Category: The 1967 AL Pennant Race

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 25 – Twins KO the Kansas City A’s 3-2 – just 1 1/2 games out of the lead

The Minnesota Twins allowed the Athletics to steal a record-breaking seven bases but yet found a way to beat the last place bunch from Kansas City. The Twins proved that at least in this game, that power beats speed. 

In the first inning the A’s scored two runs on a single hit, an error, a walk and four stolen bases. The Twins came back on a home run in the bottom of the first to cut the lead to 2-1. The score remained 2-1 until Jack Aker relieved A’s starter Lew Krausse in the ninth inning. Harmon Killebrew greeted Aker with a game tying home run, his second of the game. Tony Oliva followed with another home run off Aker and the Twins walked off the running A’s 3-2. The Twins had but six hits but three were home runs and one was a double. Box Score

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By the way, do you what a KO line-up is versus an OK line-up in Twins history?

 

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 24 – Twins take two from White Sox

After the White Sox took the first two games from the Minnesota Twins, 31, 141 fans packed White Sox Park to see the home town nine take two more from the visiting Twins. But, it was not to be, after spotting the Whitey’s a one run lead the Twins tied it in the fourth inning and then scored 2 in the 5th, 6th, and 8th innings and held on for a 7-4 win in game one. Jim Kaat hit his first home run of the season.  Zoilo Versalles had 3 hits and Rich Rollins, Bob Allison and Jim Kaat each had 2 hits. Jim Kaat took home the win and Ron Kline registered the save. Box Score

In game two the Twins were out hit 8 to 6 but managed to out score the White Sox 5 to 1 and a double-header sweep was in the books. Dave Boswell was credited with the victory to even his record at 8-8 and Al Worthington notched his 12th save of the season. When the day was done the Twins still found themselves in third place but now only 2.5 games behind the league leading WSox but only a half game behind the Tigers at the All-Star break. Box Score

Pitcher Dean Chance along with Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva and Rod Carew (who missed the week-end series due to military obligations) left for the All-Star game in Anaheim after the DH was complete and were accompanied by manager Cal Ermer and owner Calvin Griffith.

 

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 23 – White (Sox) lightning strikes again

The Twins lost to the AL league leading Chicago White Sox for the second day in a row via a walk-off and again the White Sox did it with out the benefit of a hit. On Friday they lost on a walk-off error and today they lost on a walk-off Sac fly by Wayne Causey off Twins starting pitcher Jim Merritt.

Starting pitchers Tommy John and Jim Merritt was tied up in a scoreless pitching duel until the bottom of the ninth when the White Sox loaded the bases on a double and two intentional walks and Causey delivered the walk-off Sac fly. Merritt lost his first game of season and is now 6-1 and Tommy John who allowed just three hits, all to Tony Oliva upped his record to 8-5 and the White Sox stretched their lead over the now third place Twins to 4 1/2 games. The Twins and White Sox have a doubleheader scheduled for tomorrow.

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 22 – Twins 8 game winning streak comes to an end on walk-off error

The Twins eight game winning streak came to an abrupt end at White Sox Park when the Mighty Whities walked off the Twins 2-1. The Twins scored one run in the first inning when Cesar Tovar led off the game with a double and Tony Oliva doubled him home with two out. These would be the only hits the Twins would get. Starters Gary Peters and the Twins Dean Chance dueled and after 8 innings it was still one to nothing Twins. But here the game seemed to take a turn in favor of the White Sox.

In the 8th inning Sox coach Kerby Farrell seemed to notice “a black substance on Dean Chance’s pitching hand” and Eddie Stanky complained to umpire Al Salerno who told Chance to wipe his hands clean. Chance stated that it was just resin build-up but all of a sudden Chance seemed to lose his control. After walking none through 7 innings Chance walked one in the 8th and 2 in the ninth before being lifted for reliever Al Worthington who inherited a bases-loaded one out situation. Worthington retired Don Buford on a foul pop-up to third but then Ron Hansen hit a ground ball to the left of second base but shortstop Zoilo Versalles was playing deep in the hole and the ball bounced off of Versalles glove and bounced into right field allowing two runs to score. Box Score.

Some things in baseball never change

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The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 21 – Twins sweep Yankees, win streak now at 8

The Twins jumped on the Yankees scoring in each of the first five innings and held on for a 10-4 win over the Bronx Bombers. Jim Kaat pitched a complete game allowing 12 hits while striking out 6 and allowing the 4 runs. Rich Reese, Tony Oliva, and Ted Uhlaender supported Kaat with home runs. Reese (4) and Uhlaender (3) had 7 of the 10 RBI between them.

