Brewers 1982

Covering the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the 1982 season, in real-time, as it would have happpened.

Harvey’s Wallbangers Return in 7-4 Win

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Brewers 7, Blue Jays 4
Brewers now 60-44 (1st by 1 game)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Rollie Fingers
Rollie Fingers shut the door with three nearly perfect innings.

TORONTO — The Brewers have scuffled of late, winning only six of their last 15 games coming into today. They needed an old fashioned “Harvey’s Wallbangers” revival. They got it.

Milwaukee got off to a quick start in the first inning as Robin Yount singled home Paul Molitor and Cecil Cooper homered off the right field foul pole for his 21st of the season to make it 3-0.

“I finally hit a ball hard,” Cooper, who had the top part of his right shoe cut off to relieve pressure on his ailing big right toe, said after the game. Coop isn’t the only one who has struggled with the bat of late.

This is a team, not too long ago, that was ahead of the record-setting pace of the 1961 New York Yankees for most home runs in a season. Entering today’s game, though, the Brewers had smacked only two long balls during the previous seven games. That changed today.

Following a 61-minute rain delay in the bottom of the first inning, Pete Vuckovich kept the Blue Jays scoreless for the first three innings. In the bottom of the third, catcher Ted Simmons launched his 16th home run of the season to make it 4-0 Brewers. Then Jim Gantner and Paul Molitor hit back to back RBI singles in the fourth to knock Jim Clancy from the game and make it a 6-0 Brewers lead.

Things got a little sticky for Vuke in the bottom of the fourth when the Blue Jays reached on five consecutive singles to make it a 6-3 game. Vuke survived, though, and was solid the rest of the way.

Paul Molitor capped the Brewers’ scoring in the top of the 7th with a solo home run to make it 7-3, and Blue Jay Ernie Whitt added one more Toronto run with a solo homer of his own in the bottom of the inning.

If it seems like Whitt has given Vuckovich trouble this season, you’re right. In 138 1/3 innings this season, Vuke has allowed only four home runs, but two of them were to Whitt. “He’s like Babe Ruth against me,” Vuckovich laughed.

Vuke was able to laugh because the Brewers held on for a full-team win. Closer Rollie Fingers took the mound in the 7th and pitched three scoreless innings, allowing only a bunt single, to collect his 24th save of the season, requiring only 29 pitches to do it.

Now that the Brewers are once again combining home run power with solid pitching, are Harvey’s Wallbangers back? “I hope it stays this way for the next month,” Kuenn said. “It kind of reminded me of June and July [when everything went right].”

The Red Sox split a double header with the Orioles, giving the Brewers a one game lead in the AL East.

Game Notes: Vuckovich had to be removed after the sixth inning because he was fatigued due to an 11-inning start against the Indians last time out.

Blue Jays Bully Brewers

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Blue Jays 9, Brewers 4
Brewers now 59-44 (1st-Tied)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Bob McClure
Bob McClure's day was over in a hurry.

TORONTO — The Blue Jays entered today’s game in last place and 10 1/2 games back in the AL East. But they sure didn’t play like it.

And to be fair, they haven’t played like it at all lately. They are 12-6 since the All-Star break. After a first inning unearned run, Dave Stieb toyed with Brewers batters until Don Money hit a solo homer in the eighth and two desperation runs were scored with two outs in the ninth.

Bob McClure was not nearly as good for the Brewers. He allowed three runs on a double, triple, two singles and a walk in the first inning. The next two batters reached in the second, and McClure’s day was quickly over.

“Bobby just didn’t have it today,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel after the game. “He had no location and was high with all his pitches.”

Jerry Augustine and Randy Lerch, making his first relief appearance since being removed from the rotation, weren’t much better. They combined to allow five more runs in six innings to put the Brewers in a 8-1 fifth inning hole.

Former Brewer Buck Martinez was also a thorn in his old team’s side. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, driving in two for the Blue Jays.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun to beat these guys,” Martinez said about his last place team beating the first place team.

The Red Sox beat the Orioles 5-2 to to pull back into a first place tie with the Brewers in the AL East.

Game Notes: Cecil Cooper left the game in the fourth with a sore big right toe after being stepped on by Garth Iorg. … Robin Yount had a routine day off. Rob Picciolo got the start at shortstop and went 1-for-4.

Offense Reappears, Brewers and Indians Split

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Indians 4, Brewers 1 (Game 1)
Box Score
Brewers 7, Indians 2 (Game 2)
Box Score
Brewers now 59-43 (1 game up)
Season Sechedule

Don Money
Don Money led the offensive attack in the second game to help the Brewers get a split.

