gus Gil somehow managed to play in parts of four seasons and appear in 221 games despite batting .186/.272/.226, for an OPS of .499.  Presumably he was considered a good fielder, but his batting line pretty much defines "futility infielder".

The Twins had played four one-run games in a row, winning two and losing two.

Record:  The Twins were 27-12, in first place in the American League West, one game ahead of California.

Keeping Track

2003 Rewind: Game One Hundred Forty-two

MINNESOTA 5, TEXAS 4 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, September 7.

Batting stars:  Michael Ryan was 2-for-3 with a home run (his third), a double, a walk, and two runs.  Doug Mientkiewicz was 2-for-4 with a walk and two RBIs.

Pitching stars:  Grant Balfour pitched 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a hit and a walk and striking out one.  Rick Reed pitched two shutout innings, giving up a hit and striking out one.

Opposition stars:  Gerald Laird was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBIs.  Michael Young was 2-for-4 with a double and a walk.  Alex Rodriguez was 1-for-4 with a home run (his forty-second) and two walks.

The game:  Rodriguez homered with two out in the first to put the Rangers up 1-0.  Ryan countered with a home run leading off the bottom of the first to tie it 1-1.  In the third, Texas opened the inning with three singles, loading the bases with none out.  A home-and-first double play gave the Twins hope of getting out of the inning, but an intentional walk to Rodriguez was followed by an accidental walk to Rafael Palmeiro, putting the Rangers back up 2-1.

The Twins tied it in the fourth when Torii Hunter hit a two-out double and scored from second on a wild pitch (Twins Baseball!).  They went ahead 3-2 in the fifth when Denny Hocking hit a two-out double and scored on Mientkiewicz' single.  Texas went back in front in the sixth when Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch, Hank Blalock reached on an error, and Laird delivered a two-run triple to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead.

The Twins tied it in the seventh when Ryan doubled and scored on a Mientkiewicz single.  It stayed tied through nine.  In the tenth Mientkiewicz walked, Matthew LeCroy singled, and Jacque Jones reached on an error, loading the bases with none out.  Hunter then hit a sacrifice fly to win the game for the Twins.

WP:  Reed (6-12).  LP:  Francisco Cordero (4-7).  S:  None.

Notes:  Hocking was at second base in place of Luis Rivas.  Ryan was in left with Jones in right.

Lew Ford pinch-hit for Cristian Guzman in the seventh.  Chris Gomez came in to play short in the eighth.  Michael Cuddyer pinch-hit for Ryan in the ninth and stayed in the game in left field.  Justin Morneau pinch-hit for Hocking in the ninth.  Alex Prieto came i to play second in the tenth.  Michael Restovich pinch-ran for LeCroy in the tenth.

Ryan raised his average to .391.  Ford was 0-for-1 and was batting .321.  Jones was 1-for-5 and was batting .306.  Pierzynski was 0-for-3 and was batting .302.  Mientkiewicz raised his average to .301.

This was Prieto's first appearance for the Twins since August 2.  It was Restovich's first appearance since August 17.

Kenny Rogers started and pitched 5.2 innings, giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks and striking out four.  J. C. Romero retired both men he faced to lower his ERA to 5.10.  LaTroy Hawkins struck out the only man he faced to lower his ERA to 1.97.  Reed lowered his ERA to 5.02.  This was his first appearance since August 17.

This was Laird's first career triple, and it came in his ninth major league game.  He would play 790 more games and hit eight more triples.  His season high was three, in 2007.

The Twins had won five in a row, eight of ten, and ten of thirteen.  Chicago and Kansas City both won, so there was no change in the standings.

Record:  The Twins were 76-66, tied with Chicago for first place in the American League Central, three games ahead of Kansas City.

Keeping Track

Random Rewind: 1971, Game Thirty

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MINNESOTA 6, WASHINGTON 5 IN MINNESOTA (10 INNINGS)

Date:  Sunday, May 9.

Batting stars:  Jim Holt was 3-for-4 with two triples, a walk, and three runs.  Tony Oliva was 3-for-4 with two doubles.  Leo Cardenas was 1-for-5 with a home run, his second.

Pitching star:  Ray Corbin struck out four in four shutout innings of relief, giving up no hits and one walk.

Opposition stars:  Tim Cullen was 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs.  Del Unser was 1-for-5 with a home run, his second.

The game:  Unser led off the game with a home run, putting the Senators up 1-0.  In the second, walks to Joe Foy and Jim French and a single by Cullen loaded the bases with none out.  A 1-2-3 double play kept Washington off the board momentarily, but Denny McLain hit a two-run triple to give the Senators a 3-0 lead.

The Twins came back in the fourth.  Cardenas led off the inning with a home run.  Oliva doubled, followed by a run-scoring single-plus-error by Harmon Killebrew.  Holt then tripled to tie the score and Brant Alyea hit a sacrifice fly to put the Twins up 4-3.

The Senators went back in front in the sixth.  French singled, Cullen tripled, and Toby Harrah hit a sacrifice fly to give them a 5-4 advantage.  The lead only lasted until the Twins came up to bat, because Holt hit a one-out triple and Alyea followed with his second sacrifice fly to tie it 5-5.

