Tony, the Killer, and Carew

I have been doing some research into the contraction debacle of 2001-2002 recently for my other blog, and ran into a particular problem that I run into every so often when looking at the history of my favorite team. I prefer to remain neutral when reporting historical events surrounding the Twins, hopefully allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. That was a near impossible task when looking at the events of those several months, and I came to the conclusion that, of all the negative moments of Twins history that I have lived through, September through February of 2001-2002 is probably at the top (or bottom) of the list.

That got me thinking. My personal experience of Twins history is relatively small (I only remember a handful of things that happened before 1987), so I am wondering what others think is the worst moment in franchise history. Here are some nominees, and I even included a few from the Washington years.

1903 Ed Delahanty dies
The first Hall of Famer to play for the franchise died tragically during the 1903 season. It remains unclear if his fall was accidental or suicide.

1904 .252
The Nats win just 38 games while losing 113 in 1904. It remains one of the single worst winning percentages in AL history.

1925 World Series collapse
Clark Griffith’s team takes a three games to one lead in the World Series, only to drop three games in a row to the Pittsburgh Pirates, including Game 7 in which they led until Pittsburgh scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

1955-1959 Losing becomes an art
The Senators lose at least 90 games in five consecutive seasons, including 101 losses in 1955. The team avoided the AL cellar in 1956 thanks to Kansas City, but finish last in four out of five seasons.

1961 Moving West
This one depends on your perspective I suppose, but Calvin Griffith’s move of the team that had played for 60 years in the nation’s capital caused a lot of heartache in Washington DC.

1967 One game short
The Twins contend for the AL Pennant all season long, and need to win just one of two games at Fenway in the final weekend to clinch. The Twins drop both games.

1969 Billy Martin fired
Martin gets into an altercation during the season with one of his pitchers and, despite winning the first ever AL West title, loses his job.

1978 The Waseca speech
Calvin Griffith makes some racist remarks at the Waseca Lion’s Club, and ultimately loses future Hall of Famer Rod Carew as a result.

1982 Growing pains
The Metrodome opens (an event that could also make this list), and a young Twins team takes its lumps in the new building on the way to a 102-loss season.

1984 The collapse
The Twins, in the midst of a pennant race for the first time in more than a decade, have a 10-2 lead over the Cleveland Indians in a late September game, but blow the lead, and ultimately the division, in a meltdown for the ages.

1996 An early retirement
Future Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett’s career ends early due to glaucoma.

1995-2000 Small market blues
The Twins make losing an art again during the late 1990’s. The Twins finish either fourth or fifth in a five team division every year. The good news is that not many fans saw the games.

2001 Contraction
Bud Selig announces that baseball will proceed to eliminate two teams by the 2002 season. While not named, it is clear the Twins, fresh off their first winning season in years, are one of the teams on the chopping block.

2006 In like a lion, out like a lamb
The Twins make a historic run during the last half of the regular season to overtake the Tigers and win the AL Central, but drop three straight to the A’s in the Division Series.

This list is probably not exhaustive - what moments would you add?

1991 World Series Game 7
Sunday October 27, 1991
HHH Metrodome

Just hours after Kirby Puckett took the team on his back to win Game 6, the Twins were back at the Metrodome preparing for Game 7. St. Paul native Jack Morris was brought in as a free agent for the 1991 season, and would now take the hill for the most important game of the season. Morris already had a reputation as a big game pitcher, mostly for his efforts in 1984 when he went 3-0 in three post season starts with the Detroit Tigers while holding the opposition to just five runs over 25 innings in that post season. Morris was prepared for another run in the post season, and had promised that “If I feel like King Kong, I’ll throw like King Kong” before the 1991 World Series started.

Morris and the Twins knew that it was likely he was going to need to throw like King Kong in Game 7, because runs weren’t going to come easy for the Twins. Taking the mound for the Braves that night was John Smoltz, then just a 24-year-old most famous for coming to Atlanta in the trade that sent Doyle Alexander to the Tigers for what turned out to be an unsuccessful run in the 1987 playoffs (a year when the Tigers were eliminated by the Twins). Of the big three pitchers for Atlanta, Smoltz may have been the less publicized, but he had quietly gotten the job done, including a very strong showing against the Twins in Game 4.

