Haas got his first taste of the big leagues as a 20-year-old rookie with the Brewers in 1976.
Brewers Hold Tigers for Big Win
Brewers 5, Tigers 3
Brewers now 86-60 (1st by 1.5 games)
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DETROIT — The Brewers beat the Tigers 5-3 with Pete Vuckovich on the mound for his 17th win. Must’ve been an easy win, right?
“People are going to look at that score and figure it was an easy win,” manager Harvey Kuenn said after the game. “But it wasn’t.”
Well, alright then. Harvey set me straight.
Really, even though Vuke never seems to lose, no start of his is particularly easy. Today’s game was a shining example. The Tigers had 13 hits and three walks but left 14 on base, going 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.
The biggest bullet was dodged in the bottom of the eighth. With the Brewers hanging on to a 5-3 lead, Vuckovich allowed a one-out single to
Alan Trammell. Jamie Easterly then got the call from the pen and allowed a single to Lou Whitaker. With two on and one down, Dwight Bernard was the third pitcher in three batters and walked Glenn Wilson to load the bases.
After Howard Johnson popped to third, the dangerous Lance Parrish came to the plate. It was Parrish who hit the game winning home run in the 10th inning two nights ago.
“I figured he’d try to jerk it just like the other night,” Bernard said, “and that’s exactly what he did. But it was a curve on the outside corner and he hit it off the end of his bat.”
It may have been off the end of his bat, but Parrish still gave it a ride. The bases loaded blast sent Ben Oglivie to the wall where the ball finally died in his glove for the final out.
The offensive hero of the night was Roy Howell, who had an RBI double in the second to give the Brewers the lead to start and a two-run single in the sixth to give them the lead for good. Both crucial hits were with two outs.
It was another key win as the second place Baltimore Orioles again beat the New York Yankees to remain a game and a half behind the Brewers.
Meanwhile, the Brewers won a potentially important coin flip. In the event of a three-way tie between the Brewers, Red Sox and Orioles, the Brewers would play a game at Boston. The winner would host the Orioles. Since the Red Sox are now 5 1/2 games back, the only tie that is particularly likely is with the Orioles. So this is a big deal.
The Brewers have a day off tomorrow before starting a three game series against the reeling Yankees on September 17 in Milwaukee.
Brewers are Money as Race Heats Up
Brewers 6, Tigers 3
Brewers now 85-60 (1st by 1.5 games)
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DETROIT — The Brewers finally broke a painful three-game losing streak, yet their lead in the AL East still shrunk. That’s the way things are going right now.
Don Money carried the Brewers’ offense, hitting a solo home run in the sixth and a two-run triple in the seventh. Doc Medich and Jim Slaton kept the team in the game by limiting the Tigers to three runs on 10 hits and four walks.
“We needed the win tonight,” a relieved Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “The way we dropped the last couple games this proves to be a big win.”
It could be. It’s nice to see some life after possibly the most agonizing three-game stretch of the season. But even more importantly, the Baltimore Orioles are gaining.
Yes, even when the Brewers win, the Orioles move up. Baltimore swept the Yankees in a double header today, coming from behind late in both games to pull to within 1 1/2 games of the Brewers for the division lead. It is the Crew’s smallest lead since August 6.
Had the Brewers lost today, the lead would have been down to a half game. So was it big? Enormous. But there are 19 games remaining. Can they hold off the Orioles that long, possibly without Rollie Fingers?
The season could very well come down to a four-game show-down in Baltimore, the final regular season series. Stay tuned.
Card of the Day: 1982 Topps Stickers Gorman Thomas
From the underappreciated Topps Stickers set. Gorman shows how to pull a popup in batting practice.
Lead, Season Slipping Away
Tigers 4, Brewers 3 (11)
Brewers now 84-60 (1st by 2.0 games)
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DETROIT — The news coming in from Tiger Stadium kept getting worse and worse.