MILWAUKEE — After the first game of today’s double header with the Cleveland Indians, Brewers fans were starting to wonder if the second game would be worth watching. Luckily, it was.

The first game was an example of something we’ve seen far too often lately. It was either poor hitting or dominant pitching, but given the consistency in that department lately, you’ve got to point the finger at the offense. This is a team that was routinely scoring seven runs or more a couple of weeks ago. Through today’s first game, the Brewers had scored four runs or fewer in 10 of the last 13 games.

And Game 1 today was painful. The immortal Ed Whitson held the Brewers to one run on three hits through six innings. He retired the Brewers in order three times. Then future first ballot Hall of Famer Dan Spillner took the hill and retired nine of the 10 batters he faced.

That’s sarcasm. Whitson and Spillner are capable pitchers, sure. But this is ridiculous.

In between games, manager Harvey Kuenn remarked about his Wallbangers: “Looks like our bats are on vacation.” No kidding.

The Brewers put down their margaritas for Game 2 and the bats came alive, pounding out seven runs on 12 hits. Gorman Thomas led the way with three hits and two RBI while Don Money had two big hits and drove in three.

Early, however, it looked like this game would be a painful continuation of the first. Rookie Bud Anderson cruised through the first three innings, allowing only one hit to the Brewers. But then the Crew reached on four straight singles (where are the home runs?) to score four runs and knock Anderson from the game. They then tacked on three more in the fifth on RBI hits by Cecil Cooper and Money.

Of course, as tends to be the case, it wasn’t just hitting that won this game. Jim Slaton allowed only two runs through seven innings before giving way to Dwight Bernard, who pitched two perfect frames.

“Everybody contributed just like we used to,” Kuenn said after the second game. “Hopefully this shows we are back on track.”

If so, the AL East is in trouble. Despite the Brewers’ recent struggles, they are now one game up on the Red Sox, who fell to Chicago today.

Game Notes: Robin Yount‘s hitting streak came to an end at 13 games in the first game when he went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Indians Throw Away Game to Brewers

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Brewers 4, Indians 2
Brewers now 58-42 (1st by .5 game over Boston)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Mike Caldwell
Mike Caldwell recovered from a rough first inning to dominate the Indians.

MILWAUKEE — This was one of those games that the Brewers didn’t deserve to win. But if you want to get technical, the Cleveland Indians deserved to win it even less.

It was both American Legion Day and Wisconsin Tavern League Day, and in the bottom of the first inning the Indians would play defense like a bunch of drunk teenagers. But we’ll get to that.

With one down in the top of the first, Toby Harrah and Mike Hargrove hit back-to-back home runs off of Brewers starter Mike Caldwell to give the Indians an early 2-0 lead. The Indians had already hit six home runs off of the Brewers in two-plus games while “Harvey’s Wallbangers” had yet to hit one. It didn’t look good.

But then one of the most ridiculous half innings in recent memory happened. After Gorman Thomas singled in Paul Molitor to make it a 2-1 game, Ben Oglivie hit a liner right at second baseman Larry Milbourne with Robin Yount at third and Thomas at first. Thomas ventured a little too far off of first, and Milbourne fired over in an attempt to turn the inning ending double play. Instead…

What happened next could easily be written in the longest run-on sentence in the history of the English language. But instead, I’ll break it down as succinctly as possible:

1) Milbourne’s throw sailed wide and off of Hargrove’s glove at first.
2) Hargrove and Thomas collided and fell to the ground.
3) Yount took off for home plate.
4) Hargrove de-tangled himself from Gorman Thomas, picked up the ball and fired it home. That ball sailed over a divin Robin Yount and catcher Chris Bando‘s glove.
5) Thomas took off for second, and when the Indians were slow to track down the errant throw, he headed for third.
6) Bando found the ball, fired towards third base and into left field.
7) Gorman Thomas scored.

Three errors on one play that led to two runs. It was a play you’ll typically only see in youth league baseball.

While it was a lead the Brewers would not relinquish, the win could ultimately be attributed to their pitching. The only additional run scored in this game was on a Gorman Thomas double play ball in the third. After a shaky first inning in which he allowed two runs on three hits, Mike Caldwell settled down to dominate the Indians through the eighth. He’d shut out Cleveland for the next seven innings, allowing only two hits. Then Rollie Fingers took the mound to throw a perfect ninth for his 23rd save.

The win moved the Brewers back into first place, a half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox, who fell 7-5 to the White Sox.