Brouhard hit .350 with 29 homers for El Paso in 1979, following a .310 and 29 season a year prior. He’s done all he can do in the minors!
Sixth Inning of Hell Leads to Loss
Angels 5, Brewers 2
Brewers now 79-55 (1st by 3.5 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — For the third consecutive game, the mighty Brewers offense managed to score only two runs. Yet the discussion following tonight’s loss focused elsewhere.
The talk was about the shaky and controversial sixth inning with the Angels batting and the Brewers leading 2-1. With Rod Carew on first and no outs, Doug DeCinces hit a grounder right at Jim Gantner for a sure double play. Or so it seemed.
“It should have been a double play,” Gantner admitted after the game. “I just got my hand in the way. It wasn’t a bad hop or anything, I just got my hand in too far and it hit the thumb on my bare hand.”
Gantner was able to get Carew at second, but DeCinces was safe at first.
Then, with the count full and the dangerous Reggie Jackson at the plate, Bob McClure threw a fastball that appeared to paint the outside corner for strike three. Instead, home plate umpire Rich Garcia called it ball four. McClure hopped up and down on the mound while catcher Ted Simmons looked back at Garcia in disbelief.
“Five or six guys came up to me after the game and said they were watching on TV and that it was right there,” McClure complained. “It was a crucial situation and he can’t miss those. I’m not blaming anybody but myself for getting into that situation, but he needs to be better than that.”
The call apparently affected McClure on the mound as Don Baylor then hit another sure double play ball, this time to the pitcher. McClure gloved it and threw to second, but the throw was high and Gantner was only able to get the force out.
With two down (and having had chances for five outs), Juan Beniquez tripled to left to score Carew and Baylor. Bobby Grich then launched a two-run homer for good measure, giving the Angels a 5-2 lead.
“Why is it when you make one stupid mistake, everything seems to fall apart?” Gantnter asked.
While all four of the runs were technically earned, the inning should have ended without a run scored. And had that been the case, the Brewers would have won.
But you can’t focus entirely on bad luck when the typically vaunted offense can’t score more than two runs. They score six or seven and this doesn’t matter.
What does matter is that the Brewers lost and both the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles won. Milwaukee’s lead in the AL East is now down to a much less comfortable 3 1/2 games.
Injury Notes: Rollie Fingers, who left the first game of yesterday’s double header with an injury, has a slight tear in his right forearm. He is expected to be out for at least a week. … Pitcher Moose Haas may miss a start after spraining his right wrist during warmups before the seventh inning yesterday. … Ben Oglivie will be out for at least 48 hours after taking a cortisone shot for bone bruises between his thumb and second fingers on both hands. The injury is caused by the pressure he puts on his hands when swinging.
Brewers Confirm 3 Sent to Houston
MILWAUKEE — On August 30, the Milwaukee Brewers acquired veteran pitcher Don Sutton from the Houston Astros in a blockbuster deal for three unnamed players. No reason was ever given for why the names of those players were not immediately released even though they were known by both clubs. We now know.
Brewers general manager Harry Dalton confirmed that the three heading to Houston are outfielder Kevin Bass and pitchers Frank DiPino and Mike Madden.
All three were players who were held in high regard in the organization. Bass, 23, was viewed as the future heir to right field, the one offensive weakness of this current team. He starred for Vancouver this season, hitting .315 with 17 homers, 65 RBI and 23 stolen bases. On the flip side, he didn’t get a hit in nine at bats for the Brewers and was eventually sent down in favor of Marshall Edwards.
Though the 25-year-old DiPino never played on the Brewers’ roster this season, he actually made two appearances last season, pitching 2 1/3 hittless innings. In his second season with Vancouver, he was solid though unspectacular, going 13-9 with a 4.03 ERA.
The 25-year-old Madden impressed this spring, but he struggled mightily in Vancouver. He went 3-8, entirely as a starter, with an ugly 7.03 ERA and 60 walks in 80 2/3 innings. It was actually his second disappointing season after cruising through two years of A ball.
Will Brewers fans regret giving up any of these players? Only time will tell. But if Sutton can take the team to the playoffs and beyond, these names will be forgotten.
Fingers Hurt, Sutton Debuts in Split
Brewers 2, Indians 1 (Game 1)
Box Score
Indians 4, Brewers 2 (Game 2)
Box Score
Brewers now 79-54 (1st by 4.5 games)
Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — Remember when the season-opening two-game series with the Indians in Milwaukee was snowed out? Well, the Brewers and Indians found a time to play it — today in a doubleheader.
