LA’s pitching prowess pops
This weekend, I’ll be wandering the waysides of Seattle and taking in a couple of the Twins/Mariners clashes. Fifty years ago, the Minnesota Twins similarly headed west…
In just their fifth year of existence, the Twins found themselves in the World Series. Not only that, but they took a 2-0 lead after besting Los Angeles Dodgers stalwarts Don Drysdale & Sandy Koufax! With home field advantage firmly in tow, the Twins would play the next three contests under the sunny skies of Southern California’s Chavez Ravine.
Photo by: Diamond Images/Getty Images
Game 3 (10/9/65)
From the very first Twins hitter sent into the Dodger Stadium batter’s box, MN looked to have retained the momentum: eventual 1965 AL MVP Zoilo Versalles hit a ground rule double off LA starter Claude Osteen. Alas, with Versalles on third base and Earl Battey at the dish, Zoilo’s mad dash to steal home was thwarted and no early lead established.
Set Number: X11040 TK3
Twins SP Camilo Pascual was neither sharp nor terrible—5 IP, 3ER—with John Roseboro, Lou Johnson, & Maury Wills touching him up for RBI knocks.
It mattered little, however, as Osteen (9 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K) had Twins batters eating out of his south paw. Absolute dominance from LA’s third starter to jump back into the series.
Photo by Focus On Sport/Getty Images
The eventual 4-0 Dodgers victory was played in a crisp two hours and 6 minutes—probably less than the traffic ingress & egress of most Hollywood-ites.
Game 4 (10/10/65)
If I told you that Harmon Killebrew & Tony Oliva both swatted dingers in this contest, you’d probably assume a Twins victory. Sadly, such homer heroics proved inconsequential.
Mudcat Grant’s second starting assignment was disastrous—5 IP, 5 R, 4 ER—and the bullpen combination of Al Worthington & Bill Pleis could not stop the Blue bleeding. The usually light-hitting Dodgers rapped out 10 hits, including homers from Johnson & Wes Parker.
Meanwhile, unlike his Game 1 early exit, this was the Dandy Don Dodgers denizens were used to seeing: 9 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 11 K. The Killer & Tony-O’s solo shots were the only blemishes on a 7-2 Los Angeles victory to even the series at two games apiece.
Game 5 (10/11/65)
Now in danger of being torpedoed in Tinsel Town, the Twins sent Game 2 stalwart Jim Kaat out for a rematch with Sandy Koufax. As usual, the sequel was not as good as the original (at least for MIN fans).
Kaat’s afternoon was both short and ineffective—2.1 IP, 4 R, 3 ER—while Dave Bowell & Jim Perry out of the pen were similarly unable to put goose eggs on the line score. This time, LA lit up for 14 safeties in their 7-0 victory.
Truth be told, only a single cleat touching home plate would have been enough for Stunning Sandy: 9 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 10 K. Peak Koufax, in today’s parlance.
It’s likely the Twins couldn’t board their flight back to MN fast enough after this disastrous West Coast swing. Two runs scored in 27 innings, never able to crack into LA’s bullpen, and the series advantage squandered.
Down 3-2, Minnesota would need to win once again in front of the friendly folks to push the series to a winner-take-all final tilt.