[Nick Soulis]

Series #267

1988 Minnesota Twins vs 1951 Washington Senators



SERIES 267 — GAME 1
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
MY OH MY — PUCKETT WALKS IT OFF AS TWINS STEAL THRILLER IN TEN

Washington 1951 Senators 2
Minnesota 1988 Twins 3 (10 innings)

For eight innings neither club could push a run across, Frank Viola and Bob Kuzava locked in a scoreless duel that had the Metrodome crowd restless and both dugouts searching for an opening, and then the ninth inning delivered everything at once. Mickey Vernon led off the top half with a single and Sam Mele followed with a two-run double off Viola that broke the silence and sent Washington to the dugout with a two-nothing lead and six outs to protect — a lead that Bucky Harris, with his bullpen, had every reason to believe he could hold. Bob Ross came in to close it out and instead watched Greg Gagne turn on the first pitch he liked and drive it over the fence with a man aboard, a two-run home run that tied the game at two and sent nineteen thousand people at the Metrodome to their feet in an instant. Extra innings. Reardon held Washington scoreless in the tenth, and then Kirby Puckett stepped in against Ross, took one pitch, and hit it into the seats — a solo walk-off home run that ended it three to two and left the Metrodome shaking from the turf to the rafters. Minnesota takes Game One, but Washington led this game in the ninth inning and came within six outs of stealing it.

KEY PERFORMERS

Kirby Puckett, CF, MIN — 1-4, HR, RBI, BB, 2 K — solo walk-off home run in the 10th; the only hit that mattered
Greg Gagne, SS, MIN — 1-4, HR, 2 RBI — two-run shot in the 9th that erased Washington's lead and forced extras
Frank Viola, SP, MIN — 8.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K — brilliant for eight innings before surrendering the lead in the ninth
Jeff Reardon, CL, MIN — 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — stranded inherited runners, held Washington off the board in the 10th
Bob Kuzava, SP, WSH — 7.1 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K — kept Minnesota scoreless deep into the game on 108 pitches
Sam Mele, DH, WSH — 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI — the two-run double that broke the scoreless tie and gave Washington the lead
Mickey Vernon, 1B, WSH — 2-3, BB — the single that started Washington's ninth-inning rally


Series: 1988 Minnesota leads 1-0
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SERIES 267 — GAME 2
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
MARRERO MASTERPIECE — FORTY-YEAR-OLD CUBAN SILENCES METRODOME AS SENATORS EVEN SERIES

Washington 1951 Senators 5
Minnesota 1988 Twins 1

Connie Marrero is forty years old and he just threw a complete game victory at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome against the best lineup Washington has faced in this tournament, and when he walked off that mound after nine innings and a hundred and twenty pitches the crowd that had come to see the Twins take a two-nothing series lead gave him something close to a standing ovation because they understood they had witnessed something worth acknowledging. Marrero worked methodically from the first pitch, holding Minnesota to singles and doubles that never connected into anything — three doubles across nine innings, all stranded, the Twins leaving six runners on base against a forty-year-old Cuban right-hander who simply refused to make the mistake that would cost him the game. Washington scratched the first run across in the third on an Irv Noren RBI, added another in the sixth on a Sam Mele RBI, and then broke the game open in the ninth when Cass Michaels led off with a solo home run off Anderson and Washington piled on for three runs total in the inning to make it five to nothing. Minnesota got one back in the bottom of the ninth on a Gene Larkin sacrifice fly, but by then Marrero was already finishing what he had started — one run, four hits, complete game, series tied. Allan Anderson pitched well enough to win most nights — eight and a third innings, three earned runs — but Marrero was simply better, and the 1951 Washington Senators leave Minneapolis with exactly what they came for.

KEY PERFORMERS

Connie Marrero, SP, WSH — 9.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K — complete game victory; the performance of the series so far
Irv Noren, CF, WSH — 3-5, RBI, SB — three hits and the first run of the game; Washington's best offensive player on the night
Cass Michaels, 2B, WSH — 1-4, HR, RBI — the solo home run in the ninth that broke the game open
Sam Mele, DH, WSH — 1-4, RBI, BB — quiet but productive; the sixth-inning RBI that extended Washington's lead
Mike McCormick, RF, WSH — 2-5, RBI, SB — two hits and an RBI from the bottom third of the order
Allan Anderson, SP, MIN — 8.1 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K — competitive but undone by Washington's patient approach
Kent Hrbek, 1B, MIN — 2-3, 2B, BB — Minnesota's most consistent bat; one of four hits against Marrero


Series: Tied 1-1
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SERIES 267 — GAME 3
Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Minnesota 1988 Twins 5
Washington 1951 Senators 2

Gary Gaetti arrived at Griffith Stadium on a cool October night and reminded everyone in the building what this Minnesota lineup is capable of when it finds its footing. The game was scoreless through five innings, Bert Blyleven navigating a Washington offense that peppered him with hits — eleven by the final count — but could not string them together into runs, while Sandy Consuegra kept the Twins at bay through guile and soft contact until the sixth inning arrived and Gaetti ended the stalemate in the most decisive way available to him. With two runners aboard and two outs in the top of the sixth Gaetti turned on a Consuegra fastball and drove it over the fence for a three-run home run, and just like that the game belonged to Minnesota. Washington answered immediately — Cass Michaels drove in a run and Sam Dente, pinch hitting for Consuegra, knocked in another to make it three to two and send a jolt through the Griffith Stadium crowd — but Blyleven steadied, Gagne added an insurance RBI in the seventh, and then Gaetti put the game away for good in the eighth with an inside-the-park home run off Alton Brown, legging it around the bases as the Griffith Stadium outfield scrambled and the Twins dugout erupted. Reardon closed the ninth without incident. Minnesota wins five to two, takes a two-one series lead, and heads into Game Four at Griffith Stadium with Blyleven having gutted through eight innings against a Washington lineup that hit the ball hard all night but could never deliver the knockout punch.