Game 1 brought concern about possibly the team’s best arm. Game 2 brought hope about the new one.
The Brewers scored a run in each the first and third innings of the first game thanks to RBI singles by Ben Oglivie and Gorman Thomas. The team would reach on only two other hits in the game against starter Rick Sutcliffe, but it’s all they would need.
Moose Haas allowed a run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings while Dwight Bernard, Rollie Fingers and Pete Ladd combined to throw 2 2/3 innings of no-hit ball.
Why, you ask, was Fingers mentioned second? Why didn’t the closer finish the game? That’s the concern.
Fingers struck out the side in the eighth, but walked Mike Hargrove to lead off the top of the ninth. After Toby Harrah bunted the runner to second, Fingers threw two pitches to Al Thornton. After the second, he clutched his throwing arm and was done for the game.
Initial reaction was panic. Fingers had already missed some time recently with a sore elbow. Had it gotten worse?
“It’s a muscle in his forearm,” manager Harvey Kuenn assured us. “We’ll know more tomorrow, but it’s nothing serious.”
Certainly a relief, and hopefully Fingers won’t miss any additional time.
Pete Ladd picked up where Fingers left off and struck out the final two batters to end the game.
Game 2 was the much anticipated Brewers debut for Don Sutton, acquired near the deadline from the Houston Astros. Though he wasn’t perfect, Sutton was able to get himself out of trouble through the first eight innings.
The Brewers entered the top of the ninth with a chance to win both games at an identical 2-1 score. After retiring Toby Harrah on a foul pop-up, Thornton and Ron Hassey singled to center to put the go-ahead run on.
Pitching coach Pat Dobson then paid a visit to the mound to talk to Sutton. To the delight of the Brewers faithful, who roared with approval, Sutton was left in to face the dangerous Von Hayes.
Hayes promptly hit a three-run home run and the Brewers weren’t able to recover.
“I’d have to say that the response and reception I received tonight had to be one of my biggest thrills in baseball,” Sutton said after the game. “I was nervous to pitch and each time I went out they made me feel twice as good.
“I wish I could have given them a ninth inning finish that merited the response.”
It’s okay, Don. You dazzled for eight innings. We saw glimmers of what is to come.
To be frank, the Crew was lucky to win one game after combining for four runs on 12 hits in the two games. It was not a performance befitting the nickname “Harvey’s Wallbangers.”
The Brewers remain 4 1/2 games up on the Red Sox and next host the California Angels for a three game series beginning tomorrow.
Card of the Day: 1982 Topps Jamie Easterly
After a rough run with the Braves, Easterly enjoyed the best season of his career a year ago with the Brewers.
Doc a Band-Aid for Pitching Woes
Brewers 7, Mariners 3
Brewers now 78-53 (1st by 4.5 games)
Box Score | Season Schedule
MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers acquired veteran pitcher Don Sutton from the Houston Astros because their pitching wasn’t good enough. Don’t tell that to Doc Medich.
Medich, you’ll recall, was purchased from the Rangers last month with the expectation of him becoming the team’s fifth starter. Now that Sutton is on the roster, the only reason Medich is getting a start is because the team has a double header tomorrow with the Indians and an extra starter is needed.
Medich, of course, keeps pitching better than adequately. Tonight he went eight innings, allowing three runs on only five hits, walking five and striking out seven. The win improved his record on the season to 10-11 and with the Brewers to 3-0.
“He pitched a good game tonight,” manager Harvey Kuenn said of Doc’s performance. “A little erratic and seemed to not get his rhythm. He was behind a lot of the hitters, but when he had to make a good pitch, he did.”
That kind of sounded like the description of a typical performance of teammate, team ace and potential Cy Young Candidate Pete Vuckovich, doesn’t it? Gets himself into trouble. Makes the pitches when he needs to.
Okay, Medich is no Pete Vuckovich. But the fact that he’s the team’s sixth starter and is available in case of emergency is a very safe feeling for these Brewers. The additions of Medich and Sutton could, if you’ll pardon the medical puns, cure the team’s pitching woes down the stretch.
The offense, of course, will continue to be just fine. The top of the order (Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper) went a combined 4-for-8 with three walks, four runs scored and six RBI. Molitor hit his 14th and Cooper his 27th home run of the season.
Both the Red Sox and Orioles won as well, so the Brewers remained up 4 1/2 and 5 games up, respectively.