The game started with a handshake between Atlanta lead off man Lonnie Smith and Twins catcher Brian Harper, who had met earlier in the series under very different circumstances in a violent home plate collision. Whether it was a gesture by Smith to bury the hatchet, or more indicative of the battle that the Series had been up to that point is unclear, but it was a unique start to a baseball game.

Smoltz and Morris, as advertised, settled into a pitcher’s duel immediately. Both retired the side in order in the first inning, then worked around some trouble in the early innings. The Twins got a pair of two out singles off of Smoltz in the second inning, but a Pagliarulo ground out ended that threat. The Braves had runners at first and second with just one out in the third inning when Morris retired Pendleton and Gant in order to keep the score 0-0.

The Braves threatened again in the fifth. Series hero Mark Lemke led off the inning with a single, and had advanced to third on two bunts, the first a sacrifice, the second a bunt single by Lonnie Smith. With runners at the corners and one out, Pendleton and Gant had a chance to redeem themselves for the missed opportunity in the third inning. It was not to be, however, as Morris got an innocent pop up out of Pendleton, and caught Gant looking with a third strike that erupted the crowd and caused Morris to pump his fist as he jogged off the field.

The teams entered the eighth inning with the score still tied at zero. In the top of the frame, Smith led off with a single that brought Pendleton to the plate with Smith on first and no outs. Pendleton launched a drive to left center that should have easily scored Smith, but at the end of the play he had only made it to third. Replays showed Smith pull up when he saw short stop Greg Gagne fake a throw to Knoblauch at second. The bluff confused Smith long enough that he was unable to score the go-ahead run.

Still, the Braves had runners at second and third with no outs and the heart of the lineup due to bat against Morris, so a run seemed inevitable. After Morris induced a weak ground out from Ron Gant, the Twins decided to give David Justice and intentional pass to load the bases for Sid Bream. Bream hit a hard grounder to Hrbek at first who was playing in to cut down the run at home. He did that, then took the return throw from Harper to complete the double play and end the inning with no damage done.

In almost a mirror image of the Atlanta half of the eighth, the Twins loaded the bases with one out in their half. With Kent Hrbek ready to bat, the Braves had brought in Mike Stanton to intentionally walk Puckett and try to wiggle out of the inning. A hard line drive off the bat of the slumping Hrbek was hit right to Braves shortstop Rafael Belliard who easily stepped on second to complete the double play.

The Twins looked like they might end the game in the bottom of the ninth with two consecutive singles to start the inning, but Alejandro Pena came on and got a ground ball double play and a strikeout of pinch hitter Paul Sorrento to send the game into extra innings.

Five years earlier, in Tom Kelly’s first World Series as manager, ace pitcher Frank Viola came to the dugout after the eighth inning of Game 7 with a 4-2 lead and wanted to continue. Kelly didn’t let him, explaining that Reardon had been the man in the ninth all season, and sent his closer out to finish the Series. After Game 7 of 1991, the same manager said the only way he could have removed his starter on that day was “with a shotgun,” and told pitching coach Dick Such after the ninth “it’s just a game, let him go” - so Morris took the mound for the tenth inning, and promptly retired the Braves in order.

Dan Gladden led off the Twins’ tenth with a broken bat looper to short left center. On what most likely should have been a single, Gladden made into a double by hustling around first while the Braves fielders played the ball on the high hop from the Metrodome turf. A perfectly executed sacrifice bunt from rookie Chuck Knoblauch sent Gladden to third, and the Braves opted to walk both Puckett and Hrbek to load the bases with Jarvis Brown on deck, who had entered the game to run for Chili Davis in the ninth.

Kelly called Gene Larkin’s name to face Pena with the bases loaded and one out. Larkin had a bad knee, and had only seen three previous at bats in the series. All that was meaningless, however, when Larkin drove the first pitch he saw over the heads of the drawn in outfield to clinch the World Series for the Twins.

1991 World Series Game 6
Saturday October 26, 1991
HHH Metrodome

The 1991 World Series returned to Minneapolis with a completely different feel than it had left five days before. The Twins returned home trailing in the series, three games to two, after the Braves defeated them in Game 5, the only blow out of the series so far. What’s more, Atlanta had Steve Avery on the mound for Game 6, the pitcher that had become something of a phenom in the NLCS. The Twins countered with Scott Erickson, who had been all but untouchable in June of that year, but had run into some post season problems. To many, the Braves seemed like the team of destiny, and Game 6 was when they were likely to achieve that destiny.

