Worst All-Time Twins Tournament, Nishioka Round, Game 2: Going to Scarborough’s fair

Result

For the second straight game, a starter in the Nishioka Round held his opponent scoreless while leading his team to a low-scoring victory.

This time, that starter came from the Senators’ dugout.

Ray Scarborough pitched seven-plus scoreless innings while Tom McBride reached base in all four plate appearances, including two doubles, as ‘48 tied the series with a 5-2 victory.

Ordinarily his team’s ace, Scarborough’s start was moved back a day due to his having pitched the final game of the Nolasco Round, as was the start of his mound counterpart, Brad Havens. But Scarborough outpitched the ‘81 starter, scattering five hits while walking two and whiffing seven.

Havens nearly matched Scarborough, throwing seven innings of his own, six of them scoreless. But the fourth inning sank him.

The heart of the Senators’ order opened the fourth inning, and each of the first three batters tallied a hit. Bud Stewart started the inning with a double to center, and Eddie Yost followed by tripling into the right field corner, sending Stewart around the bases with the first run of the game. Sherry Robertson’s single brought home Yost to double that lead.

After Mark Christman struck out and McBride walked, Al Evans tapped a grounder between third base and the mound. With the runners going, Havens fielded the ball and threw off-kilter to first base, his errant throw allowing Robertson to score and the other runners to move up a base. Junior Wooten’s grounder to short brought home Christman with the final run of the inning, and Al Kozar’s lineout stranded Evans, but the angular 4 on the scoreboard said all that was needed.

Aside from that inning, Havens allowed just five hits, only allowing two men to reach base once more, when Kozar and Mickey Vernon singled in the seventh. But Havens got Stewart to fly out and Yost to pop out, stranding both.

Havens yielded the mound to John Verhoeven in the eighth, but Washington tallied three straight one-out singles off the reliever, the last by Gil Coan coming off the bench, to bring home their fifth run.

Meanwhile, Scarborough had twice stranded two runners, in the fourth and sixth, and continued to baffle Minnesota bats. But after a walk to pinch hitter Hosken Powell to open the eighth inning, Scarborough exited the game as Dick Weik took over on the mound.

Weik pitched a perfect eighth, Powell retired on the bases on ‘81’s third failed hit-and-run of the game, but he ran into trouble in the ninth. After striking out Kent Hrbek, Weik put the next two men on base, walking Roy Smalley and allowing a single to John Castino. Mickey Hatcher flew out, but Dave Engle’s double and Danny Goodwin’s single each drove a runner in and brought the tying run to the plate in Powell. Forrest Thompson came out of the bullpen and threw two pitches, the second lined to Christman at short to erase the Twins’ slim series lead.

Nishioka Round, Game 1 | Nishioka Round, Game 2 | Nishioka Round, Game 3