Game 50: Oakland A’s (36-15) @ Minnesota Twins (26-23)

Friday June 3, 1988

The Twins struck early against the best team in baseball, and looked to be in very good shape after Greg Gagne hit a grand slam off of Dave Stewart in the bottom of the second inning that made the score 4-0. Last year, the A’s were 0-7 at the Metrodome, so a four run lead might have meant game over; but this team is different. The 1988 A’s hardly blinked as the scored seven runs over the next two innnings to erase the Twins’ lead and take game one of the series, 8-5.

Jose Canseco’s 456-foot solo home run, his 14th of the season, started the Oakland rally in the third; and Mark McGwire’s sacrifice fly that scored Canseco in the fourth ended the seven-run outburst that came mostly at the expense of Les Straker.

“These guys are human just like the rest of us,” Gary Gaetti said. “But when somebody’s got that kind of a record, you’re always curious to see how they’re doing it.”

-quoted by Tom Powers, Pioneer Press 6/4/1988

Though the Twins have won 10 of their last 12 games, they now sit 10 games behind the A’s.

“Any time a team gets off to a good start it sets the tone for the whole season,” said Herr, who was with St. Louis a year ago when the Cardinals took a 9 1/2-game lead at the All-Star break. “You play out the rest of the season with a lot of confidence. They’ve accomplished that feeling early and they’re obviously playing with a lot of confidence now.”

-quoted by Mark Vancil, Star Tribune 6/4/1988

Box

Player of the Game
Carney Lansford 3-for-5, R, RBI

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               52   37   15    0  .712     -   286  197
Minnesota Twins                 50   26   24    0  .520  10.0   233  253
Texas Rangers                   52   27   25    0  .519  10.0   209  237
Kansas City Royals              53   25   28    0  .472  12.5   246  219
Seattle Mariners                54   23   31    0  .426  15.0   237  280
Chicago White Sox               51   21   30    0  .412  15.5   200  256
California Angels               53   19   34    0  .358  18.5   223  269

1987 World Series DVD: Game 6

Game 6 was a good illustration of the difference between the Cardinals and the Twins at that point of the 1987 season. The Cardinals scored first, and scratched together five runs over the first five innings primarily on the base paths. Tom Herr’s first inning home run aside, the Cardinals took some time to score their runs, did so by exchanging outs to move runners, and didn’t score more than twice in any single inning.

The Twins, on the other hand, scored eight runs over two innings, did so with home runs and extra base hits, and generally scored quickly.

More random thoughts from the game:

-ABC recruited Paul Molitor and Tony Gwynn to film scouting reports on the important pitchers in the series; Molitor for the Twins’ pitching staff and Gwynn for the Cardinals’. The insight the future Hall-of-Famers gave in their 30-second reports was greater than anything FOX generally gives over the course of the full broadcast. Good stuff, and I would like to see a network bring that concept back.

-In the eighth inning some college football scores rolled across the screen. The first: #2 Nebraska 42, Kansas St. 3. Ah, the good ol’ days.

-During one of Dick Such’s (Twins pitching coach) visits to the mound, the crew discussed his 1967 season in the Eastern League. Such’s line that season was 0-16 with a 2.81 ERA. Micahels made the comment that Such was still called up to the majors late that year despite his poor record. Now, I don’t know what the run-scoring environment was in the 1967 Eastern League, but a 2.81 ERA indicates that Such did have some success that season, an idea that at least Michaels couldn’t seem to wrap his head around.

-In the top of the ninth inning, the Twins had a six-run lead and with two outs the Cardinals had Vince Coleman at first. Coleman took off, and despite the game situation Steve Lombardozzi covered second and ultimately let a Tom Herr routine ground ball get through the space he left to cover second. Tom Kelly was livid in the dugout. Apparently the focus on fundamentals never turned off.

The Franchise 1944

1944 Washington Nationals

Manager: Ossie Bluege 2nd Season (2nd with Washington 148-159)
64 W 90 L 592 RS 664 RA 8th AL 25.0 GB (St. Louis 89-65)
3.84 RPG (AL = 4.09) 3.49 ERA (AL = 3.43)
.964 DER (8th AL)

All Stars (4) George Case, Rick Ferrell, Dutch Leonard, Stan Spence

Franchise (1901-1944) 3168-3449-89; 8-11 WS

Going into 1944, it appeared that the year in baseball would be characterized by a lack of star power. With most big name players away for military service, it appeared that baseball would take a hit. In some ways it did, but the real story of the 1944 season was the St. Louis Browns’ quest for the first pennant in franchise history. By the end of the season, the last team of the original eight the American League to win a pennant had theirs, and St. Louis was the center of the baseball world as both the Cardinals and the Browns made it to the World Series.

