Sunday July 15, 1973
The New York Times called it a “bizarre” game, but the Twins won 7-6 in the end.
The strangeness started when the Twins accused Cleveland starter Gaylord Perry of throwing wet pitches. The NYT reports that this happened in the fourth inning, but also goes on to say that the Twins scored three runs immediately following, meaning that the incident happened in the sixth inning.
Whenever it occurred, the Twins demanded that Perry be wiped dry with a towel. According to the NYT, Perry’s hands, face, and uniform were subjected to a toweling at the Twins’ request. The following inning, Cleveland requested the same treatment for Bert Blyleven, the starter for Minnesota that day.
The Twins found themselves down by a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth, when George Mitterwald, Joe Lis, and Jim Holt hit successive home runs to put the Twins ahead by a score of 6-5. Cleveland tied the game, but the Twins won in the end on Danny Thompson’s sacrifice fly that scored Mike Adams in the bottom of the 10th inning.