Prior to the game, Twins manager Tom Kelly had nothing but praise for Avery.

“You have to give the kid a lot of credit for poise and composure,” Kelly said. “It doesn’t look like he has any fear in his eyes. He’s going to be one of the great ones. We’re going to have to take the ball up the middle against him and scratch for some runs.”

 

Kelly’s reputation lent some doubt as to whether his praise for the Atlanta pitcher was genuine. There was open speculation in the local papers that it was a ploy to get into the young pitcher’s head.

Master plan or not, the Twins got to Avery early. After Scott Erickson worked around a single and a walk to get out of the first inning unscathed, the Twins offense started with one out in the bottom of the first. After Chuck Knoblauch singled, Kirby Puckett, who had told the rest of the team earlier in the day to “jump on his back,” tripled with a ground ball down the left field line. Puckett later scored when Shane Mack connected with his first base hit of the series two batters later. The Twins held a 2-0 lead over the Avery and the Braves.

Erickson maintained the lead through four innings, not necessarily with dominant pitching. He was helped along the way by some great defensive plays, including Scott Leuis’ jumping grab of a Brian Hunter line drive in the second, and Puckett’s leaping grab of Ron Gant’s drive in the third inning, which robbed Gant of an easy double.

The Braves finally cracked the score board in the fifth, when NL batting champion Terry Pendleton connected with a two-run home run to center field. No sooner had the Braves tied the game than the Twins took the lead again, this time on a sacrifice fly by Puckett in the bottom of the fifth. Erickson retired the Braves in order in the fifth inning, but was ultimately removed from the game after he allowed a lead off single to Mark Lemke, who had been an unlikely October hero for the Braves. Lemke ended up scoring later in the inning to once again tie the game. Erickson’s night was over. Though he wouldn’t get a decision in the game, he had performed well enough for the Kelly, allowing three runs over six plus innings pitched.

Avery, meanwhile, didn’t come out for the seventh inning, and ended his game with three runs on six hits over six innings pitched. The respective bullpens made relatively easy work of the batters over the next several innings, Puckett’s one out single in the eighth and subsequent stolen base notwithstanding. The Braves got a lead off single in the 11th, but it was immediately removed when Keith Mitchell was caught trying to steal second. The score remained tied into the bottom of the 11th.

Five years prior, Charlie Leibrandt was on the hill for Kansas City in a must-win late season game against the first place Minnesota Twins. With a man on and one out in the bottom of the first inning, Kirby Puckett launched a home run to left center that set the tone for an 8-1 Twins win and ultimately a season’s end for the Royals. Now, in an even bigger situation, Bobby Cox called on Leibrandt to extend the game another inning. The first batter he would face: Kirby Puckett.

A 2-1 hanging change up from Leibrandt was the catalyst for arguably the most memorable moment in team history. Puckett launched the ball to left center field where it landed among the 55,155 fans in the Metrodome. As he rounded the bases, fists pumping, Jack Buck made his famous call that set the stage for a memorable Game 7.

Kirby Puckett had been in some way responsible for each of the four Twins runs, and in all likelihood took away an Atlanta run with his catch in the third inning. The Twins went on to win the series in seven, but Kirby Puckett almost single-handedly got them there with his performance in Game 6.

16 years ago…
10/24/1991: Five of seven games in the 1991 World Series were decided by just one run, and Game 1 was a three run win for the Twins. The only game that wasn’t close came on this date, Game 5 at Fulton-County Stadium. The Braves jumped on Kevin Tapani early, putting together a four run fourth inning on their way to a 14-5 victory over the Twins. With the win, the series returned to the Metrodome with Atlanta just one victory away from a series win, leading 3-2.

20 years ago…
10/24/1987: Game 6 of the 1987 World Series, from Hot Stove 1987 at Coffeyville Whirlwind:

The Twins used back-to-back big innings to come from behind and force a seventh game in the World Series.

Things started well for the Cardinals, however, when Tommy Herr hit a solo home run off of Les Straker in the first inning. It was only the second long ball of the series for the Cardinals.

The Twins answered in their half of the first. Dan Gladden hit a lead off triple, and later scored when Kirby Puckett singled to left. After Puckett reached second on a ground out, Don Baylor knocked in the second Twins’ run with a single to right.