The season had a different story in Washington, however. Baseball was likely an afterthought because of the war to most people in Washington, and it appeared to be an afterthought to the team as well. Despite a decent performance by the pitching staff, the Washington offense was pretty much non-existent through the entire year. A string in which the Nats won only one game out of 10 in late May and early June dug them a bigger hole than they could overcome, and for the first time since 1909 the Nats finished dead last in the American League.

Roster/Stats
Bold = Player new to Washington in 1944

C Rick Ferrell .277/.364/.316 0 HR 1.0 BFW 12 WS 14 FRAR 3.1 WARP3
In the spring of 1944, Ferrell came back to Washington after spending three seasons with the St. Louis Browns. To get Ferrell, Griffith initially traded Tony Giuliani, a 30-year-old backup catcher who had started his career in St. Louis. Giuliani refused to report to the Browns, however, so Griffith was forced to send veteran outfielder Gene Moore to complete the deal. At age 38, Ferrell was still regarded as one of the better catchers in the league, and had a decent season both at the plate and behind it. Ferrell was particularly valuable to the team defensively, as he would spend the next two years catching a starting staff made up primarily of knuckleballers.

1B Joe Kuhel .278/.364/.378 4 HR 0.6 BFW 17 WS 3 FRAR 4.1 WARP3
Another name familiar to Washington fans, Kuhel was purchased from the White Sox and returned to the Nats after a six-year absence. After having a career worst season in 1943, the 38-year-old Kuhel rebounded with his original club and had a couple of decent years in Washington.

2B George Myatt .284/.357/.342 0 HR -0.6 BFW 17 WS 7 FRAR 4.0 WARP3
Myatt was plucked out of the Cardinals’ system in the 1942 Rule V draft. He had played some with the Giants in the late 1930’s, but 1944 was his first season as a major league regular. Known mostly for his speed (earning him the nickname “Mercury”), Myatt had a six-hit game on May 1, 1944 against the Red Sox.

SS John Sullivan .251/.325/.280 0 HR -1.5 BFW 10 WS 17 FRAR 2.2 WARP3
Sullivan was off to war after the 1944 season, his last as an every day player.

3B Gil Torres .267/.297/.328 0 HR -0.5 BFW 10 WS 30 FRAR 3.7 WARP3
Torres was originally a knuckleballer, but the team had enough of those so he was converted to a third baseman and was a regular in his first full season in 1944. A bit of a legacy in Washington, his father Ricardo caught 22 games for the Nats from 1920-1922.

LF George Case .250/.326/.302 2 HR -1.1 BFW 10 WS 8 FRAR 2.5 WARP3
For the first time in six years Case did not lead the AL in stolen bases. His 49 was good enough for second behind Snuffy Stirnweiss of the Yankees who had 55 swipes.

CF Stan Spence .316/.391/.486 18 HR 5.4 BFW 33 WS 19 FRAR 9.3 WARP3
In a down year for just about every other Nat, Stan Spence might have had a career year. His 18 home runs was more than the rest of the team combined. The lack of other threats in the lineup meant that Spence was walked intentionally quite often in ‘44, including three times in the same game on July 8. He still managed to get his, including a 6-for-6 game that came exactly a month after Myatt did the same.

RF Roberto Ortiz .253/.312/.361 5 HR -1.0 BFW 8 WS 1 FRAR 1.1 WARP3
RF Jake Powell .240/.272/.278 1 HR -2.7 BFW 3 WS 5 FRAR 0.3 WARP3
The Cuban Ortiz had been with Washington since 1941, but did not play much until 1944. He jumped to the Mexican League after the war, but eventually came back for two more major league seasons. Ortiz is probably most famous for his part in one of the most violent incidents in Cuban baseball when he attacked a home plate umpire and knocked him unconscious in a 1945 game. Ortiz shared time in right with veteran Jake Powell.