After Gorman Thomas hit his 35th home run to give the Brewers a 3-2 lead in the top of the 11th inning, Pete Ladd took the mound for the bottom half of the inning.
You know Pete Ladd. He’s the rookie filling in for Rollie Fingers who allowed a home run to Jerry Mumphrey in the 10th inning in New York three days ago to lose to the Yankees.
Well… It happened again. But worse.
This time, Ladd had a lead. This time, he walked Larry Herndon to lead off the inning to bring the winning run to the plate. And then he allowed the home run, this time a two-run shot by Lance Parrish.
The Brewers miss Rollie Fingers. It’s painfully obvious. Three of the team’s last four losses could have been prevented with Fingers on the mound.
A diplomatic Harvey Kuenn understands the impact of Fingers: “He could have made a difference. Anytime you have Rollie in the pen and you’re ahead by one run, you certainly have the edge.”
Then Harvey dropped a bomb: “At this point, we really don’t know if we’ll have him or not. We’ll have to move things around if he doesn’t pitch anymore. He have to have someone pick up the slack.”
WHAT??!! First, Fingers was out for a few days. Then a week. Then another week. Now for possibly the season? What have we seen that tells us the Brewers have anyone who can step up and come even close to picking up the slack?
Jim Slaton? He’s a long reliever. Jamie Easterly? Jerry Augustine? Dwight Bernard? Please, please, PLEASE! Not even close.
Then, the trifecta of bad news. The Baltimore Orioles came from behind to beat the Yankees 8-7 and pull to within two games of the Brewers.
Kuenn tried to stay calm: “All I can say is we have to come back and beat them tomorrow. We still have a two game lead.”
Sure. Now. But without Fingers, does anyone think this team can hold off the Orioles for 19 more games?
I don’t.
Sutton, Bullpen Implode in Painful Loss
Yankees 9, Brewers 8
Brewers now 84-59 (1st by 3.0 games)
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BRONX, NY — Yesterday’s 14-2 loss was considered the worst under manager Harvey Kuenn. Well, maybe it’s now the second worst.
This article could and should have been about how the Brewers hit back-to-back-to-back home runs for the third time this season. That was merely a footnote in this disaster.
The Brewers led the Yankees 8-2 midway through the sixth inning. Don Sutton, who had sparkled in his two prior Brewers appearances, was on the mound. There was no way they were giving away this game.
Unfortunately, it seemed the Brewers’ players were thinking the same thing. After scoring their eighth run in the fourth, they went scoreless on only two hits the rest of the way.
But an offense that scores eight runs gets a pass. Things got a little less comfortable when the Yankees scored three in the sixth to make it 8-5. But the eighth and ninth, innings typically reserved for closer Rollie Fingers with a three run lead, were the source of greatest concern.
Jamie Easterly relieved Sutton in the bottom of the seventh and struck out pinch hitter Lou Piniella to end the inning. The dependable Jim Slaton was warmed up and ready to pitch the eighth. But Kuenn stuck with the not-so-dependable Easterly.
“He was throwing pretty good but was a bit erratic,” Kuenn explained.
Fine. But Graig Nettles led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to make it 8-6. With one down, Easterly walked Barry Evans to bring the tie run to the plate.
Time for a bullpen move? Hello? No?
Bobby Ramos then hit his second career home run to tie the game. In the bottom of the ninth, Jim Slaton finally came into the game and proved that he may not have been a superior option. He loaded the bases before giving up the game winning hit to Roy Smalley.
Clearly, the Brewers missed Rollie Fingers today, who is still out with a slight tear in his forearm and is out for an unknown amount of time. This is not the first time a healthy Rollie Fingers could have been the difference and it is unlikely to be the last.
“I don’t think about not having him,” Kuenn assured us. “Though I wish every day he would come in and tell me he was ready. We have other guys who can get the job done. I am sure of it.”
Well, I’m not so sure, Harvey.
The Orioles also lost so the Brewers remain up three games in the AL East. Tomorrow starts a three game series with the Tigers in Detroit.