On This Date in Twins Playoff History: October 9, 1965

October 9, 1965
World Series, Game Three
Twins Lead Series, 2-0

Twins: Zoilo Versalles (SS), Joe Nossek (CF), Tony Oliva (RF), Harmon Killebrew (3B), Earl Battey (C), Bob Allison (LF), Don Mincher (1B), Frank Quilici (2B), Camilo Pascual (P)

Dodgers: Maury Wills (SS), Jim Gilliam (3B), Willie Davis (CF), Ron Fairly (RF), Lou Johnson (LF), Jim Lefebrve (2B), Wes Parker (1B), John Roseboro (C), Claude Osteen (P)

Camilo Pascual was a five-time All-Star, most recently in the preceding campaign of 1964, and was known for a good fastball and something Ted Williams described as "the most feared curveball in the American League for 18 years". He had started the year off exceptionally well, something that had come to be expected of the Cuban-born right-hander, but injuries slowed him down in the second half and he wasn't the same pitcher. Claude Osteen, who would eventually make three All-Star teams but hadn't yet done so, was a good pitcher but certainly not on the level of Drysdale and Koufax.

Today, however, he bested the Dodger aces and achieved what they had been unable to do in the first two games of the series: keep the Twins off the board and win a game. Zoilo Versalles would reach third base twice - once in the first and then again in the sixth, but it was as close as Minnesota would get. In one of the most exciting plays of the series, Versalles (who had led off the game with a ground-rule double and moved to third on a groundout), was caught trying to steal home.

With Earl Battey at the plate and somewhat blocking John Roseboro's view of third base as a right-handed hitter, Versalles broke for home. Roseboro of course caught him in the act, and a quick game of hotbox took place. Roseboro chased Versalles back to third and threw to Wills, who chased Versalles home and threw back to Roseboro, but in the end it was the Dodger third baseman Gilliam who applied the tag and ended the inning.

It was Roseboro's single in the fourth that opened the scoring, bringing in Ron Fairly and Jim Lefebrve for a 2-0 lead. Roseboro and Wes Parker then pulled off a double steal, but Pascual got Wills to pop up to keep it from getting any worse.

A Lou Johnson double off Pascual in the fifth and another by Wills of Jim Merritt in the sixth pushed the game to 4-0, and that's where it ended. After taking down two of the game's best pitchers in the history of the game, the Twins fell to Claude Osteen's complete game shutout. That's baseball though, and the Dodgers avoided going down three games to none.

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Also In the 1965 World Series

• Game One (Twins 8, Dodgers 2)
• Game Two (Twins 5, Dodgers 1)