SP Dutch Leonard 14-14 3.06 ERA 1.13 WHIP 0.9 PW 13 WS 5.1 WARP3
After a couple of disappointing seasons, Leonard was back with a good effort in 1944. Though he threw the unpredictable knuckleball, Leonard had exceptional control, and was once again among the AL’s best in walk ratio (1.45 per nine innings).

SP Mickey Haefner 12-15 3.04 ERA 1.28 WHIP 0.7 PW 12 WS 5.2 WARP3
In his second full season in the majors, Haefner was used primarily as a starter. He performed well, and his losing record was more a function of a poor offense and bad luck.

SP Early Wynn 8-17 3.38 ERA 1.39 WHIP -0.3 PW 8 WS 3.2 WARP3
Wynn and his blazing fastball were a nice compliment to a group of knuckleballers. Despite a bad record, he really didn’t pitch all that poorly in 1944. He missed the 1945 season due to military service, but would return in 1946.

SP Johnny Niggeling 10-8 2.32 ERA 1.22 WHIP 1.7 PW 15 WS 5.9 WARP3
Niggeling came to the Nats in a late season trade with the Browns in 1943. Though he was 40 years old, his knuckleball was still effective, and 1944 may have been Niggleing’s best season.

SP Roger Wolff 4-15 4.99 ERA 1.59 WHIP -3.4 PW 0 WS -0.7 WARP3
Wolff came in an offseason trade that sent journeyman Bobo Newsom to Philadelphia. The move gave Washington to corner on knuckleballers, as Wolff was the fifth on the roster. Unlike a lot of Washington pitchers, Wolff earned his poor record in 1944, but he would rebound in a big way in 1945.

RP Alex Carrasquel 8-7 3.43 ERA 1.44 WHIP -0.3 PW 6 WS 1.8 WARP3
After a short spike in ERA for the 1943 season, Carrasquel was back to his traditional 3.43 ERA.

RP Bill Lefebvre 2-4 4.52 ERA 1.54 WHIP -0.5 PW 2 WS 0.0 WARP3
Though Lefebvre had three major league seasons under his belt prior to 1944, he had never appeared in more than six games in a season. After 24 appearances in 1944, the 28 year old was out of the majors.

RP Milo Candini 6-7 4.11 ERA 1.54 WHIP -0.6 PW 4 WS 1.6 WARP3
After being used primarily as a starter in his rookie season, Candini became a bullpen regular for Washington, a role he would resume after returning from the military in 1946.

1944 World Series
In the first and only all St. Louis World Series, the Cardinals defeated the Browns four games to two. Stan Musial hit .304/.360/.522 in the Series and Mort Cooper allowed just two earned runs in 16 innings pitched.

Game 49: Texas Rangers (25-24) @ Minnesota Twins (25-23)

Wednesday June 1, 1988

The Twins could have been forgiven for looking past the final game of the Texas series towards the weekend series against the Oakland A’s, but with Frank Viola on the mound, that did not happen.

Once again, the Twins’ ace was the story, pitching a complete game to earn his ninth victory of the year against only one loss. The only run the Rangers managed came in the top of the seventh, with the Twins already ahead 7-0.

“There’s something about Frank when he takes the mound,” said Gladden, who was in the middle of two two-out rallies. “No doubt about it, you feel that way. I’ve talked to other guys on the team about it. Even when they had runners on first and third, I was saying, `No problem.’

“Then he pitched out of it. That’s vintage Frank. There’s a special feeling when he’s pitching. You know he’s going to keep you in the game.”

quoted by Mark Vancil, Star Tribune 6/2/1988

The score was 0-0 heading into the fifth inning as Jose Guzman matched Viola out-for-out in the early innings. That all changed as the Twins got to Guzman and the bullpen for a total of seven runs over the course of two innings, more than enough to put the game away for Viola, who is pitching better than anybody in the league right now.

“It’s just a situation where I feel good about myself,” said Viola, who lowered his ERA to 2.41. “(Former Twins manager) Billy Gardner used to talk about tunnel vision, but at this time in 1985 I didn’t know what that meant. Now I understand where he was coming from. You get the feeling where you block everything out and just go about your business.”

Box

Player of the Game
Frank Viola

The Twins are sitting with their best record of 1988 so far as they head into a weekend showdown with the best team in the American league.

