The Twins had just finished playing their 81st game, the true half way point of the season and found themselves in first place, four games ahead of Cleveland and four and a half in front of Baltimore.Way down in the standings, in an unfamiliar place for New York fans, sat the New York Yankees, winners of 15 of the previous 18 AL Pennants. The team that had been so dominant was struggling to win more games than they lost. The Yankees limped into the game before the All-Star break with a 41-45 record, 13.5 games behind the Minnesota Twins.
Though the Yankees were down, they were still the team feared by the league. It was assumed that the ship would right itself eventually, and the Yankees would once again find their way into contention.
The two teams were meeting in a four game series at Metropolitan Stadium. The home team took the first two games rather handily; 8-3 and 4-1. The Yankees were finally able to grab a win in the nightcap of a double-header when Clete Boyer hit a grand slam off of Johnny Klippenstein in the eighth inning of an eventual 8-6 Yankee win.
The lineups looked like this (Baseball-Reference.com)
| New York Yankees | Minnesota Twins |
| 1. B Richardson 2B | 1. Z Versalles SS |
| 2. P Linz SS | 2. R Rollins 3B |
| 3. M Mantle LF | 3. T Oliva RF |
| 4. E Howard C | 4. H Killebrew 1B |
| 5. H Lopez RF | 5. J Nossek CF |
| 6. J Pepitone 1B | 6. J Hall LF |
| 7. C Boyer 3B | 7. E Battey C |
| 8. R Repoz CF | 8. J Kindall 2B |
| 9. A Downing P | 9. J Kaat P |
The Yankees started the scoring early when three two-out singles and an Earl Battey error led to an unearned run in the top of the first inning. Zoilo Versalles’ 10th home run of the year tied the score in the bottom of the third.
Three singles and a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth gave the Twins a 3-1 lead. Jimmie Hall knocked Tony Oliva in with a sacrifice fly with one out, and a two-out single by Earl Battey scored Harmon Killebrew.
The Yankees answered in the fifth when an Elston Howard double plated two Yankee runs to tie the score at 3-3 and run Twins’ starter Jim Kaat from the game.
Rich Rollins put the Twins back in front when his double scored Versalles, who reached on a walk. The Yankees tied the game for a third time (not including 0-0) when a Bill Pleis wild pitch plated Elston Howard in the top of the seventh.
The score remained 4-4 until controversy took over in the Yankee half of the ninth. With Howard at third and Joe Pepitone at first, Twins reliever Jerry Fosnow faced Roger Repoz. Repoz hit a high chopper up the first base line. Fosnow raced to his left to play the ball, and lunged to tag Repoz, who sped past him while the ball dropped to the dirt.
The home plate umpire initially called Repoz out due to interference. The New York Times describes New York manager Johnny Keane’s protest as “long and loud,” including a delegation of Yankee coaches who each took their turn.
After discussing the matter with the first base umpire, plate umpire Ed Hurley reversed his initial call and ruled Repoz safe. Consequently, the Yankees took the lead with Howard’s run from third. The over-rule held up despite the fact that Sam Mele and a delegation of Twins representatives screamed “longer and louder” according the the New York Times. It was announced that the game was being played under protest by the Minnesota Twins.
The drama of the top of the ninth inning was all rendered meaningless by one Harmon Killebrew swing. With two outs in the ninth Killebrew faced Pete Mikkelson with Rollins at first base. Mikkelson offered a 3-2 fastball to Harmon, who promptly deposited it into the left field bleachers at the Met. The game was no longer under protest because the Twins had won 6-5.
Though the Yankees were well out of the race prior to Killebrew’s game-winner, it is still often cited as the moment that the team was lost for the season. The Twins entered the second half of 1965 with the defending champs basically in their rear-view mirror.
Tags: 1960's, Twins History