It stayed tied until the tenth.  The first two Twins batters went out.  Holt and Alyea then singled, putting men on first and third.  Rich Reese was intentionally walked to load the bases and bring up George Mitterwald.  Mitterwald came through with an RBI single and the Twins won 6-5.

WP:  Corbin (3-1).  LP:  McLain (3-5).  S:  None.

Notes:  Killebrew was at third base in this game, with Reese at first.  Killer played both first and third in 1971, with Steve Braun usually playing third when Harmon was at first.

Alyea was in left in place of Cesar Tovar, who missed a few days, presumably with a minor injury or illness.  Tom Tischinski caught in place of Mitterwald.

Paul Ray Powell pinch-ran for Oliva in the eighth.  He stayed in the game in center field, with Holt moving to right.  Charlie Manuel pinch-hit for Tischinski in the ninth, with Mitterwald entering the game to catch in the tenth.

Despite using three pitchers, the Twins did not pinch-hit for any of them.  Stan Williams batted twice (0-for-2) and Corbin batted twice (0-for-2).

There were four triples in this game.  While I'm sure that's nowhere near a record, it's still a lot of triples, especially when you think of the number of games that can go by where you don't even see one.  I imagine the record was set back in the dead ball era, and I'm sure it's a lot more than four, but four is still remarkable.

Holt hit two of the triples.  He had three for the season and ten in his career.  Cullen had four triples for the season and nine in his career.  This was one of two triples McLain had in his career.

Astonishingly, McLain pitched a complete game.  I know men were men back then, but it's not exactly like he was mowing them down.  He allowed six runs on thirteen hits and two walks.  His game score was forty-four.  They don't give pitch counts for games that old, but it had to be a lot.  It's not like their bullpen was terrible--they had Joe Grzenda (5-2, 1.92), Paul Lindblad (6-4, 2.58), Denny Riddleberger (3-1, 3.23), and Horacio Pina (1-1, 3.59).  After his two Cy Young seasons, 1968-1969, McLain fell off sharply and never had a good year again.  This was his last full season in the majors, and he went 10-22, 4.28, 1.41 WHIP.

1971 is somewhat analogous to 2011.  It's not a perfect analogy by any means, but in both cases you had a team that had been good for a while suddenly fall off a cliff.  The Twins had won the division in 1969 and 1970, and as is seen below, were nowhere close in 1971.

Record:  The Twins were 15-15, in fourth place in the American League West, five games behind Oakland.  They would finish 74-86, in fifth place, 26.5 games behind Oakland.

The Senators were 13-16, in fifth place in the American League East, six games behind Boston.  They would finish 63-96, in fifth place, 38.5 games behind Baltimore.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: World Series Game Five

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ATLANTA 14, MINNESOTA 5 IN ATLANTA

Date:  Thursday, October 24.

Batting stars:  Al Newman was 1-for-1 with a triple.  Scott Leius was 1-for-2 with a walk.  Chuck Knoblauch was 1-for-3 with a walk.

Pitching stars:  None.

Opposition stars:  Ron Gant was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, and three runs.  Greg Olson was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, his second.  Brian Hunter was 2-for-2 with a home run (his second), two runs, and two RBIs.  Mark Lemke was 2-for-4 with two triples, a walk, two runs, and three RBIs.  Terry Pendleton was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk, and three runs.  Rafael Belliard was 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs.  David Justice was 2-for-5 with a home run (his second), a stolen base (his second), two runs, and five RBIs.  Lonnie Smith was 1-for-5 with a home run, his third.

The game:  It was scoreless for three innings, but that was shattered in the fourth.  Gant led off with a single and Justice hit a two-run homer.  Olson got a one-out single, Lemke tripled him home, and Belliard had an RBI double, making the score 4-0 Braves.  They added a run in the fifth when Pendleton and Gant singled and Justice had an RBI ground out.

The Twins rallied in the sixth.  With one out Knoblauch walked, Kirby Puckett singled, and Chili Davis walked, loading the bases.  Brian Harper and Leius each drew a bases-loaded walk, cutting the margin to 5-2.  A big hit would've gotten the Twins right back into the game, but all they could manage was a pair of ground outs.  One of them did score a run, making the score 5-3.

That was the end of the good news, though.  Atlanta put it out of reach with six in the seventh.  Smith homered, Justice and Hunter had RBI singles, Lemke drove in two with another triple, and Belliard had an RBI double, making the score 11-3.  The Twins got one back in the eighth, when Davis singled and scored on Newman's triple.  In the bottom of the eighth, however, Pendleton doubled, Gant tripled, and Hunter homered, bringing the score to 14-4.  The Twins got the final run of the game in the ninth when Dan Gladden tripled and scored on a ground out.

WP:  Tom Glavine (1-3).  LP:  Kevin Tapani (1-2).  S:  None.

Notes:  With no DH, Davis was in right field, with Shane Mack on the bench.

