The Athletics clinched at least a tie for their fourth straight West Division title when Catfish Hunter defeated the Twins, 2-1, for his 25th victory. The A's magic number was reduced to one as a result of their triumph and the second-place Rangers' loss of a doubleheader to the White Sox.

The A's, who collected only five hits off Dave Goltz, scored a run in the first inning on a single by Claudell Washington, a stolen base and single by Sal Bando. Joe Rudi singled in the fourth and raced home to score what proved to be the winning run when Eric Soderholm threw wildly in handling a grounder by Gene Tenace. Hunter allowed seven hits with the Twins' run coming on a homer by Bobby Darwin in the ninth. [The Sporting News]



Oakland Athletics 2, Minnesota Twins 1
Game Played on Thursday, September 26, 1974 (Night game) at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum
Twins        0  0  0    0  0  0    0  0  1  -   1  7  1
A's          1  0  0    1  0  0    0  0  x  -   2  5  0


Twins                AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      A's                  AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Brye cf               4   0   1   0     0   0   .283      North cf              4   0   0   0     0   2   .259
Carew 2b              4   0   3   0     0   0   .367      Campaneris ss         4   0   1   0     0   0   .291
Braun lf              3   0   0   0     0   0   .289      C. Washington rf      3   1   1   0     0   0   .286
Darwin rf             4   1   1   1     0   0   .266      Bando 3b              3   0   1   1     0   0   .244
Oliva dh              4   0   1   0     0   0   .289      Rudi lf               3   1   1   0     0   0   .288
Soderholm 3b          4   0   0   0     0   2   .281      Tenace 1b             3   0   0   0     0   0   .214
Bourque 1b            3   0   0   0     0   1   .229      Mangual dh            3   0   1   0     0   0   .226
Terrell ss            3   0   1   0     0   2   .245      Fosse c               3   0   0   0     0   1   .204
Roof c                2   0   0   0     0   1   .202      Green 2b              2   0   0   0     0   1   .210
  Killebrew ph        1   0   0   0     0   1   .225        Holt ph             1   0   0   0     0   1   .231
  Borgmann c          0   0   0   0     0   0   .256        Maxvill 2b          0   0   0   0     0   0   .177
Goltz p               0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Hunter p              0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               32   1   7   1     0   7             Totals               29   2   5   1     0   5

Time of Game: 1:51   Attendance:  3,461
Left on Base: Twins 5, A's 3
DP: Twins 1, A's 0
Errors: Soderholm
Doubles: Mangual (14)
Home Runs: Darwin (25)
Stolen Bases: C. Washington (6)
Caught Stealing: Carew (15)
Sacrifice Hits: Braun (4)


Twins                  IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Goltz L(9-10)           8     5   2   1   0   5   0  29   3.43
Totals                  8     5   2   1   0   5   0  29

A's                    IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Hunter W(25-12)         9     7   1   1   0   7   1  33   2.51
Totals                  9     7   1   1   0   7   1  33

Umpires: HP - Jim Odom, 1B - Bill Deegan, 2B - Larry McCoy, 3B - Lou DiMuro


TWINS 1ST: Brye grounded out (second to first); Carew singled to
left; Braun flied out to right; Darwin made an out to pitcher; 0
R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 0.

ATHLETICS 1ST: North grounded out (pitcher to first); Campaneris
grounded out (third to first); C. Washington singled to left; C.
Washington stole second; Bando singled to center [C. Washington
scored]; Rudi forced Bando (second to shortstop); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E,
1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 1.

TWINS 2ND: Oliva flied out to left; Soderholm flied out to
center; Bourque struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0,
Athletics 1.

ATHLETICS 2ND: Tenace flied out to right; Mangual doubled to
right; Fosse grounded out (second to first) [Mangual to third];
Green struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 1.

TWINS 3RD: Terrell struck out; Roof struck out; Brye lined to
center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 1.

ATHLETICS 3RD: North grounded out (first to pitcher); Campaneris
flied out to center; C. Washington grounded out (second to
first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 1.

TWINS 4TH: Carew singled to left; Braun out on a sacrifice bunt
(catcher to first) [Carew to second]; Darwin flied out to
center; Oliva lined to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0,
Athletics 1.

ATHLETICS 4TH: Bando flied out to center; Rudi singled to left;
Tenace reached on an error by Soderholm [Tenace to second, Rudi
scored (unearned) (no RBI)]; Mangual lined into a double play
(second to shortstop) [Tenace out at second]; 1 R (0 ER), 1 H, 1
E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

TWINS 5TH: Soderholm was called out on strikes; Bourque lined to
center; Terrell singled to center; Roof grounded out (third to
first); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

ATHLETICS 5TH: Fosse grounded out (shortstop to first); Green
grounded out (third to first); North struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E,
0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

TWINS 6TH: Brye made an out to shortstop; Carew singled to left;
Carew was caught stealing second (catcher to shortstop); Braun
made an out to second; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics
2.

ATHLETICS 6TH: Campaneris singled to center; C. Washington
forced Campaneris (first to shortstop); Bando flied out to
center; Rudi forced C. Washington (shortstop to second); 0 R, 1
H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

TWINS 7TH: Darwin flied out to center; Oliva singled to right;
Soderholm struck out; Bourque flied to right in foul territory;
0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

ATHLETICS 7TH: Tenace grounded out (shortstop to first); Mangual
grounded out (pitcher to first); Fosse struck out; 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

TWINS 8TH: Terrell struck out; KILLEBREW BATTED FOR ROOF;
Killebrew struck out; Brye singled to center; Carew forced Brye
(shortstop to second); 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics
2.

ATHLETICS 8TH: BORGMANN REPLACED KILLEBREW (PLAYING C ); HOLT
BATTED FOR GREEN; Holt was called out on strikes; North struck
out; Campaneris popped to catcher in foul territory; 0 R, 0 H, 0
E, 0 LOB.  Twins 0, Athletics 2.

TWINS 9TH: MAXVILL REPLACED HOLT (PLAYING 2B); Braun grounded
out (first to pitcher); Darwin homered; Oliva grounded out
(first unassisted); Soderholm grounded out (shortstop to first);
1 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 1, Athletics 2.