St. Louis tied the score at two in the second when Jose Oquendo singled home Terry Pendleton. The tie held up until the fourth, when the first three batters Straker faced reached safely to give the Cardinals a 4-2 lead. Dan Scahtzeder entered with nobody out, and was able to get out of the inning with no further damage. The Cards did get to Schatzeder in the fifth when Willie McGee knocked Ozzie Smith in with a single.

Down 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth, the Twins needed to score runs. Fortunately, runs have come relatively easy in the Metrodome, and that was the case on this night as well. Like the Cardinals fourth, the first three Twins reached safely off of John Tudor.

Kirby Puckett led the inning off with a single. That was followed by a Gaetti RBI double that cut the St. Louis lead to two. Don Baylor quickly erased that lead with a home run to left, his first in a Twins’ uniform. Baylor last home run came on August 23 when he was with Boston; a grand slam off of Steve Carlton.

The Twins continued the hit parade, however. Tom Brunansky finally ended Tudor’s night when he singled to left, the fourth straight hit for the Twins. Ricky Horton came in to get Hrbek and Laudner for the first two outs, but Steve Lombardozzi knocked a single to center to score Brunansky from second before the inning was over. The Twins took a 6-5 lead.

After Juan Berenguer retired the Cardinals in order in the top of the sixth, the Twins continued the onslaught. From Mark Vancil’s game story:

But it was the sixth inning that turned the game, and perhaps the Cardinals’ season, upside down. Greg Gagne singled to lead off before Bob Forsch came on to walk Puckett. In between outs, Baylor was intentionally walked and Herzog brought in lefthander Ken Dayley to face Hrbek, who had been 1-for-14 against lefties in the Series.

 

“I knew no matter what that if I got to the plate, I’d be facing a lefty,” Hrbek said.

 

He faced him for one pitch. Hrbek took a Dayley fastball 439 feet, over the center-field wall, for a 10-5 lead that buried the Cardinals and sent Herzog looking for a Game 7 starter.

 

The Twins added an unearned run in the eighth to make the final 11-5 and force a seventh game. So far, the Twins have outscored the Cardinals 29-10 in three World Series games at the Dome, the site of Game 7.

Somewhat lost in all of the fire works was Kirby Puckett’s game. He went 4-4 and scored 4 runs, tying a World Series record for runs in a game.

I had collected baseball cards for a while prior to 1984. I would get a pack here or there from my parents or grandparents, and had a shoe box full of cards already. What I didn’t have was a lot of Twins cards (though I did have a nice collection of Billy Sample cards - I guess that was my “Don Schwartz” - McCovey is off the table!).

That all changed when I got the 1984 Twins set as a give away at the Metrodome*. This was the set of cards that helped a six year old to put faces with the names. Up until that time, every Twins player was simply a name that Bob Casey read, and a small dot that wore white on the field.

The set itself is not all that interesting. There seems to have been three options for the players: kneeling, pitching, or swinging a bat. Kneeling seems to have been the popular choice, a decision which I heartily endorse because it shows off the stirrups (though Gary Gaetti seems to have gone with the “standing there looking at the camera” pose).

It is also worth noting that Lenny Faedo and Ron Washington went with the fielding pose, which was really the right choice for both.

*It is possible that the cards were purchased for me, I was six years old, so details may be fuzzy.

This is the 20th post in a series detailing the 20 21 22 best pitching performances in Twins history based on Bill James’ game scores. The games are posted in chronological order.

Tuesday July 6, 2004
HHH Metrodome
Minneapolis, MN

By 2004 Johan Santana had already established himself as one of the better pitchers in the league. Still, he had his problems, particularly early in 2004. After his start against Tampa Bay on June 3, Santana had a 2-4 record with a 5.50 ERA. That was a turning point in the season for Santana, who rattled off four straight victories before a 2-1 loss to the White Sox on July 1st. Over that span he managed to lower his ERA to a much more respectable 4.22. Still, Santana’s career numbers had one glaring omission. In 57 career games started over the course of four seasons and some change, Santana had yet to pitch a shut out.

In fact, he had yet to achieve a complete game. His longest outing of the season was the previously mentioned loss to the Devil Rays on June 3rd in which he pitched 7 2/3 innings. He had pitched eight innings several times over the course of the previous two seasons, but had yet to finish a game he started.