KEY PERFORMERS

Gary Gaetti, 3B, MIN — 2-3, 2 HR (1 inside-the-park), 4 RBI, 2 R, BB — the dominant performance of the series so far
Bert Blyleven, SP, MIN — 8.0 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K — gutted through eleven hits to give Minnesota the win
Jeff Reardon, CL, MIN — 1.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER — clean ninth, second save of the series
Kirby Puckett, CF, MIN — 2-4, SB — two hits and a stolen base; finding his rhythm
Irv Noren, CF, WSH — 3-5 — three hits but stranded; Washington's best bat on the night
Mickey Vernon, 1B, WSH — 2-5 — consistent presence but couldn't deliver with runners aboard
Cass Michaels, 2B, WSH — 1-4, RBI — the run that briefly made it a one-run game in the sixth


Series: 1988 Minnesota leads 2-1
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SERIES 267 — GAME 4
Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Minnesota 1988 Twins 3
Washington 1951 Senators 6

Minnesota came to Griffith Stadium and put three runs on the board in the fourth inning with the kind of explosive sequence that looked like it might decide the game — Kirby Puckett tripling home two runs, Dan Gladden following with a triple of his own, and Gary Gaetti capping the rally with a solo home run, his third of the series, to make it three to nothing and send the visiting dugout into full celebration. But Washington had seen this kind of deficit before and Griffith Stadium had not emptied its belief. The Senators scratched two back in the bottom of the fourth on an Eddie Yost sacrifice fly and a Pete Runnels RBI, then tied it completely in the fifth when Mike McCormick drove in another, and suddenly the three-run lead Minnesota had constructed with such authority was gone and the game belonged to whoever wanted it most. Both clubs traded zeroes through the sixth while the October crowd at Griffith Stadium held its collective breath, and then the seventh inning arrived and Pete Runnels decided the series. With two outs and the bases loaded Runnels drove a Germán González delivery into the gap for a bases-clearing double — three runs scoring, Washington ahead six to three, the old ballpark shaking from the rafters to the grass. Alton Brown and Bob Ross held Minnesota scoreless through the final two innings and the Washington Senators walk off Griffith Stadium with a six to three victory that ties this best-of-seven series at two games apiece. Four games played. Everything still to decide.

KEY PERFORMERS

Pete Runnels, SS, WSH — 3-4, 2 2B, 5 RBI — the bases-clearing double in the seventh was the moment of the series; carried Washington on his back
Irv Noren, CF, WSH — 3-4, SB — three hits and a stolen base; the most consistent bat in this series for Washington
Mike McCormick, RF, WSH — 2-3, BB, RBI — the tying run in the fifth; quietly productive all night
Gary Gaetti, 3B, MIN — 2-4, HR, RBI — his third home run of the series; Minnesota's most dangerous hitter
Kirby Puckett, CF, MIN — 1-4, 3B, 2 RBI — the triple that opened the scoring and briefly made this look like a Minnesota night
Freddie Toliver, SP, MIN — 6.2 IP, 11 H, 4 ER — gave up too much contact against a Washington lineup that would not quit
Alton Brown, RP, WSH — 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER — held Minnesota scoreless after inheriting the lead; the unsung bridge to Ross

Series: Tied 2-2
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SERIES 267 — GAME 5
Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Minnesota 1988 Twins 2
Washington 1951 Senators 5

Greg Gagne gave Minnesota everything it needed and more in the second inning, turning on a Bob Kuzava fastball with a runner aboard and driving it over the fence for a two-run home run that silenced Griffith Stadium and put the Twins in front with their ace on the mound — exactly the position Tom Kelly had drawn up. But Washington is not a club that stays silent for long, and what unfolded over the next seven innings was a methodical, grinding dismantling of Frank Viola that nobody who watched Game One could have fully anticipated. Irv Noren doubled in the third and Mickey Vernon drove him home with a sacrifice fly to make it two to one, and then Gil Coan tripled in the fifth with two outs and Mickey Grasso drove him in to tie the game at two, and suddenly the two-run lead Gagne had constructed was gone and Griffith Stadium had found its voice again. The game sat tied through the sixth and seventh while Viola threw pitch after pitch and Washington kept fouling things off and working counts, and then the eighth inning arrived and the Senators broke it open — three runs scoring, Mike McCormick's run-scoring single off a three-one Viola curveball the decisive blow, the old ballpark erupting as Washington took a five to two lead it would not relinquish. Julio Moreno closed the ninth. The 1951 Washington Senators lead this series three games to two with two games remaining at the Metrodome, and a sixty-two win club is one victory away from one of the great upsets in tournament history.

KEY PERFORMERS
Mike McCormick, RF, WSH — 2-4, 3B, RBI — the run-scoring single in the eighth was the decisive moment; two extra base hits on the night
Gil Coan, LF, WSH — 2-3, 3B, BB, SB — the fifth-inning triple that tied the game; relentless on the bases
Mickey Grasso, C, WSH — 1-4, 2 RBI — the two-out RBI that knotted it in the fifth; quiet but clutch
Greg Gagne, SS, MIN — 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB — his two-run homer was Minnesota's entire offensive story
Dan Gladden, LF, MIN — 3-5 — three hits and nothing to show for it; Minnesota left sixteen runners on base
Frank Viola, SP, MIN — 7.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 5 BB, 5 K — gutted through but ultimately undone by Washington's patience
Gene Bearden, RP, WSH — 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER — bridged the gap between Kuzava and Ross with two scoreless innings

Series: 1951 Washington leads 3-2

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