Brewers 7, Royals 4
Brewers now 55-38 (1st)
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KANSAS CITY — After missing some time with an injured hand, ace Pete Vuckovich returned to the mound today against the Royals. It didn’t start out pretty for Vuke, but then again his starts rarely are a thing of beauty. He just wins.
The Brewers took a first inning lead on a two-run home run by Cecil Cooper, his 20th of the season. Vuckovich gave a run back in the first following a leadoff triple by Willie Wilson and a sacrifice fly by UL Washington. The Brewers extended their lead to 4-1 in the 2nd after a series of singles, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. But the Royals tied it back up when they scored three more runs on Vuke on four hits, a walk and an error.
Cecil Cooper made it 5-4 in the third on a comebacker to the mound that scored Yount, and then both offenses remained silent until the ninth. At that point, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount took matters into their own hands, knocking in two more runs to give Vuke a little more cushion.
Vuckovich won, pitching a complete game and allowing three earned runs on 10 hits. He improved to 11-4 on the season.
Game Notes: The Red Sox lost, thereby increasing the Brewers’ lead in the AL East to a game and a half. … Robin Yount lined a single off of rookie pitcher Derek Botelho in the third, knocking him from the game. … Brewers hitters are hot. During the last 19 games, Robin Yount is hitting .430; Jim Gantner is hitting .549 over his last 17 games; Ted Simmons is hitting .408 over his last 12 games; and Don Money is hitting .464 over his last eight games.