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               51   36   15    0  .706     -   278  192
Minnesota Twins                 49   26   23    0  .531   9.0   228  245
Texas Rangers                   50   25   25    0  .500  10.5   190  232
Kansas City Royals              51   23   28    0  .451  13.0   240  218
Seattle Mariners                52   23   29    0  .442  13.5   236  274
Chicago White Sox               49   21   28    0  .429  14.0   195  237
California Angels               51   19   32    0  .373  17.0   217  252

Through May 1988

NL East

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Mets                   49   34   15    0  .694     -   229  166
Pittsburgh Pirates              50   30   20    0  .600   4.5   227  196
St. Louis Cardinals             50   26   24    0  .520   8.5   207  202
Chicago Cubs                    49   25   24    0  .510   9.0   214  202
Montreal Expos                  49   23   25    1  .479  10.5   182  192
Philadelphia Phillies           48   19   28    1  .404  14.0   169  200

NL West

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Los Angeles Dodgers             47   27   20    0  .574     -   202  156
Houston Astros                  48   27   21    0  .563   0.5   210  170
San Francisco Giants            51   25   26    0  .490   4.0   197  201
Cincinnati Reds                 50   23   27    0  .460   5.5   200  213
San Diego Padres                50   18   32    0  .360  10.5   144  201
Atlanta Braves                  47   16   31    0  .340  11.0   159  241

AL East

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
New York Yankees                49   33   16    0  .673     -   275  190
Cleveland Indians               50   31   19    0  .620   2.5   221  191
Detroit Tigers                  48   28   20    0  .583   4.5   212  205
Boston Red Sox                  47   25   22    0  .532   7.0   218  201
Milwaukee Brewers               50   26   24    0  .520   7.5   213  186
Toronto Blue Jays               51   22   29    0  .431  12.0   239  226
Baltimore Orioles               50   11   39    0  .220  22.5   152  270

AL West

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               50   35   15    0  .700     -   274  189
Minnesota Twins                 48   25   23    0  .521   9.0   221  244
Texas Rangers                   49   25   24    0  .510   9.5   189  225
Kansas City Royals              50   23   27    0  .460  12.0   236  213
Chicago White Sox               48   21   27    0  .438  13.0   192  228
Seattle Mariners                51   22   29    0  .431  13.5   232  271
California Angels               51   19   32    0  .373  16.5   217  252

After an 8-13 record for the month of April, the Twins righted the ship with a 17-10 mark in May. Still, the A’s are the best team in baseball, and the Twins remain nine games behind in the AL West.

Twins Statistics through May 31, 1988

Kirby Puckett 211 PA .340/.360/.542 8 HR
Gary Gaetti 202 PA .270/.322/.481 9 HR
Dan Gladden 199 PA .304/.343/.478 3 HR
Kent Hrbek 193 PA .288/.363/.559 12 HR
Gene Larkin 174 PA .273/.358/.373 1 HR
Greg Gagne 156 PA .211/.258/.373 4 HR
Tom Herr 141 PA .250/.314/.313 1 HR
Randy Bush 132 PA .276/.417/.495 5 HR
Tim Laudner 129 PA .274/.333/.436 4 HR
Steve Lombardozzi 67 PA .241/.323/.310 0 HR
*Tom Brunansky 56 PA .184/.286/.265 1 HR
Tom Nieto 47 PA .043/.064/.043 0 HR
Mark Davidson 39 PA .324/.359/.568 1 HR
Al Newman 38 PA .171/.237/.171 0 HR
John Moses 35 PA .200/.314/.300 0 HR
Dwight Lowry 7 PA .000/.000/.000 0 HR
Brian Harper 4 PA .250/.250/.250 0 HR

