A’s sweep Twins in Homer Dome

8/28 - 8/30 - Metrodome - Minneapolis, MN
GAME 1 - A's 5, Twins 4
The overlying trend from this series started right away.  Bert “Campy” Campaneris would find some way of getting on base in the top of the 1st and the big bats would find a way to knock him in.  Reminicient of Maury Wills in his "hey day" Bert Campaneris became the ultimate tablesetter.  A walk, a hit, a triple or reaching on an error...it didn't matter, he just got on base.  The A's jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead off of Frank Viola using the Campaneris recipe to perfection.  A Sal Bando two run single was the key hit.  Minny struck back when Tim Teufel doubled home the Twins leadoff man, Kirby Puckett.  Kent Hrbek's 2 run homer in the bottom of the 3rd gave the hometown team a 3-2 lead over Oakland starter Chuck Dobson (3-0, 2.16).  Dobson would fan 9 on the day and show flashes of brilliance here and there, but still give up 4 runs over 8.  Oakland tied it up in the 5th when Danny Cater hit a homer off the portable football bleacher seats.  It stayed tied until the top of the 8th when A's catcher Jim Pagliaroni doubled home Sal Bando and Mike Hershberger with 2 outs.  By this point Viola had tired and left the game and Pete Filson was the culprit for Pag's two bagger.  Diego Segui battled in the 9th to protect the tenuous 1 run lead and notch his 2nd save of the campaign.

GAME 2 - A's 5, Twins 3
Bert Campaneris tripled off of Hodge on the first pitch of the  ballgame to get a big 3 run top of the first going for Oakland.  A Dick Green sac fly to left scored Campy, but Oakland wasn't through yet.  Danny Cater singled and Reginald Martinez Jackson hit a long homer off the hefty bag to make it 3-0.  Lew Krausse was cruising along giving up just 1 solo run in the 4th until he began to run out of gas in the 9th.  The Twins scored 2 to make the game very interesting.  Reliever Jack Aker was once again ineffective (faced 2 batters and gave up a 2 walk and a single), so Paul Lindblad was called on to get the final 2 outs.  Ron Washington had 3 hits for the Twins to raise his season average to .462.  Cater had 3 for the A's.  Jackson's HR was his 4th of the season.

GAME 3 - A's 6, Twins 3
If this report is beginning to sound like a broken record, well please do not blame the scribe.  Blame one Mr. Bert Campaneris.  This time he led off the game with a double and scored 2 batters later on a Danny Cater Sac Fly.  The A's were also able to score 2 runs in both the 2nd and 3rd innings respectively.  Reggie Jackson hit his 5th of the year in the 3rd (a 2 run shot), to make it 5-1 at the time.  Twin starter Mike Smithson ate innings (8IP), but did little more to help his team win.  Jim Nash (1-3, 6.56) actually posted a quality start for the first time this season (3 runs / 8 IP).  Hope springs eternal in the Oakland clubhouse that Nash can continue rounding into form and start exhibiting the "stuff" of a viable 3rd starter.  Both Jackson and Kent Hrbek hit their 5th homers of the season.  Even more impressive is the fact that both these sluggers are hitting well over .300 (Jackson - .387, Hrbek .422).  Respective 3rd baseman, Gary Gaetti & Sal Bando  went 3 for 4.  Lindblad had to again come on in the 9th to bail out the virtually useless Aker.