Brewers 11, Red Sox 10
Brewers now 39-30 (2nd)
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BOSTON — If the Red Sox didn’t take the Brewers seriously prior to this series, the Brewers have made them and the entire league aware that they are an offensive force to be reckoned with after two games.
Two games, 20 runs and 31 hits for the Brewers. Five home runs by four different players. Clutch hitting.
Sure, the Brewers haven’t been particularly impressive on the mound, allowing 13 runs on 30 hits in those two games. But Harvey’s Wallbangers take advantage of their opportunities. The Brewers are 9-for-22 (.409) with runners in scoring position; the Red Sox are 6-for-21 (.286). It’s been the difference.
Still not impressed? Seven of the Brewers’ runs today were scored with two outs. That’s silly.
Today the home runs came from Ben Oglivie (18), Cecil Cooper (14) and Charlie Moore (3). It was Cooper’s second in as many days. It was Oglivie’s sixth in six days.
Sure, the Crew can’t catch the Red Sox during this four-game series, but they can certainly make their presence known. Two games down, they’ve cut Boston’s lead to three games. Suddenly, life at the top has gotten a bit less comfortable.
Now, it wasn’t all roses today. As has been mentioned, the Brewers’ pitchers have yet to impress in this series. Today it was Moose Haas who got knocked around for six runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. This was following an encouraging outing against the Tigers. Haas has now allowed six or more runs in three of his last four games.
Rollie Fingers wasn’t perfect, but we’re getting greedy when we expect perfection. He’s been close to flawless lately, and he blew a save before letting the Red Sox get back into the game with two runs in the ninth. But he held on.
No matter what happens in the next two games, we are convinced. The Milwaukee Brewers are a new team under Harvey Kuenn. They’ve earned the Harvey’s Wallbangers nickname. They were 23-24 when Kuenn took over. They are 16-6 since with 1,347,338 home runs.
Maybe not that many, but they’ve hit a lot. And they are doing it with a smile on their faces. We fans, too, smile as we watch.
Game Notes: Charlie Moore led the Brewers with three hits and three RBI. Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie and Ed Romero each had two hits … Dwight Bernard allowed two runs in 2/3 of an inning, snapping his scoreless inning streak at 12 2/3 innings.