Frank Viola 11 G 11 GS 80.2 IP 8-1 2.57 ERA .237/.279/.365 OPP Bat
Bert Blyleven 12 G 12 GS 77 IP 3-5 4.79 ERA .280/.350/.405 OPP Bat
Les Straker 8 G 8 GS 43.2 IP 2-2 3.50 ERA .255/.309/.323 OPP Bat
Allan Anderson 7 G 7 GS 43.1 IP 2-3 4.36 ERA .287/.330/.427 OPP Bat
Charlie Lea 8 G 7 GS 37.1 IP 1-3 6.99 ERA .353/.405/.558 OPP Bat
Juan Berenguer 18 G 0 GS 35.1 IP 5-3 4.84 ERA .259/.366/.341 OPP Bat
Keith Atherton 18 G 0 GS 29 IP 3-1 1.86 ERA .196/.259/.314 OPP Bat
Jeff Reardon 20 G 0 GS 25 IP 0-2 2.52 ERA .220/.273/.385 OPP Bat
Mark Portugal 7 G 0 GS 15.2 IP 0-0 5.74 ERA .317/.358/.635 OPP Bat
*Joe Niekro 5 G 2 GS 11.2 IP 1-1 10.03 ERA .320/.424/.480 OPP Bat
*Steve Carlton 4 G 1 GS 9.2 IP 0-1 16.76 ERA .408/.463/.898 OPP Bat
Dan Schatzeder 10 G 0 GS 7.1 IP 0-2 7.36 ERA .353/.353/.559 OPP Bat
Mike Mason 5 G 0 GS 6.2 IP 0-1 10.80 ERA .286/.459/.536 OPP Bat
Karl Best 6 G 0 GS 6 IP 0-0 6.00 ERA .360/.414/.600 OPP Bat
*Tippy Martinez 3 G 0 GS 4 IP 0-0 18.00 ERA .471/.542/.765 OPP Bat

Twins Among the AL Leaders

Hits
84 Carney Lansford OAK
69 Kirby Puckett MIN
65 Dave Winfield NYY

Doubles
19 Dan Gladden MIN
16 Three tied

Home Runs
12 Jose Canseco OAK
12 Kent Hrbek MIN
12 Pete Incaviglia TEX
12 Dave Winfield NYY

HBP
8 Gene Larkin MIN
6 Brian Downing CAL
6 Mike Greenwell BOS

IBB
7 Randy Bush MIN
6 Three tied

AVG
.396 Carney Lansford OAK
.365 Dave Winfield NYY
.353 Wade Boggs BOS
.340 Kirby Puckett MIN

Shutouts
5 Roger Clemens BOS
2 Frank Viola MIN
2 Greg Swindell CLE
2 Paul Kilgus TEX

Saves
16 Dennis Eckersley OAK
13 Jeff Reardon MIN
11 Three tied

Game 48: Texas Rangers (25-23) @ Minnesota Twins (24-23)

Tuesday May 31, 1988

The Twins fell behind the Rangers early again, but unlike yesterday, were able to come back to earn the team’s ninth win in the last 10 games.

Ruben Sierra’s home run off of Charlie Lea in the first gave the Rangers a quick 2-0 lead. Three runs in the third made it 5-0, and it looked like the same script as Texas’ 6-1 win the day before.

The Twins got a run when Dan Gladden double home Greg Gagne in the bottom of the third, but the Rangers answered right back with a run in the fourth. Down 6-1, the Twins bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth for a three-run outburst off of Paul Kilgus, the same pitcher who one-hit the Twins just over a week ago.

The turning point of the game may have come in the Twins’ half of the fourth. The bases were loaded with no outs, and one run had already crossed the plate. Mark Davidson hit what look to be a rally-killing double play ball, but first base umpire Ken Kaiser called it off, saying that Kilgus had balked. In one call by the umpire, two outs were wiped off the board, a run scored, and a starting pitcher got ejected from the game.

“He didn’t curse me,” Kaiser said of Kilgus. “But he wouldn’t quit arguing. At one point, I told him he had one last chance to get back on the mound. He yelled at me a second time, so I ran him.”

Kilgus was disconsolate and angry after the game.

“How can he justify throwing me out?” the pitcher asked. “The only thing I said was “I stopped; I counted one thousand-one’. I said that over and over, but there isn’t a four-letter word in that sentence.”

Kaiser called the balk because, in his view, Kilgus did not come to a discernible stop before delivering a bases-loaded pitch in the fourth inning.

-Mike Augustin, Pioneer Press 6/1/1988

The Twins added three more runs in the sixth, thanks in part to a two-run home run by the previously slumping Gagne.

Juan Berenguer, Keith Atherton, and Jeff Reardon combined to shut down the Rangers for the final five innings of the game, helping the Twins to an 8-6 victory.

Box

Player of the Game
Dan Gladden 4-for-5, 1 R, 2 RBI

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               50   35   15    0  .700     -   274  189
Minnesota Twins                 48   25   23    0  .521   9.0   221  244
Texas Rangers                   49   25   24    0  .510   9.5   189  225
Kansas City Royals              50   23   27    0  .460  12.0   236  213
Chicago White Sox               48   21   27    0  .438  13.0   192  228
Seattle Mariners                51   22   29    0  .431  13.5   232  271
California Angels               51   19   32    0  .373  16.5   217  252

Game 47: Texas Rangers (24-23) @ Minnesota Twins (24-22)

Monday May 30, 1988

The Twins’ winning streak finally ended, and it wasn’t even particularly close.

