The Twins knocked Kansas City out of first place in the A.L. West, downing the Royals, 6-2. Minnesota trailed, 2-1, when Ron Washington drew a one-out walk in the fifth inning, stole second and came in on Gary Ward's triple. Dave Engle, who had hit a solo homer in the third, then stroked a sacrifice fly. The Twins scored in the seventh and eighth on sacrifice flies by Mickey Hatcher and Butch Wynegar, and Glenn Adams doubled home a ninth-inning run. [The Sporting News]



Minnesota Twins 6, Kansas City Royals 2
Game Played on Wednesday, September 23, 1981 (Night game) at Royals Stadium
Twins        1  0  0    0  2  0    1  1  1  -   6 11  0
Royals       0  0  0    2  0  0    0  0  0  -   2  7  1


Twins                AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG      Royals               AB   R   H RBI    BB  SO    AVG
Ward lf               5   3   3   1     0   1   .268      Wilson lf             4   0   1   0     0   0   .295
Engle rf              4   1   2   2     0   0   .245      White 2b              4   0   0   0     0   0   .244
Hatcher cf            4   0   0   1     0   0   .260      G. Brett 3b           3   1   2   0     1   0   .302
Smalley dh            2   0   0   0     1   0   .266        Mulliniks 3b        0   0   0   0     0   0   .238
  Adams ph,dh         2   0   1   1     0   0   .207      Aikens 1b             4   1   1   2     0   0   .255
Castino 2b            4   1   2   0     1   0   .264      Otis cf               3   0   0   0     1   1   .262
Gaetti 3b             4   0   1   0     0   0   .200      McRae dh              4   0   2   0     0   0   .261
Wynegar c             3   0   1   1     0   0   .267      Wathan c              2   0   0   0     1   1   .250
Mackanin 1b           3   0   1   0     0   1   .223        Quirk ph            1   0   0   0     0   1   .247
  Corcoran 1b         1   0   0   0     0   1   .146      Hurdle rf             4   0   0   0     0   0   .298
Washington ss         3   1   0   0     1   1   .222      Washington ss         3   0   1   0     0   0   .221
Redfern p             0   0   0   0     0   0   .000      Jones p               0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
  Corbett p           0   0   0   0     0   0   .000        Martin p            0   0   0   0     0   0   .000
                                                            K. Brett p          0   0   0   0     0   0   .000

Totals               35   6  11   6     3   4             Totals               32   2   7   2     3   3

Time of Game: 2:42   Attendance: 19,457
Left on Base: Twins 8, Royals 6
DP: Twins 1, Royals 0
Errors: Wilson
Doubles: Ward (5), Adams (9)
Triples: Ward (5)
Home Runs: Engle (3), Aikens (16)
Stolen Bases: Washington (3), Wilson (30)
Caught Stealing: McRae (4)
Sacrifice Flies: Engle (2), Hatcher (3), Wynegar (3)
GIDP: McRae (8)


Twins                  IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Redfern W(7-8)          7     6   2   2   3   2   1  28   4.26
Corbett SV(15)          2     1   0   0   0   1   0   7   2.51
Totals                  9     7   2   2   3   3   1  35

Royals                 IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP    ERA
Jones L(5-2)            6.1   6   4   4   3   3   1  28   2.73
Martin                  1     3   1   0   0   0   0   6   2.72
K. Brett                1.2   2   1   1   0   1   0   7   4.15
Totals                  9    11   6   5   3   4   1  41

Umpires: HP - John Shulock, 1B - Terry Cooney, 2B - Rocky Roe, 3B - Vic Voltaggio


TWINS 1ST: Ward struck out; Engle homered; Hatcher made an out
to shortstop; Smalley walked; Castino lined to right; 1 R, 1 H,
0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 1, Royals 0.

ROYALS 1ST: Wilson singled to center; White lined to center;
Wilson stole second; G. Brett walked; Aikens flied out to
center; Otis struck out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 2 LOB.  Twins 1, Royals
0.

