Indians Top Twins in Minnesota as Southpaw Sam McDowell Shines

June 10, 1965 - Sam McDowell and the Cleveland Indians accomplished a pair of firsts tonight with a 4-1 victory over the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium. 

The 22-year-old McDowell, flame-throwing lefthander, registered his sixth victory of 1965, but his first in a five-year American League career over the Twins. 

And by taking the series, 3-1, the third-place Indians became the first club to win more than a one-game set from the league-leading Twins.

Since Detroit took a rain-shortened one-game series in Minnesota April 15, the Twins had not lost a series.

As a result, Minnesota’s American League lead melted to 1½ games over the second-place White Sox and four games over the onrushing Tribe.

McDowell struck out nine Twin batsmen to raise his league-leading strikeout total to 108 before giving way to reliever Gary Bell in the ninth.

The Twins posed a threat in the ninth, with the Indians leading 4-1. Jerry Kindall singled to left, and pinch hitter Joe Nossek drilled a single to right with none out.

Bell then relieved McDowell. Center fielder Vic Davalillo, also known as “The Thief,” took Zoilo Versalles’ liner for the first out against the fence, making a marvelous grab.

“I said goodbye when Versalles hit that liner to center,” Bell related. “I thought it was a home run. That would have tied it, but Davalillo went up the fence and made the catch.”

The 5-7 Davalillo said he used the chain looping in the screen fence as a ladder to lift him to 6-5 stature for the catch.

Rich Rollins flied to center for the second out, and Bell fanned Tony Oliva with fastballs to end it all. 

There was disagreement in the Indian clubhouse whether young Dave Boswell of the Twins was throwing knockdown pitches at homer-hitting Leon Wagner and Rocky Colavito.

“He didn’t fool me,” said Wagner. “He got two strikes on me and decked me with a high, hard one.”

Boswell defended himself: “I wasn’t throwing at him but, with this blister on my finger, the ball got away from me. If I had been throwing at him, I would have come a lot closer than I did.”

Cleveland hurler McDowell was delighted with the victory. “I tired from throwing fastballs,” he said, “and I can thank Bell and Davalillo for saving me.”

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