After winning eight in a row, including a three-game sweep of the Tigers over the weekend, the Twins dropped their first game in a week with a 6-1 loss at the hands of the Texas Rangers.

After throwing three solid innings for the home team, Bert Blyleven ran into trouble in the fourth. The Rangers scored three runs off of Blyleven in a string in which four out of five hitters reached safely, including a two-run double off the bat of Larry Parrish. The Rangers added two more in the next inning, and Bert Blyleven’s day ended before he could record the final out in the fifth.

Blyleven was hardly alone in his struggles, and the Twins bats were silent against Texas starter Jeff Russell. The Twins did manage seven hits over the course of the game, but the only run that scored came on Greg Gagne’s solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning.

“We just got beat, no excuses,” Gene Larkin said. “They beat us in all phases of the game. That’s it. Forget about it.”

-quoted by Tom Powers, Pioneer Press 5/31/1988

Box

Player of the Game
Jeff Russell

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               49   35   14    0  .714     -   274  184
Texas Rangers                   48   25   23    0  .521   9.5   183  217
Minnesota Twins                 47   24   23    0  .511  10.0   213  238
Kansas City Royals              49   22   27    0  .449  13.0   230  210
Seattle Mariners                50   22   28    0  .440  13.5   227  259
Chicago White Sox               47   20   27    0  .426  14.0   182  227
California Angels               50   19   31    0  .380  16.5   214  248

Game 46: Detroit Tigers (28-18) @ Minnesota Twins (23-22)

Sunday May 29, 1988

The Tigers looked like they might end the Twins’ winning streak early in the game. Before Allan Anderson was able to record an out, the Tigers had a 2-0 lead thanks to three consecutive hits to start the game. Anderson settled down after that, and pitched pretty well for the balance of his seven innings.

Kirby Puckett, on the other hand, was riled up by a Doyle Alexander pitch that he thought was awfully close to his head in the bottom of the first inning. Puckett made his displeasure known first by jawing at Alexander after he grounded out:

“I told him I didn’t appreciate what he was doing,” Puckett said. “After seeing Geno get hit a couple of weeks ago, no one wants to get hit in the head. (Former Houston Astro) Dickie Thon got hit in the head, and he can’t even play anymore.

“I don’t know if he did it on purpose or not. All I know is the pitch came in at my head, and I don’t want anybody throwing at my head. They can hit me anywhere on the body, shoulder on down, fine. But you get hit in the head and you’re messing with a career. I don’t want to end my career because somebody hits me in the head. I worked too hard to get here for that.”

Puckett then responded in a different way: by hitting two home runs over his next two plate appearances against the Detroit starter.

“Who knows, I might have been a comfortable 0-for-4,” Puckett said. “But he threw at my head and got me all excited, and gave me a little extra edge. That’s all I needed.”

-quoted by Mark Vancil, Star Tribune 5/30/1988

With the help of Puckett’s bat and Anderson’s pitching, the Twins went on to win the eighth straight. The team is now in second place in the AL West, but remain 9 games behind Oakland.

Box

Player of the Game
Kirby Puckett

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               48   34   14    0  .708     -   271  182
Minnesota Twins                 46   24   22    0  .522   9.0   212  232
Texas Rangers                   47   24   23    0  .511   9.5   177  216
Kansas City Royals              48   22   26    0  .458  12.0   229  206
Seattle Mariners                49   21   28    0  .429  13.5   223  258
Chicago White Sox               47   20   27    0  .426  13.5   182  227
California Angels               49   19   30    0  .388  15.5   212  243

Game 45: Detroit Tigers (28-17) @ Minnesota Twins (22-22)

Saturday May 28, 1988

The Twins won their seventh straight, but it was not as easy as the 5-2 final score indicated.

Les Straker, the definition of an “up and down” pitcher so far in 1988, pitched solidly for the Twins for six innings.  Entering the seventh, the Twins had a 2-0 lead. The Tigers quickly loaded the bases against Straker, who eventually left the game with just one out in the inning and the lead cut to just a single run. Keith Atherton managed to get out of the seventh with no more damage done, but the Tigers got to him in the eighth, tying the score on a lead off home run by Pat Sheridan.