TWINS 2ND: Gaetti flied out to right; Wynegar popped to third in
foul territory; Mackanin singled to center; Washington struck
out; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 1, Royals 0.

ROYALS 2ND: McRae singled to center; Wathan struck out; McRae
was caught stealing second (catcher to second); Hurdle flied out
to center; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 1, Royals 0.

TWINS 3RD: Ward made an out to second; Engle lined to center;
Hatcher grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Twins 1, Royals 0.

ROYALS 3RD: Washington grounded out (third to first); Wilson
lined to right; White flied out to center; 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
 Twins 1, Royals 0.

TWINS 4TH: Smalley flied out to left; Castino walked; Gaetti
flied out to left; Wynegar forced Castino (shortstop to second);
0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 1, Royals 0.

ROYALS 4TH: G. Brett singled to center; Aikens homered [G. Brett
scored]; On a bunt Otis made an out to catcher; McRae made an
out to second; Wathan walked; Hurdle forced Wathan (third to
second); 2 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 1, Royals 2.

TWINS 5TH: Mackanin lined to third; Washington walked;
Washington stole second; Ward tripled to right [Washington
scored]; Engle hit a sacrifice fly to left [Ward scored];
Hatcher grounded out (third to first); 2 R, 1 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Twins 3, Royals 2.

ROYALS 5TH: Washington grounded out (pitcher to first); Wilson
grounded out (third to first); White flied out to left; 0 R, 0
H, 0 E, 0 LOB.  Twins 3, Royals 2.

TWINS 6TH: Smalley lined to left; Castino singled to left;
Gaetti forced Castino (shortstop to second); Wynegar singled to
left [Gaetti to second]; Mackanin struck out; 0 R, 2 H, 0 E, 2
LOB.  Twins 3, Royals 2.

ROYALS 6TH: G. Brett singled to left; Aikens forced G. Brett
(shortstop unassisted); Otis walked [Aikens to second]; McRae
grounded into a double play (shortstop to second to first) [Otis
out at second]; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 3, Royals 2.

TWINS 7TH: Washington flied out to center; Ward singled to
center; MARTIN REPLACED JONES (PITCHING); Engle singled to
center [Ward to third]; Hatcher hit a sacrifice fly to left
[Ward scored]; ADAMS BATTED FOR SMALLEY; Adams grounded out
(first unassisted); 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 4, Royals 2.

ROYALS 7TH: ADAMS STAYED IN GAME (PLAYING DH); CORCORAN REPLACED
MACKANIN (PLAYING 1B); Wathan grounded out (third to first);
Hurdle made an out to third; Washington singled to left; Wilson
flied out to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 4, Royals 2.

TWINS 8TH: Castino singled to right; Gaetti singled to left
[Castino to third (error by Wilson)]; Wynegar hit a sacrifice
fly to right [Castino scored (unearned)]; K. BRETT REPLACED
MARTIN (PITCHING); Corcoran was called out on strikes;
Washington grounded out (pitcher to first); 1 R (0 ER), 2 H, 1
E, 1 LOB.  Twins 5, Royals 2.

ROYALS 8TH: CORBETT REPLACED REDFERN (PITCHING); White grounded
out (third to first); G. Brett grounded out (second to first);
Aikens grounded out (second to first); 0 R, 0 H, 0 E, 0 LOB.
Twins 5, Royals 2.

TWINS 9TH: MULLINIKS REPLACED G. BRETT (PLAYING 3B); Ward
doubled to right; Engle grounded out (third to first); Hatcher
grounded out (third to first); Adams doubled to right [Ward
scored]; Castino flied out to right; 1 R, 2 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.
Twins 6, Royals 2.

ROYALS 9TH: Otis grounded out (second to first); McRae singled
to right; QUIRK BATTED FOR WATHAN; Quirk struck out; Hurdle
lined to right; 0 R, 1 H, 0 E, 1 LOB.  Twins 6, Royals 2.