The eighth win in a row puts the Twins in lone possession of second place in the AL just 3 games back as they prepare to hit the road to play the league leading Chicago White Sox.

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 20 – June comes to an end, Ermer, Kaat

L-R: Killebrew, Carew, Tovar and Versalles

The Minnesota Twins end June 36-34 record and in third place, 7 games behind the league leading Chicago White Sox and just one and a half a games behind the second place Detroit Tigers. Although the team has not put together any long winning streak, they have not lost back-to-back games since May 30th.

 

With the 1967 All-Star game just 11 days away, the Twins know they have a tough row to hoe before they get a few days off as they have three doubleheaders to play before taking time off for the mid-summer classic. That will be 11 games in 9 days.

New Twins manager Cal Ermer has a new plan in mind for Twins starting pitchers that maybe today’s Twins should implement. You can read about it in the Sporting News article below.

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The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 19 – Twins beat Red Sox as Boswell strikes out 13, four Twins named to AS team

Dave Boswell

The Twins scored an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh inning on George Scott‘s second error of the game and went on to win 3-2 at the Met. Twins starter Dave Boswell struck out a personal best 13 batters and evened his record at 5-5 in pitching a complete game even though he gave up home runs to Jerry Adair and Reggie Smith in the fifth that tied the game at the time. The Twins took the well pitched series two games to one as no team scored more than 3 runs in any of the three games. The 36-34 Twins who are still seven games out of first now await the arrival of the 32-41 Washington Senators.

MLB announced the Minnesota Twins players Dean Chance, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva and rookie Rod Carew had been selected for the 1967 All-Star game scheduled for July 11 in Anaheim.

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The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL pennant race – Part 18 – Twins fall back to .500

Twins starter Dave Boswell has everything under control as he faces the White Sox and allows but 2 hits through six innings and the home town Twins lead 1-0 on a Bob Allison home run off Gary Peters. The top of the seventh is another story as the WSox put together a rally and knock Boswell from the game with 5 runs. The Twins score a run in the eighth but come up on the short end of a 5-2 game and fall back to the .500 mark (33-33) for the last time in 1967. Gary Peters is credited with his 10th win (3 losses) of the season.

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL Pennant Race – Part 17 – Twins open 13 game home stand against division leading WSox

Joel Horlen

The 32-32 Minnesota Twins who are 7 games out of first open a 13 game home stand against the first place Chicago White Sox on Friday, June 23. A crowd of 30,100 fans, the largest since opening day show up to see the White Sox starter Joel Horlen who is 8-0 duel against the 9-5 Twins ace Dean Chance. As predicted it turns out to be a pitching duel with both teams scoreless through 6 innings, the Twins have 4 hits and the White Sox just 3. 

Chance holds Chicago scoreless in the top of the seventh while the Twins finally put a 1 on the board with a home run by Harmon Killebrew, his 12 of the month and 22 of the season. Chance finishes the shutout for his 10th win and Horlen is lifted for a pinch-hitter after 8 innings and Bobby Locker finishes up. Just one hour and 58 minutes after the game started Dean Chance retires Pete Ward for the 27th out and the game goes in the books as a 1-0 Twins win. The Twins pick up a game in the standings but still find themselves looking up at the Red Sox, Tigers and White Sox. Box Score

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The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.

The 1967 AL pennant race – Part 16 – Twins and Tigers play nine and end up in a tie

The Twins had a 5-2 lead after five innings of play at Tiger Stadium but the Tigers scored one in sixth and two in the seventh to tie the game at 5 apiece. The game was finally called a draw in the top of the ninth with Harmon Killebrew at the plate with two strikes and one out after Rod Carew led off the top of the ninth with a single but was caught stealing. The game had four rain delays and was called around midnight CDT. Box Score.

The Star Tribune pages below will tell  you more about the Twins/Tigers game, a brawl in New York between the Yanks and Red Sox and more about the disagreement on the Twins bus between Tony Oliva and Ted Uhlaender that was supposedly instigated by Dave Boswell. At the end of the day the Twins were 32-31 and 6.5 games behind the high-flying Chicago White Sox.

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A nice picture of Tiger Stadium

The rest of the stories that I have done on the 1967 AL pennant race can be found here.