I have been working on a very long term project whereas I do a brief recap of Twins games on my “In This Day in Twins History Pages.” So my plan is to give you a brief recap of the Twins first season as it plays out on a weekly basis. For more info on a particular game you can also click on the date and go to the appropriate “In This Day in Twins History Page” as there you will often get to see some player pictures and supporting documentation. We will see how long I can keep up with it, no promises. So let’s see what we have for week three.
Prior to play on April 27 the Twins are 8-3 and in second place in the American League a half game behind the Detroit Tigers.
Thursday April 27 – The expansion Los Angeles Angels play their first home game bowing to the Twins at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, 4-2 in front of only 11,931 fans. Twins catcher Earl Battey was 2 for 4 with a 3-run homer and a run scored. Twins starter Camilo Pascual pitched 7.1 innings allowing 2 earned runs and pocketed the victory, Angels starter Eli Grba took the defeat. The 74-year old baseball legend Ty Cobb, in his last-ever visit to a ballpark, throws out the first ceremonial pitch. This was the first American League game to ever be played in Los Angeles. Box Score
Friday April 28 – The Twins and the Angels are tied 4-4 after 9 innings at Wrigley Field. The Twins score an unearned run in the top of the 12th and take a 5-4 lead. Twins skipper Cookie Lavagetto pulls starter Pedro Ramos who has pitched the first 11 innings striking out ten and brings in reliever Shorty Pleis to close out the victory. Pleis gets the first out but then gives up a game tying home run to Ken Hamlin, it was the only home run that Hamlin would hit all year. The next two hitters get singles but Pleis retires Leon Wagner for the second out. The Twins decide to intentionally walk Ted Kluszewski to load the bases. So what happens next? Shorty Pleis hits Ken Hunt and the Angels have a walk-off hit-by-pitcher win. Yikes!! It was the thirteen game the new formed Minnesota Twins had ever played and it turns out to be their first ever walk-off loss. Box Score
Saturday April 29 – Jim Kaat’s third start of the young season doesn’t go well as he walks 6 batters and allows 4 hits including a home run in 4 1/3 innings and takes his first loss of the season. Kaat (1-1) has now walked 11 batters in his last two starts. The Angels jump out to a quick lead and hold on for a 4-1 win with a complete game effort from Ken McBride who allows just 5 hits and one run on Earl Battey’s second home run of the season. Battey had two of the Twins five hits. Harmon Killebrew who missed the last ten games played for the first time in two weeks after suffering a pulled thigh muscle was 1 for 4. In what would be considered “odd scheduling” today, the second place Twins (9-5) fly home after this Saturday day game and start a 14 game homestand beginning with the visiting Chicago White Sox at Met Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Box Score
Sunday April 30 – After nine innings of play at the Met the scoreboard shows the White Sox with 2 runs and the Twins with 2 runs. Twins starter Jack Kralick who is still in the game gives up a 2-run homer to Roy Sievers in the top of the 11th inning with two out before being lifted for Ray Moore. In the bottom of the 11th inning Harmon Killebrew hits his first home run in a Minnesota Twins uniform (his 85th career home run) off White Sox starter Bob Shaw but it is all the Twins will get and they lose 5-3 loss in 11 innings at Met Stadium. Winning pitcher Bob Shaw pitched the 11 inning complete game for Chicago. Box Score
Monday May 1 – The Twins get back on the winning side of the ledger with a 6-5 walk-off win over the White Sox on a Billy Gardner two-out double that gets past left fielder Minnie Minoso and scores Jim Lemon who has singled earlier for his fourth safety of the game. Gardner had 3 hits including a double while Harmon Killebrew hit his second home run of the season. Chuck Stobbs started for Minnesota and went six inning allowing 5 runs but ended up with a ND. Paul Giel pitched two scoreless innings and Ray Moore (2-1) pitched a scoreless ninth and was credited with his second win. 37-year-old reliever Turk Lown took the loss for the Mighty Whitey’s. Box Score
Tuesday May 2 – The New York Yankees make their first ever visit to Met Stadium and the Twins jump out to a quick 2-0 lead but the Bombers score one in the fourth and another in the seventh off Twins starter Camilo Pascual and the game remains tied through regulation. In the top of the tenth inning Pascual is still on the mound and retires the first two batters but then Tony Kubek doubles and then gets wild pitched to third. Pascual walks Hector Lopez and Roger Maris which brings Mickey Mantle to the plate with the bases loaded and two out. With a 1-1 count, Pascual throws a fastball that Mantle quickly deposits deep over the center field fence for a grand slam home run and the Yanks were up 6-2. Pascual proceeded to walk Berra and that was the end of the line for Camilo. In the bottom of the 10th Harmon Killebrew homered for his third game in a row and Billy Gardner knocked in another run but that is all the Twins could score off reliever Luis Arroyo and the Twins came out on the short-end of a 6-4 game in which they had out hit the NYY 12 to 7. Box Score
Wednesday May 3 – The error-prone (last in AL in fielding) Twins give the Yankees four unearned runs and help the Yankees to a 7-3 win at Met Stadium. Yankee starter Bob Turley went the distance allowing just 6 hits and upped his mark to 3-1. Pedro Ramos started for the Twins and took his first loss of the season, little did he know that by seasons end he would have a league leading 20 losses. Hibbing, Minnesota native New York Yankee Roger Maris hit his second home run of the season on his way to a record-breaking 61 that season. The loss dropped the third place Twins record to 10-8. Box Score
At the close of play on May 3 the Twins are 10-8 and tied for third place with the Indians, two games behind the Yankees and Tigers who are tied for first place with identical 11-5 records.