The Tournament of Champions: Another Chance for Glory

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Go Twins!

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Game 1---#6 Oakland 1989 Athletics VS #3 1965 Minnesota Twins
Tournament of Champions---Pool 1 QuarterFinals


Mudcat Grants 1965 Twins Historic First Win in TOC
Minnesota Ace Perseveres in Tournament Opener

Monday April 11, 2011---Metropolitan Stadium---Bloomington, MN

The #3 1965 Minnesota Twins got a courageous performance from starter Mudcat Grant and held off a late rally to beat the #6 1989 Oakland Athletics 3-2 in the opening game of the Tournament of Champions. Grant outdueled Oakland ace Dave Stewart in a game of missed opportunities for both teams. The contest featured a total of 22 hits, but the two squads left the basepaths littered with runners, as both starters continually pitched out of jams.

It was somehow appropriate that the opening game of the TOC, a tournament that only allows integrated baseball teams to compete, would be started by two African-American pitchers. Grant and Stewart allowed a total of 25 hitters to reach base between them, but only Oakland's Carney Lansford would get an extra base hit, and gutsy pitching by the duo kept the score low.

Center-fielder Jimmie Hall provided the big hit for the Twins, plating two runners in the third with a bases loaded single to right field. Tony Oliva paced the offense by collecting three hits, and Harmon Killebrew drove in the tournament's first run with a sacrifice fly in the first inning.

Down 3-0 in the top of the fourth, the Athletics loaded the bases with three consecutive singles to start the frame, but could only plate a single run. Walt Weiss grounded into a fielder's choice to score Dave Henderson, but then Grant bore down to strike out his mound opponent Stewart and then got Rickey Henderson to pop out weakly to second.

Grant pitched effectively out of several other jams in the game, but needed to be picked up by teammate Bill Plies in the ninth. After consecutive singles by Rickey Henderson and Carney Lansford left runners on the corners to start the frame, Plies entered the game and immediately got Jose Canseco to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Henderson would score to bring the tying run to the plate, and close the book on Grant's day. Plies then walked Mark McGwire to give the A's one last glimmer of hope before getting Dave Henderson out on another ground ball.

Each squad stole two bases and tried their best to put pressure on the opposing defense, but Stewart and Grant continuously made great pitches to keep their opponents in check. In the end, Grant would persevere to give the Twins the series lead. If not for a nice piece of hitting by Hall, the outcome of the game may well have been different.

Both teams will need to improve on their situational hitting in Game 2, as a total of 22 runners were left on base by the squads. The Athletics were especially anemic. They got three hits apiece from Terry Steinbach and Dave Henderson and five hits from the top third of the order, and yet produced only two runs. Both of which, oddly enough, were driven in on groundouts.

The two squads will match-up again tomorrow with Jim Kaat taking the hill for the 1965 Twins and the sneaky tough Mike Moore throwing for the 1989 Athletics.

Despite a solid performance, Dave Stewart will have to wait until
Game 5 to get his first win in the Tournament of Champions.

Game ID: 15 - Monday, April 11th, 2011 - Game Log
Monday, April 11th, 2011 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1989 Oakland Athletics 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 13 1 1965 Minnesota Twins 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 X 3 9 0
1989 Oakland AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI R. Henderson LF 5 1 1 0 0 1 4 .200 0 0 C. Lansford 3B 5 0 2 0 0 1 0 .400 0 0 J. Canseco RF 5 0 2 0 0 0 2 .400 0 0 M. McGwire 1B 2 0 0 0 3 0 1 .000 0 0 c-S. Javier PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 D. Henderson CF 5 1 3 0 0 0 3 .600 0 0 T. Steinbach C 4 0 3 0 0 0 2 .750 0 0 T. Phillips 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .250 0 0 W. Weiss SS 3 0 0 1 0 0 3 .000 0 1 a-M. Gallego SS 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0 D. Stewart P 3 0 1 0 0 1 2 .333 0 0 b-D. Parker PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0 R. Honeycutt P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Totals 38 2 13 1 3 4 22 a - M. Gallego substituted for W. Weiss in the 7th b - D. Parker pinch hit for D. Stewart in the 8th c - S. Javier pinch ran for M. McGwire in the 9th BATTING Doubles: C. Lansford (1, 1st Inning off M. Grant, 0 on, 1 out) Total Bases: D. Stewart , T. Steinbach 3 , T. Phillips , C. Lansford3 , R. Henderson , D. Henderson 3 , J. Canseco 2 Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: T. Steinbach , R. Henderson 2 , D. Henderson , D. Parker GIDP: J. Canseco Team LOB: 12 BASERUNNING SB: C. Lansford (1) , R. Henderson (1) CS: J. Canseco (1) FIELDING Errors: C. Lansford Double Plays: 2 (Phillips-Weiss-McGwire, Gallego-Phillips-McGwire)	1965 Minnesota AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI Z. Versalles SS 4 1 1 0 0 0 2 .250 0 0 S. Valdespino LF 4 1 1 0 0 0 3 .250 0 0 T. Oliva RF 4 1 3 0 0 0 0 .750 0 0 H. Killebrew 3B 1 0 0 1 2 0 2 .000 0 1 J. Hall CF 4 0 2 2 0 0 1 .500 0 2 D. Mincher 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 4 .250 0 0 B. Pleis P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 E. Battey C 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .333 0 0 F. Quilici 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .000 0 0 a-B. Allison PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0 b-J. Kindall 2B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 M. Grant P 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0 c-R. Rollins 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 Totals 31 3 9 3 3 1 15 a - B. Allison pinch hit for F. Quilici in the 8th b - J. Kindall substituted for B. Allison in the 9th c - R. Rollins substituted for M. Grant in the 9th BATTING Total Bases: E. Battey , Z. Versalles , J. Hall 2 , T. Oliva 3 , D. Mincher , S. Valdespino 2-out RBI: J. Hall Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: D. Mincher , S. Valdespino GIDP: D. Mincher , B. Allison Sac Fly: H. Killebrew Team LOB: 10 BASERUNNING SB: Z. Versalles (1) , D. Mincher (1) FIELDING Double Plays: 1 (Killebrew-Kindall-Rollins)
1989 Oakland IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA D. Stewart L (0-1) 7.0 8 3 3 2 1 0 108 69 3.86 R. Honeycutt 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0 11 7 0.00 PITCHING Game Score: D. Stewart 48 Batters Faced: D. Stewart 31, R. Honeycutt 4 Ground Outs - Fly Outs: D. Stewart 9-11, R. Honeycutt 1-1 Pitches - Strikes: D. Stewart 108-69, R. Honeycutt 11-7	1965 Minnesota IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA M. Grant W (1-0) 8.0 13 2 2 2 4 0 132 82 2.25 B. Pleis SV (1) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 9 4 0.00 PITCHING Game Score: M. Grant 50 Batters Faced: M. Grant 38, B. Pleis 3 Ground Outs - Fly Outs: M. Grant 12-7, B. Pleis 2-0 Pitches - Strikes: M. Grant 132-82, B. Pleis 9-4 Inherited Runners - Scored: B. Pleis 2-1
GAME NOTES Player of the Game: Mudcat Grant Ballpark: Metropolitan Stadium Weather: Partly Cloudy (47 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 11 mph Start Time: 1:05 pm Time: 2:35 Attendance: 39150 1965 Minnesota Twins Lead Series 1-0 Game 2 Match-Up: 1989 Athletics (Mike Moore 19-11, 2.61) AT 1965 Twins (Jim Kaat 18-11, 2.83)