That all changed when the Kansas City Royals came to town on July 6, 2004. Truth be told, if a pitcher is going to pitch a shut out, the 2004 Royals were likely candidates. They were shut out 13 times over the course of the season, and were at or near the bottom of the league in almost every offensive category.

Though Desi Relaford started the game with a single off of Santana, the Venezuelan was not bothered. He retired the next three batters, the last two by strikeout. Santana went by the same pattern in the second. This time a Ruben Mateo single was stranded by three consecutive outs, the last two by strikeout. The third inning was a small change of pace, with a one out walk surrounded by three strikeouts.

And so it went for Santana. A Torii Hunter solo home run in the second was all he would need, though the Twins would add three in the sixth. There was a span between the fifth and the eighth inning in which Santana retired 10 Royals in a row. After eight full, the number everyone was watching was 103, Santana’s pitch count.

Twins lefthander Johan Santana threw his 103rd pitch of the night to get a groundout to end the eighth inning. While the Twins batted in the bottom of the inning, reliever Juan Rincon began to warm up in the bullpen.
What was manager Ron Gardenhire thinking?

 

“He was telling me that it was enough, eight innings and I have another start on Sunday,” Santana said. He respects authority, but something had to be said.

 

“I told him, `Forget about Sunday,’ ” Santana said. “We have to do it tonight. I feel pretty good and whatever happens, happens. I felt pretty good and I didn’t want the opportunity to go away.”

 

Three outs later, the Twins beat Kansas City 4-0. Santana pitched the first complete-game shutout of his career, a checkpoint in an ascending career. “That was one of the greatest feelings I’ve ever had as a baseball player. First complete game and it was a shutout.”

 

Santana continued, “It’s something I’m going to remember forever.”

 

-LaVelle E Neal, Star Tribune 6/7/2004

 

Santana worked around a ninth inning walk by coaxing Ken Harvey to ground into a double play to end the game.

Box

Minnesota Twins            IP     H   R  ER   BB  SO  HR    ERA   
J Santana, W (7-5)          9     3   0   0    2  13   0   3.89  

			   BF  Pit-Str   GB-FB  GmSc  IR-IS
			   30  114-81     7-5     92    - 

Santana’s performance was part of a pretty nice stretch of pitching for the Twins. The night before, Brad Radke had shut out the Royals; and the next day Kyle Lohse would do the same.

If you’re a fan of the Twins and the rich history that has accompanied the franchise for the last 106 years, then you are no doubt familiar with the original Twins historical blog, Coffeyville Whirlwind and it’s blogger, Scot Johnson. While I have concentrated our focus on the years 1961-present, Scot has steadfastly covered the entire franchise history. Some may argue that one has nothing to do with the other, but just as many people would argue that the pre-1961 years are just as important to Twins’ history as they are to Senators/Nationals history. Regardless of which side of the fence you sit on, there is no doubt that Scot has done an incredible job covering both the Senators and the Twins.

Even though this blog doesn’t have the readership of some other Twins’ blogs, we certainly have a dedicated few who are regular readers. For those of you who are not regular readers, let it be known that not only does Scot write on a daily basis for his own website, he is the major contributor for our blog as well. Scot contributes three times a week to Tony, the Killer and Carew and for most weeks that comprises 100% of the posts. I will occasionally find the time to post, but most of what you read here is attributed back to Scot.

I encourage you all to visit Scot’s site on a daily basis and enjoy more franchise history. Of special interest to Twins’ fans, Scot has penned a series of posts chronicling the 1987 season, game by game. Additionally, he is currently covering each game of the 1988 season. For those of you interested in the pre-1961 years, Scot does a year-by-year look at the franchise.

Today marks 2 years of Scot blogging at Coffeyville Whirlwind and 6 months, 12 days for him blogging at Tony, the Killer and Carew. I hope you have enjoyed Scot’s contributions here and if you haven’t visited Coffeyville Whirlwind, you owe it to yourself to check it out today.

16 years ago…
10/17/1991: The Twins finally found out who their World Series opponent would be. In Game 7 of the NLCS, John Smoltz shut out the Pittsburgh Pirates at Three Rivers Stadium to advance. The Braves scored three runs in the first, helped by Brian Hunter’s two-run home run, and never looked back. The 1991 World Series began two days later at the Metrodome.

