After a brief start with the Royals, McClure has been a mainstay on the Brewers’ pitching staff, both in the rotation and in the bullpen.
Brewers Blown Out in The Bronx
Yankees 14, Brewers 2
Brewers now 84-58 (1st by 3.0 games)
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BRONX, NY — This is one of those games you don’t want to spend too much time on, so I won’t. Or I’ll at least focus on the negatives. Well, there are no positives.
The Brewers played like garbage from start to finish. Doc Medich, who has surprised many by pitching like an acceptable big leaguer, showed his true colors tonight. He couldn’t get an out in the second, allowing seven runs on five hits and two walks.
Sad.
Jerry Augustine, who was DFA’d and brought back but hasn’t pitched for the Brewers since August 17, reminded us why he was let go in the first place. He allowed three runs on four hits in three innings.
Sad.
Jamie Easterly, making his first appearance since July 7, highlighted what we didn’t miss: two runs on five hits in two innings.
Sad.
Dave Righetti pitched a complete game for the Yankees, allowing only five hits. His lone slip-up was a two-run homer by Mark Brouhard in the sixth after the regulars were pulled from the game.
It was a sad, sad display.
“This is a tough loss to swallow,” manager Harvey Kuenn said after the game, “but it happens to everybody. You have to swallow it and move on.”
Maybe, but while this is merely a blip on the radar for the offense, this Rollie Fingers-less bullpen is what is of grave concern to Brewers fans. Fingers was seen lobbing the ball in the bullpen before the game, but he still hasn’t thrown since September 2.
The longer Fingers is out, the more likely a repeat of this pitching disaster is to repeat itself.
And oh, by the way, the Baltimore Orioles won today to pull to within three games of the Brewers in the AL East. Move on? Maybe. But Brewers fans are approaching panic mode.
Brewers Win with Moore Offense
Brewers 5, Yankees 3
Brewers now 84-57 (1st by 4.0 games)
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BRONX, NY — Two words: Charlie Moore.
The Brewers struck first on this day with a run in the top of the opening inning, but things turned ugly quickly in the bottom of the frame. The first three Yankees reached base to load the bases. Mike Caldwell was lucky to allow only two runs.
But then… Charlie Moore.
Following two scoreless innings for both teams, Moore launched a solo home run to tie the game in the fourth. It remained that way until Jerry Mumphrey drove in a run with a double to right in the fifth to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
And then… Charlie Moore.
With runners at the corners in the sixth, Moore hit a drive to center that was deep enough to score Gorman Thomas and once again tie the game at three. It remained that way until the eighth.
And finally… Charlie Moore
With runners at the corners again, Moore hit a high chopper over third baseman Roy Smalley‘s head to score Don Money and knock starter Ron Guidry from the game.
“I looked into the dugout on my way to the plate,” Moore explained, “and they were calling for Smalley to come in. So, I drove straight into the ground and it got over his head. Had he been playing at normal depth that may have been a double play ball.”
Moore has gone 5-for-7 in the two games in New York to raise his average from .237 to .246. “It’s fun to find your hitting stroke in the middle of a pennant race,” Moore laughed.
Ned Yost would drive in one more that inning, but the Brewers had all the runs they needed.
Why? The unheralded hero in this game and this Brewers’ season, Mike Caldwell. After a rocky first in which he allowed two runs and threw 25 pitches, Caldwell would need only 75 more pitches to complete the game.
It was Caldwell’s 10th complete game of the season and he’s won eight of his last nine decisions to improve to 15-11.
The Brewers maintained a four game lead over the Baltimore Orioles, who also won, though they extended their lead over the Boston Red Sox to six.
Card of the Day: 1982 Fleer Jim Gantner
Another classic batting practice shot from Fleer. The light-hitting Gantner appears to be flexing for the camera in an attempt to show off his very average-sized muscles.
Brewers Lose Game of Inches in 10
Yankees 5, Brewers 4 (10)
Brewers now 83-57 (1st by 4.0 games)
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BRONX, NY — This was a game of inches. Or feet. Either way, they didn’t go in the Brewers’ favor in the opening game of a four-game series with the Yankees.
In the third inning, the Yankees took a 4-0 lead. But it could have just as easily remained scoreless.
With one down and two on, Ken Griffey hit a pop-up to left. Robin Yount headed out and Ben Oglivie crashed in, but it fell in between them for a two-run double. Then Dave Winfield blasted a two-run homer off of the right field foul pole.
“Give me three feet,” general manager Harry Dalton said after the game, “and we are out of that inning with no runs.”
Even so, the Brewers didn’t give up.
Down 4-0 with two outs in the top of the eighth, Gorman Thomas cashed in on his own luck with a squib base hit off the end of his bat that scored a run. Then Ben Oglivie threw luck out the window with a monstrous three-run homer to tie the game.
Pete Vuckovich threw for the first nine innings, and other than the third was excellent. When he ran out of steam, Pete Ladd relieved him in the 10th. With one out, Jerry Mumphrey launched a 1-1 pitch into the bleachers in right center for the game winner.
“I didn’t think it was a home run at first,” lamented Ladd. “Then it carried, then I thought Thomas had a shot at it and then it went out.”
Of course, Ladd likely would not have been in that position if not for the injury to closer Rollie Fingers. Out with a slight tear in his pitching forearm, Fingers is expected to be out at least another week.
“I know the sun will come up tomorrow,” Ladd said. “Fingers came right up to me and said not to worry as it has happened to him 25 times.”
Maybe. But that doesn’t keep Brewers fans from worrying.
Brewers Make Most of Hits
Brewers 9, Tigers 7
Brewers now 83-56 (1st by 4.0 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — Yesterday, the Brewers dominated the Tigers with the suffocating pitching of Don Sutton. Tonight, well… They just found a way to win.
It wasn’t pretty. The Tigers outhit the Brewers 17-10. They had five extra base hits to only three for the Brewers.
“We scattered 17 hits very nicely tonight,” manager Harvey Kuenn joked to the Milwaukee Sentinel. “We just outscored them. It isn’t exactly what you’d call a well played ballgame. But you are going to play some of these and win them. This was a big win for us.”
When the Tigers started the game with two runs in the first, the Brewers responded with four, thanks largely to a three-run home run by Cecil Cooper before an out was made.
The Tigers tacked on a couple more in the top of the third on a double by Enos Cabell, and the Brewers fought back with three of their own. Take a jab, connect on two uppercuts.
It happened again in the fifth when the Tigers started with two runs on hits by Lance Parrish and Jim Turner. The Brewers countered with two of their own in the bottom of the inning, one on a two-out squeeze single by Charlie Moore and another on a hit up the middle by Ed Romero.
That’s the way it was all night long. The Tigers didn’t have much trouble scoring on Brewers pitching, but they simply couldn’t keep up. Bob McClure, staked to a 7-3 lead in the fourth, was unable to survive the fifth to get the win. Moose Haas, who moved to the bullpen to make room for Don Sutton in the rotation, allowed two runs in five innings of relief.
Of course, it was Haas who pitched the final two innings because Rollie Fingers is still nursing a slight tear in his forearm. He was originally expected to be out a week, but after an evaluation today it looks like he’ll be out another week.
Fingers says his arm feels a little better, but there is still pain when he throws. When will he return? “Your guess is as good as mine,” Fingers said.
The Baltimore Orioles and Boston Red Sox, second and third in the AL East, both lost and fell to 4 and 5 1/2 games back respectively. The Orioles have won 17 of 19, yet gained only 2 1/2 games on the Brewers who finished up a solid homestand.
Next up is a four-game series in New York.