Twins Bombard Yanks, 8-2

Apr. 22, 1965 - Jim Kaat, ace of the Twins’ pitching staff this spring, quenched a four-year thirst for victory over the Yankees with an 8-2 decision today at Yankee Stadium.

Kaat, a 25-year-old southpaw, ended a personal nine-game losing streak to the Yanks with a five-hitter for his second win of the 1965 American League season.

Jim achieved his very first major league victory at New York’s expense in 1960 at Yankee Stadium and then went four years in search of his second triumph over the Bronx Bombers.

“I waited so long for this one I wondered if it was ever coming,” said Kaat.

Zoilo Versalles and Tony Oliva sparked the Twins’ 12-hit uprising against four Yankee pitchers — starter and loser Al Downing, Rollie Sheldon, Hal Reniff, and Pedro Ramos.

Versalles knocked in three runs. He topped his day with an inside-the-park homer off Ramos in the ninth.

Oliva batted in four runs with a pair of two-run homers, in the seventh and ninth innings. Tony homered down the left-field line in Minnesota’s 7-2 victory yesterday. Today, he curved two inside the right-field foul pole.

Oliva achieved all this with a bone chip in his finger. After today’s game, he explained how he hopes to play all season with the piece of bone floating around in the middle finger of his right hand.

“I’ll play as long as I can,” Oliva said. “If I hit .200, I’ll still play — unless they take me out, I mean. I hope I hit .300.”

Oliva hit .323 last year, had 94 RBI’s, and smashed 32 homers, all with the same bone chip in his finger. The only difference was that last year, nobody knew about it.

Twins management thinks Oliva hurt the finger in Boston last May 15. Oliva thinks it was in Los Angeles, May 25. Soon afterward, the finger was sore and swollen and stayed that way.

The finger still bothered him in spring training, and doctors told Oliva he had a one chip. They could take it out. The only problem was he would take eight weeks to recuperate.

“We had to make that decision in spring training,” manager Sam Mele said. “We decided to wait until the fall for an operation. He’ll play all year the way it is now.”

This afternoon, Kaat had a no-hitter into the fifth. But with one out, Joe Pepitone grounded a single to right. Bob Schmidt followed with a single to center.

The New York gallery howled in anticipation of a rally when Elston Howard was announced as a pinch hitter for Sheldon. But Kaat spoiled Howard’s first appearance since opening day by striking out the big right-handed hitter on fastballs. Tom Tresh fouled to catcher Earl Battey for the final out of the inning.

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