20 years ago…
10/17/1987: The World Series opened at the Metrodome. It was the first World Series game played under a roof. In the end, Dan Gladden was the hero in the Twins’ victory. Here is my recap of the game from Coffeyville Whirlwind:

Twins 10, Cardinals 1

After three innings of play in the first World Series game ever in the Metrodome, the Twins actually trailed 1-0. Tony Pena led the inning off with a double. He advanced to third on a fly ball, and scored on a ground ball by Jim Lindeman. That was all the offense either team got in the first three innings, as both Frak Viola and Joe Magrane seemed to be cruising along.

That all changed in the fourth inning.

The Cardinals managed a couple of two out singles in the top of the frame but were unable to score. The Twins half of the fourth started like a small-ball dream. Gary Gaetti reached on an infield single. Don Baylor singled to center. Tom Brunansky singled to center to load the bases. Kent Hrbek singled to center, knocking in two. Steve Lombardozzi walked. Tim Laudner singled to right to knock in a run. When Dan Gladden came to the plate, the Twins had a 3-0 lead, the bases were loaded, and nobody was out.

The setup was straight out of the Cardinals playbook. If any team was going to small-ball the other to death, it was going to be the Cardinals, who won 97 games primarily using that strategy. In the midst of the onslaught of singles, Whitey Herzog went to his bullpen, calling for the veteran Bob Forsch.

A one ball, two strike pitch from Forsch to Gladden ended the game of small-ball.

“I thought he threw the guy a pretty good pitch,” said Cardinals pitching coach Mike Roarke. “It was a pretty good breaking ball, but the guy hit it out. It wasn’t like he (Forsch) threw him a hanging pitch. The guy just hit it and you’ve got to give him credit.” (quoted by Doug Grow in the Star Tribune)

 

The pitch ended up in the left field seats. The Twins took a 7-1 lead, which was more than enough for Frank Viola, who pitched eight innings while allowing only five hits.

Steve Lombardozzi added a two-run home run in the fifth, and Gladden added another RBI on a double in the seventh to cap off the Game 1 victory, 10-1.

Gladden was originally disappointed that the Twins would not be playing his former team from San Francisco. He is now the proud holder of the first World Series grand slam since 1970, and, more importantly, his team is three wins away from the biggest prize.

One of the very few pictures in which Harmon Killebrew is the least accomplished ballplayer. Killebrew is actually referred to as the “baby” of the group on the back of this card that was issued in 1968 by Topps. For a frame of reference, Killebrew turned 32 that year (Mantle was 36, Mays 37). The back of the card also does some math for us. The picture on the front represents 1,462 career home runs, presumably through the 1967 season. All told, these three sluggers hit 1,769 home runs. That’s a lot for one baseball card.

For you card experts: any idea where/when this picture was taken? My best guess would be at an All Star Game. The 1967 game was played in Anaheim, meaning that the AL would have been the home team. In the picture, Mantle and Killebrew are wearing road uniforms while Mays is in the home whites. The 1966 game was at Busch Stadium. Any ideas?

5 years ago…
10/10/2002: The Twins and Angels had a travel day after splitting the first two games of the ALCS. Joe Mays pitched brilliantly in Game 1 to give the Twins a 2-1 victory. The Angels jumped on Rick Reed early in Game 2, scoring four runs in the first two innings on the way to a 6-3 win to even the series.

16 years ago…
10/10/1991: The Twins had an off day after dropping Game 2 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto struck first against Kevin Tapani, and never looked back in a 5-2 victory. It was the first post season game the team had ever lost in the Metrodome. With Game 3 tomorrow, the series is even at one win a piece.

20 years ago…
10/10/1987: In their first road playoff game since 1970, the Twins found themselves in a 5-0 hole early. Les Straker allowed all five runs in the bottom of the third inning that was capped off by a Larry Herndon two-run double. The Twins’ comeback started with a Greg Gagne home run to lead off the fourth inning, and when Gary Gaetti knocked in two runs with a single in the top of the seventh, the Twins had a 6-5 lead and looked to be heading to a 3-0 lead in the series. Pat Sheridan’s two run home run off of Jeff Reardon in the eighth inning put the Tigers back on top, where they stayed for the 7-6 victory.

42 years ago…
10/10/1965: Though they won the first two games of the Series, the Twins found themselves even with the Dodgers after LA won its second straight game at Dodger Stadium. Tony Oliva and Harmon Killebrew each hit a solo home run, but that was all the Twins could muster against Don Drysdale in the 7-2 loss.