Aug. 30, 1963 - The Minnesota Twins went on a record-breaking home run binge yesterday as they belted 12 in an overwhelming sweep of the lowly Washington Senators, 14-2 and 10-1, at D.C. Stadium. Harmon Killebrew (pictured) led the Twins with three homers, including two in the opener, as the club tied a major league mark for one game with eight. Vic Power also connected twice in the first game. Jim Hall and Bernie Allen had one in each game. Minnesota’s other home run hitters were Bob Allison, Rich Rollins, and Zoilo Versalles. Killebrew, Allison, and Hall were familiar names in the 12-homer explosion, but the name of Bernie Allen has returned from the oblivion of the bench to a prominent position in the Twins’ drive for second place in the American League. “Bernie looks as good now as he looked last year,” said Twins manager Sam Mele, “both at second and at bat. He kept himself ready, and when he got the chance he made use of it. A lot of players might have given it up as a bad year.” Since Bernie returned to the lineup Aug. 21, he has a .436 average. “The biggest thing is I’m relaxed,” said Bernie. “I’m not thinking of anything. When I see a pitch I like, I swing. When I was in that slump in June, I was trying too hard. I got so tired, I couldn’t move.” Would Bernie second-guess Mele for benching him for two months? “No,” said Bernie flatly. “I could not second-guess Sam. He did the only thing he could. He took me out, and two guys [Johnny Goryl and Vic Power] got hot, one after the other.” In addition to matching the one-game record for homers, the Twins set major league homer marks for three consecutive games (15) and for four (17). Minnesota, leading the majors with 186 homers this year, battered Washington pitchers for 35 hits yesterday.
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