The Twins again made substantial use of the bench.  Gene Larkin pinch-hit for Tapani in the fifth.  Mike Pagliarulo pinch-hit for Terry Leach in the seventh.  Also in the seventh, Al Newman went to second base as part of a double switch that took Knoblauch out of the game.  Jarvis Brown pinch-hit for Puckett in the eighth, as Tom Kelly conceded the game.  Also in the eighth, Randy Bush pinch-hit for Harper and Paul Sorrento pinch-hit for Kent Hrbek.  Junior Ortiz came in to catch in the eighth, as Davis left the game as part of a double switch.  Sorrento went to first base, Brown went to center, and Bush went to right.

Tapani pitched four innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks and striking out four.  Atlanta starter Glavine pitched 5.1 innings, giving up three runs on four hits and four walks and striking out two.

The decision to put Davis in the outfield was much debated at the time, and is still a questionable move.  He had played only three innings of outfield all season, and all were in blowout games.  It seems like a desperation move, and the Twins weren't in a position where they needed to make a desperation move.  Did it make a difference in the outcome?  Probably not, although we'll never know for sure.  I seem to remember him misplaying one ball in the outfield, but I can't tell from the printed play-by-play when it happened or whether it would've made any difference.

The Twins bullpen pretty much melted down in this game.  Leach gave up one run in two innings, David West gave up four runs and didn't retire anyone, Steve Bedrosian gave up two runs in one inning, and Carl Willis allowed three runs in one inning.  The Twins were still in the game until the seventh inning, so if the bullpen had come through, the outcome might have been different.  Of course, if either Hrbek or Greg Gagne could have come up with a hit in the sixth, when the Twins were rallying, the outcome might have been different, too.

There were five triples hit in this game.  I wonder what the record is for most triples in a World Series game.  My guess is that it was set back in the dead ball era, but I really have no idea.

Mark Lemke was now 7-for-15 with three triples and a double in the series.

So the Twins would head back to Minnesota, with the Braves needing to win just one of two there to take the Series.  The Twins had lost two tough games, but now had been blown out and pretty much embarrassed.  Could the Twins rally?  Would someone step up and take the burden of leadership?  We'll see.

Record:  The Twins trailed the best-of-seven series two games to three.

Keeping Track

1991 Rewind: Game Fifteen

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MINNESOTA 7, OAKLAND 4 IN MINNESOTA

Date:  Wednesday, April 24.

Batting stars:  Chuck Knoblauch was 3-for-4 with a triple, a walk, a stolen base (his second) and three RBIs.  Junior Ortiz was 2-for-3 with a walk.  Kirby Puckett was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Gene Larkin was 2-for-4.

Pitching stars:  Jack Morris pitched 7.2 innings, giving up four runs on seven hits and four walks and striking out six.  Rick Aguilera struck out two in 1.1 scoreless innings, giving up a walk.

Opposition stars:  Harold Baines was 2-for-4 with a triple.  Lance Blankenship was 1-for-2 with a walk.

The game:  The Twins missed a chance in the first.  With one out, Knoblauch walked and Puckett singled.  With two out, Chili Davis walked to load the bases, but a fly out ended the inning.  Each team put men on first and second in the fourth, but it remained scoreless until the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, Puckett tripled and scored on a ground out to give the Twins a 1-0 lead.  The Athletics then broke through with four in the top of the sixth.  Willie Wilson doubled and scored on a Jose Canseco single to tie it 1-1.  Baines then tripled to give Oakland a 2-1 lead.  Terry Steinbach singled him home, and singles by Mark McGwire and Blankenship plated another run, making it 4-1 Athletics.

The Twins responded in the bottom of the sixth.  Mike Pagliarulo led off with a single.  Singles by Larkin and Greg Gagne loaded the bases with one out.  Dan Gladden singled one home, Knoblauch cleared the bases with a triple to give the Twins the lead, and Hrbek singled him home to provide an insurance run at 6-4.

Oakland did not get a hit the rest of the game.  The Twins got an insurance run in the eighth when Gladden was hit by a pitch, Knoblauch singled, and Puckett hit a sacrifice fly.

WP:  Morris (1-3).  LP:  Dave Stewart (1-2).  S:  Aguilera (4).

Notes:  Puckett started in center, with Larkin in right.  Shane Mack came in for defense in the eighth, playing center with Puckett moving to right.

Larkin raised his average to .417.  Puckett went up to .322.  Knoblauch raised his average to .308.  Gagne was 1-for-4 and was batting .300.

Aguilera had an ERA of 1.23.

Gladden was 1-for-4 and raised his average to .120.  Hrbek was 1-for-5 and was batting .157.  Morris got his ERA down to 5.88.

Morris threw 124 pitches.  Stewart was allowed to give up all seven runs in seven innings. giving up twelve hits and three walks while striking out six.  He threw 134 pitches.  Yes, men were men in those days.

There were three triples in this game.  I'm sure that's nowhere near a record, but it's not exactly common, either.  I would think the Oakland Mausoleum would be conducive to triples, although I didn't look it up to check.

Record:  The Twins were 5-10, in seventh (last) place, five games behind the White Sox, 2.5 games behind sixth-place Kansas City.