1987 ALCS: Game 5

Game 5:

Monday, October 12, 1987 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit, Michigan

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Minnesota	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	9	15	1
Detroit	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	5	9	1
WP: Bert Blyleven (2–0) LP: Doyle Alexander (0–2) SV: Jeff Reardon (2) Home runs: MIN: Tom Brunansky (2) DET: Matt Nokes (1), Chet Lemon (2)

Box Score Info. - (read me)

BATTING

Minnesota Twins              AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Gladden lf                    6   3   3   2       0   0       4   0
Gagne ss                      4   0   2   1       1   0       3   3
Puckett cf                    6   0   2   1       0   1       2   0
Hrbek 1b                      5   1   2   0       0   0      10   0
Gaetti 3b                     4   1   1   0       0   0       2   0
Bush dh                       2   1   0   1       2   0       0   0
Brunansky rf                  5   1   3   3       0   2       3   0
Lombardozzi 2b                4   2   2   0       1   1       0   4
Laudner c                     5   0   0   0       0   2       3   0
Blyleven p                    0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
  Schatzeder p                0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
  Berenguer p                 0   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
  Reardon p                   0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
Totals                       41   9  15   8       4   6      27   9

FIELDING - 
DP: 1. Lombardozzi-Gagne-Hrbek.
E: Gagne (2).

BATTING - 
2B: Gagne 2 (3,off Alexander,off Robinson); Brunansky (4,off Alexander); Gladden
2 (2,off Henneman 2).
HR: Brunansky (2,9th inning off Henneman 0 on 1 out).
SF: Bush (1,off King).
HBP: Gagne (1,by Alexander); Gaetti (1,by King).
Team LOB: 12.

BASERUNNING - 
SB: Bush (3,2nd base off King/Nokes); Puckett (1,2nd base off King/Nokes).

Detroit Tigers               AB   R   H RBI      BB  SO      PO   A
Whitaker 2b                   4   0   0   0       1   1       3   3
Evans 1b                      4   0   0   0       1   0       9   2
Gibson lf                     4   1   3   1       1   0       3   0
Trammell ss                   5   1   1   1       0   0       1   2
Nokes c                       5   1   1   2       0   0       5   0
Lemon cf                      4   1   1   1       0   1       2   0
Grubb dh                      4   0   2   0       0   1       0   0
Sheridan rf                   2   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
Brookens 3b                   2   0   0   0       0   0       1   0
  Bergman ph                  1   0   0   0       0   0       0   0
  Morrison 3b                 1   1   1   0       0   0       1   2
Alexander p                   0   0   0   0       0   0       1   0
  King p                      0   0   0   0       0   0       1   1
  Henneman p                  0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
  Robinson p                  0   0   0   0       0   0       0   1
Totals                       36   5   9   5       3   3      27  13

FIELDING - 
E: Evans (3).

BATTING - 
2B: Gibson (1,off Blyleven).
HR: Nokes (1,4th inning off Blyleven 1 on 0 out); Lemon (2,8th inning off Berenguer
0 on 2 out).
HBP: Sheridan 2 (2,by Blyleven 2).
GDP: Evans (1,off Blyleven).
Team LOB: 9.

BASERUNNING - 
SB: Gibson (3,2nd base off Blyleven/Laudner).

PITCHING

Minnesota Twins              IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP
Blyleven W(2-0)               6     5   3   3   2   3   1  27
Schatzeder                    1     0   0   0   0   0   0   3
Berenguer                     0.2   1   1   1   0   0   1   3
Reardon SV(2)                 1.1   3   1   1   1   0   0   8
Totals                        9     9   5   5   3   3   2  41

WP: Reardon (1).
HBP: Blyleven 2 (2,Sheridan 2).

Detroit Tigers               IP     H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR BFP
Alexander L(0-2)              1.2   6   4   4   1   0   0  12
King                          5     3   1   1   2   4   0  22
Henneman                      2     5   4   4   1   2   1  12
Robinson                      0.1   1   0   0   0   0   0   2
Totals                        9     7   5   3   4   2   2  43

WP: King 2 (2).
HBP: Alexander (1,Gagne); King (1,Gaetti).

Umpires: HP - Mike Reilly, 1B - Jim McKean, 2B - Joe Brinkman, 3B - Durwood Merrill, 
LF - Drew Coble, RF - Al Clark

Time of Game: 3:14   Attendance: 47448

Starting Lineups:

   Minnesota Twins               Detroit Tigers          
1. Gladden             lf        Whitaker            2b
2. Gagne               ss        Evans               1b
3. Puckett             cf        Gibson              lf
4. Hrbek               1b        Trammell            ss
5. Gaetti              3b        Nokes               c
6. Bush                dh        Lemon               cf
7. Brunansky           rf        Grubb               dh
8. Lombardozzi         2b        Sheridan            rf
9. Laudner             c         Brookens            3b
   Blyleven            p         Alexander           p

In what would turn out to be the last postseason game ever played at Tiger Stadium, the Twins would send Blyleven to the mound to face the Tigers' Doyle Alexander.

In the top of the second, Minnesota drew first blood when Tom Brunansky doubled home Gary Gaetti and Randy Bush, but was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a triple. Dan Gladden and Kirby Puckett added RBI base hits of their own to give the Twins a 4–0 lead, and Tigers manager Sparky Anderson replaced Alexander with Eric King.

As they had several times during the series, Detroit cut the Twins' lead down to one run in the bottom of the fourth, when Kirk Gibson scored on an Alan Trammell single and Matt Nokes followed with a two-run homer that scored Trammell. In the top of the seventh, however, the Twins restored their two-run lead when Kent Hrbek singled, moved to second when Gaetti was hit by a pitch, took third on a wild pitch by King, and plated on a sacrifice fly by Bush.

In the eighth, Tiger reliever Mike Henneman, who replaced King in the seventh, allowed a double to Gladden and a walk to Gagne. Puckett then grounded to Henneman, who attempted to initiate a double play. However, first baseman Darrell Evans misplayed the ball for his second error of the series, allowing Gladden to score and make it a 6–3 Minnesota lead. Although Chet Lemon homered for Detroit in the bottom half of the inning to make it 6–4, the Twins decisively stormed ahead in the top of the ninth. Brunansky tattooed his second home run of the postseason, and Gladden and Gagne followed with consecutive RBI doubles off Henneman and Jeff Robinson.

The Twins sent Reardon, who entered the game in the bottom of the eighth, to the hill to close out the series in the bottom of the ninth. Although an RBI single by Gibson scored Jim Morrison, the Minnesota stopper allowed nothing more, as Matt Nokes grounded out to Reardon to end a 9–5 Twins victory and clinch the franchise's first World Series berth since 1965.