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 twelve.
The Twins once again had a 3 win and 4 loss week and remain in ninth place with a 28-44 record, a full 18 games out of first place and they haven’t gotten to the All-Star break yet. The 46-26 Detroit Tigers have a 1.5 game lead on the Bronx Bombers.
June 29 – Red Sox third baseman Frank Malzone who has been in a season long slump hitting just .236 with four home runs coming into the four game series at Met Stadium had a big day hitting two home runs making it three in the last two days and he plated four. Don Schwall started for Boston but was wild and lasted just 4.1 innings walking 7 and allowing 5 hits but he managed to escape with only 3 runs scored and one of those was unearned. Rookie Red Sox reliever Arnold Earley who was just called up from Seattle of the PCL had driven all night to get to Minnesota relieved Schwall and went the final 4.2 innings for his first major league win. Cuban rookie Bert Cueto started for Minnesota and according to the Star Tribune was tipping his pitches but was keeping the Red Sox in check until a Zoilo Versalles error in the fifth inning led to five unearned runs which led to Cueto’s departure after 4.2 innings and eventually to his third loss of the season. Earl Battey had the big stick for the Twins with a 3 for 4 day with a double and 2 RBI. When all was said and done the Red Sox had 9 runs and the Twins just 5. The Red Sox left town with a split in the four game series keeping the Twins in ninth place as they hit the road for a short three game series again the Athletics in Kansas City. Box Score
June 30 – Only 7,055 fans were in Municipal Stadium in Kansas City to watch Twins starter Jack Kralick pitch a complete game, scattering five hits and allowing just two runs. All the runs in the game were scored in the third and fourth innings as the A’s got two runs and the Twins got eight runs, thanks to a seven run fourth inning in which they beat up on three KC pitchers to the tune of 6 hits, 4 walks (1 intentional) and a passed ball. In spite of the 8-2 final score, there were no Twins home runs . Billy Martin led the Twins hit parade going 3 for 5 with 3 RBI and Zoilo Versalles, Jim Lemon and Lenny Green each chipped in two hits. In an odd sequence of events in the third inning the Twins had a triple, a double, a triple and ended up with just a single run, hard to do you say? Here is how it happened, Kralick struck out to start the inning, Green tripled, Martin was thrown out at third trying to stretch a double into 3 bases scoring Green and Killebrew followed with his triple but Allison struck out to end the inning. Almost back to back to back triples. Kralicks win upped his record to 7-5 and Joe Nuxhall dropped to 4-5 for the A’s. The win was the 29th against 45 losses for Minnesota on the season which ended June with a dismal record of 10-21. Box Score
July 1 – On a hot 90+ degree day in Kansas City Jim Kaat pitched his first nine inning complete game and was credited with the 9-3 win over the Kansas City A’s. It wasn’t as easy as the score seems to indicate as Kaat gave up 6 hits, 6 walks and 3 runs (just one earned) and was in almost constant trouble but he was able to strand 11 KC runners. It was a 2-2 game until Earl Battey homered in the fourth inning to make it a 3-2 Twins lead and then the Twins added two more in the sixth inning and Harmon Killebrew hit his second career grand slam in the ninth for a Twins 9-2 lead before Kaat (3-7) gave up a final run in the bottom of the ninth. Killebrew’s four hits and five RBI on day upped his count to 62 RBI. Earl Battey had 3 hits including his home run and a double. Box Score
