Friday September 15, 1961
The Twins entered the ninth inning trailing by a score of 2-0. The offense had been held to just three hits by the pitching combination of starter Sam McDowell and reliever Frank Funk, and looked to be lacking the ability to score any runs.
That all changed in the ninth inning. Pinch hitter Joe Altobelli started things off with a lead off single. After Dan Dobbek struck out, Zoilo Versalles sinled Altobelli the third. Harmon Killebrew fouled out, but Bob Allison delivered with a single to right, scoring the first Twins’ run and moving the tying run to third. The fourth single of the inning came off the bat of Earl Battey and tied the game. With Bill Dailey on to pitch, Jim Lemon hit the final blow, an RBI double that put the Twins in front and ultimately gave them the win.
Team Name G W L T PCT GB RS RA New York Yankees 150 101 48 1 .678 - 787 576 Detroit Tigers 149 90 58 1 .608 10.5 754 614 Baltimore Orioles 150 87 62 1 .584 14.0 645 546 Chicago White Sox 150 80 69 1 .537 21.0 703 664 Cleveland Indians 147 72 75 0 .490 28.0 671 681 Boston Red Sox 151 72 78 1 .480 29.5 696 748 Los Angeles Angels 148 65 82 1 .442 35.0 668 708 Minnesota Twins 147 64 82 1 .438 35.5 644 716 Washington Senators 148 55 93 0 .372 45.5 577 719 Kansas City Athletics 148 54 93 1 .367 46.0 632 805