The Twins answered in the bottom of the inning, however. With runners at the corners and one out, Kent Hrbek hit a chopper to first base, just slow enough so that the Tigers couldn’t turn the double play. Dan Gladden scored and the Twins reclaimed the lead. Gary Gaetti’s two run home run later in the inning sealed the win for the Twins, who are, for the first time in 1988, a winning team. The crowd in Minneapolis seems to be responding to the play of the home team.

“I still sense a playoff atmosphere here,” Tigers shortstop Alan Trammell said. “The crowd is still helping them. Gladden gets a hit, then Kirby. That’s the same sequence they used against us in the playoffs.”

“It reminds you of last season,” Puckett agreed.

-quoted by Tom Powers, Pioneer Press 5/29/1988

Mark Vancil had this note in the Star Tribune:

Brian Harper joined the Twins before the game after spending seven weeks tearing up the Pacific Coast League at Class AAA Portland. A righthanded hitter, Harper will replace Tom Nieto as the team’s No. 2 catcher. He brings a hot bat with him.

Nieto, who has the option of taking the assignment or becoming a free agent, is expected to report to Portland early next week. Nieto was 2-for-46 (.043), including a bunt single, and had struggled all season at the plate after being named the opening-day catcher. Harper, meanwhile, hit his sixth home run in as many games Friday night and has been solid all season.

Strong and a tireless worker, Harper had 13 homers and 42 RBI in 46 games at Portland. He also batted .353 with 10 doubles and 14 walks and struck out just seven times in 170 at bats.

“He did everything we could possibly have asked of him,” said MacPhail. “He’s been catching every day down there and (Jim) Rantz saw him last week and said he’s capable of catching in the big leagues. He deserved a chance to come up to the big leagues.”

Harper not only gives manager Tom Kelly some versatility - Harper also played third and the outfield at Portland - but he also gives the Twins a righthanded bat off the bench. Before Harper’s arrival, Kelly’s righthanded alternatives had been Mark Davidson (.343)

Box

Player of the Game
Les Straker

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               47   33   14    0  .702     -   266  178
Texas Rangers                   46   24   22    0  .522   8.5   176  204
Minnesota Twins                 45   23   22    0  .511   9.0   206  229
Kansas City Royals              47   21   26    0  .447  12.0   217  205
Seattle Mariners                48   21   27    0  .438  12.5   220  251
Chicago White Sox               46   20   26    0  .435  12.5   180  223
California Angels               48   19   29    0  .396  14.5   210  240

Game 44: Detroit Tigers (28-16) @ Minnesota Twins (21-22)

Friday May 27, 1988

The Twins now have two second basemen on the trading block.

Steve Lombardozzi has made it clear from the time that Tom Herr arrived in the Brunansky trade that he wanted to play for a team where he would have a chance to play second base every day. Andy MacPhail says that he has been trying to deal Lombo, but nothing has worked out so far.

Now it is being reported that MacPhail and the Twins are also shopping Herr. Recently, Herr made some comments about seeking employment elsewhere at the end of the season via free agency. Sources told Tom Powers that Herr has told MacPhail not to hesitate to trade him. Herr denied it to Powers, saying “If we wanted you to know that, we’d have invited you to the meeting,” Herr said. “That’s between us.”

Despite all of the off-the-field goings on, the Twins are clicking on the field. A 7-1 victory over the Tigers made it six wins in a row, and put the team at .500 for the first time since  they were 0-0.

The game was highlighted by Frank Viola’s pitching performance in which he allowed just one run over seven innings pitched while striking out eight Tigers. Randy Bush and Kent Hrbek each homered in the victory.

Box

Player of the Game
Frank Viola

Team Name                        G    W    L    T   PCT    GB    RS   RA
Oakland Athletics               46   32   14    0  .696     -   259  173
Texas Rangers                   45   24   21    0  .533   7.5   170  196
Minnesota Twins                 44   22   22    0  .500   9.0   201  227
Kansas City Royals              46   20   26    0  .435  12.0   209  199
Seattle Mariners                47   20   27    0  .426  12.5   214  250
Chicago White Sox               45   19   26    0  .422  12.5   177  221
California Angels               47   18   29    0  .383  14.5   205  240