1961 All-Star team starters for game one were announced.
July 2 – In a see-saw game that saw a comedy of errors, misplays and errors not called, the home-town Kansas City A’s walked off the Minnesota Twins by a score of 8-7. KC’s winning ninth inning started with a single to center by Gene Stephens, Haywood Sullivan bunted but beat it out for a hit when the Twins make-shift infield with catcher Ron Henry playing first could not make the play and KC ended up with runners on first and second. Wayne Causey sacrificed to move the runners up to second and third and the Twins reliever Chuck Stobbs then gave a free pass to Joe Pignatano which loaded the bases with one out. Sam Mele moved his infielders and outfielders in but Dick Howser hit a ball over Allison in right field scoring the winning run. Stobbs (1-3) the Twins fifth pitcher of the day took the loss while KC reliever Ed Rakow (1-2) who blew the save in the top of the ninth got the win. Pedro Ramos started for Minnesota but left after five ineffective innings in which he allowed 10 hits, 1 walk and 4 runs. Harmon Killebrew remained hot with three hits including his 24th home run and Jim Lemon also contributed three hits. Outfielder Dan Dobbek ran into the fence in the eighth inning and hurt his shoulder and cut his head and after the game it was announced he would be out at least ten days. The loss dropped the Twins record to 30-46 still gave them the series win two games to one. The Twins now return home to take on the White Sox at Met Stadium. Box Score
July 3 – Camilo Pascual and the Twins had a seemingly comfortable 3-1 lead after six innings. But then in the seventh inning with the White Sox trailing 3-2 and the tying run on third with two out, the game was delayed for 48 minutes by rain and hail. When the game resumed, Pascual walked a batter and then a Bill Tuttle error, his second of the game, allowed the WSox to score and knot the game at 3-3. In the bottom of the seventh the Twins had the bases loaded with two out and a full count on Bob Allison when he connected for his third grand slam home run of the season putting the Twins up 7-3. The White Sox fought back with two in the eighth and scored one more in the ninth off reliever Pedro Ramos before he was able to nail down his second save of the year. Pascual’s win upped his record to 6-10 with 7.2 innings pitched allowing 9 hits and 4 walks while striking out nine. Allison’s GS was his 15th home run of the season and upped his RBI mark to 58. Harmon Killebrew was named as a reserve to the AL All-Star team, his second such honor after also being an AS in 1959 as a Washington Senator. Box Score
July 4 game one – Julio Becquer becomes the first Twin to pinch hit a grand slam home run when he blasts one out in the bottom of the ninth at the Met against the White Sox with the bases loaded and two out and leads the Twins to a 6-4 walk-off win in the first game of a doubleheader. Each of the 4 runs scored as part of the grand slam home run were charged to a different pitcher, a very rare occurrence. Jim Lemon and Bill Tuttle had hit home runs earlier to account for all the Twins scoring. Chuck Stobbs got the win. Box Score game 1.
July 4 – In the second game it was a pitchers duel as Twins starter Jack Kralick kept the White Sox off the board for 8 innings and Sox starter Cal McLish shut out the Twins for seven innings before the Twins broke free for four runs on five hits highlighted by a three-run inside-the-park home run by Harmon Killebrew in the eighth inning, the only ISP home run he would ever hit in the big leagues and the Twins first-ever ISP home run. The Sox scored twice in the top of the ninth off Kralick but then he nailed down the final out for the win.
July 5 – Twins starter Jim Kaat had a 2-1 lead and everything seemed under control until he allowed the visiting Los Angeles Angels a single and two doubles that led to two runs to lead off the eighth inning and Twins skipper Same Mele quickly pulled Kaat. Mele brought in Danny McDevitt who got the first out of the inning on a sacrifice bunt pushing the Angels runner to third base but then he walked the next batter putting runners on the corners so Mele responded by going to Don Lee who was able to get out of the inning with a double-play but the Angels had a 3-2 lead. Ken Hunt added a 3-run homer in the top of the ninth off Lee and all of a sudden the Twins found themselves down 6-2. The Twins loaded the bases in the ninth on three walks with two out but Billy Martin flew out to right field to end the potential rally, the ballgame and the three game winning streak. Kaat (3-8) who took the loss went 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks while fanning two batters and had two of the Twins seven hits. Jim Lemon went 2 for 4 with a HR and two RBI. The big story however; may not have been on the field but instead who was not on the field. After yesterday’s double-header Twins shortstop Zoilo Versalles said he was tired and missed his wife and was heading back to Cuba. Versalles did not show up for the game today and was fined $500 by owner Calvin Griffith. Box Score
The Twins went 5-3 on the week and moved up one spot in the standing to eighth place just a half game ahead of the Angels and one game up on the last place Kansas City Athletics. The 51-29 Tigers are still hanging on to first place with a half game lead on the New York Yankees. Over in the National League the Cincinnati Reds have a three game cushion over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
