For whatever reason, Donruss made cards for two team coaches in 1982. That turned out to be a good thing this year, don’t you think?
Thornton Slam Erases Vuke’s Gem
Indians 5, Brewers 1 (12)
Brewers now 57-41 (2nd)
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MILWAUKEE — For 11 innings, Brewers starter Pete Vuckovich did all he could to win today’s game. He allowed only a single run on 10 hits and three walks. He threw 140 pitches. He threw his heart and soul. And all he needed was two runs from his heavy hitting teammates.
It shouldn’t have been difficult. The opposing starting pitcher was Len Barker, who had a career record of 1-6 against the Brewers. And knowing how easily Harvey’s Wallbangers typically score runs, Vuke’s effort should have been more than enough.
Instead, Barker matched him pitch for pitch through 10 innings. Like Vuckovich, he allowed only a single run before giving way to the bullpen in the 11th inning.
Unlike Vuckovich’s bullpen, Barker’s did the job. Closer Rollie Fingers had the day off, so the ball instead fell into the reliable hand of Jim Slaton. Normally reliable, at least.
This time, Slaton ran into immediate trouble. Jack Perconte led off with a single to right. Miguel Dilone bunted him to second. Slaton threw a wild pitch. Toby Harrah walked. Mike Hargrove walked to load the bases. And then Andre Thornton blasted an 0-1 pitch into the left field seats for a grand slam.
A grand slam. Really? Vuke goes 11 innings, allowing only a single run. And Slaton gives up four runs before he can get two outs?
“It was just one of those nights,” manager Harvey Kuenn explained afterwards. “Jimmy didn’t have hits best stuff.” No kidding.
That’s just how it rolls sometimes, I guess. And while it’s convenient to blame Slaton, we shouldn’t forget the offense that could score only a run through 12 innings. They also had their opportunities.
They had runners at first and second in the second inning, but Marshall Edwards lined to short. Runners at second and third with one out in the third, but Cecil Cooper popped out and Ted Simmons struck out. Bases loaded in the 11th, but Paul Molitor popped to right.
So the offense certainly deserves some blame. In fact, you can blame everyone for this loss. Everyone, that is, other than Vuckovich.
For the longest stretch under Kuenn, it was as if this team could not lose. And if they did lose, four wins would immediately follow. Now, however, they’re in the midst of a 4-6 stretch. It’s a stretch that would seem normal for any other team. But one that is hard to comprehend for this team that was unbeatable a short while ago.
“You can’t expect to play .700 baseball throughout the whole year,” Kuenn said.
He’s right. But the loss coupled with Boston’s win over the White Sox dropped the Brewers to second place, a half game back of the AL East lead.
Rangers Bobble Game to Brewers
Brewers 3, Rangers 2
Brewers are now 57-40 (1st)
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ARLINGTON, Tex. — This was one of those games that the Brewers may not have deserved to win. But the Rangers certainly deserved to lose.
The good fortune started for the Brewers with two outs in the first inning. Rangers pitcher Frank Tanana induced a Ted Simmons ground ball to third base that should have ended the inning. Instead, Buddy Bell bobbled the ball, Simmons was safe at first and Robin Yount scored.
After Gorman Thomas doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs, Ben Oglivie hit another ground ball that should have ended the inning. This time, rookie first baseman Dave Hostetler bobbled it, Oglivie reached and Simmons scored.
Frank Tanana dominated the Brewers. He pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run on five hits. But his defense committed four errors, largely contributing to the loss.
Of course, the Brewers wouldn’t have won on three runs scored without some solid pitching. Bob McClure allowed only two runs in seven innings and was pulled after his left forearm stiffened up. In the fifth inning, Ranger George Wright hit a liner off of McClure, leading to his early removal.
Rollie Fingers, though, was perfect. The game’s top closer pitched two scoreless innings without allowing a baserunner for his 22nd save.
“Bobby [McClure] pitched well tonight,” said manager Harvey Kuenn after the game. “But the highlight of the night was Rollie’s pitch to Bell. It started out as a forkball, and end up as, well, you know…”
Rollie’s pitch was the talk of the clubhouse. With Buddy Bell at the plate to lead off the inning, Fingers threw a pitch to his first batter. As Harvey said, it was meant to be a forkball. Instead, it sailed well behind Bell’s back and to the Brewers’ dugout. It finally came to a stop in front of Pete Vuckovich.
“That is my ‘I don’t really want to throw this pitch anyway’ pitch,” Fingers said with a sly grin.
The Brewers could laugh about the pitch and their overall subpar play because they won the game to take two of three in the series. Meanwhile, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 9-7 to remain a half game out in the AL East.
Card of the Day: 1982 Topps Jim Gantner
Gantner is the scrappy, less flashy, underappreciated player of a vaunted infield featuring Cooper, Yount, and Molitor, but he remains plenty valuable.
Stormin’ Gorman Socks Two
Brewers 8, Rangers 2
Brewers now 56-40 (1st)
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ARLINGTON, Tex. — Gorman Thomas entered today’s game with five hits in 19 at bats on the road trip and 12 for his last 69. He had one home run dating back to July 15.
Today, Gorman was the hero in an 8-2 Brewers win. In the fourth inning, he pasted a 1-1 pitch off of Rick Honeycutt into the left field bleachers between two fan-made Brewers signs for a three-run homer to give the Crew a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, he slugged another Honeycutt offering just over Lee Mazzilli‘s glove for a two-run homer to make it a 5-1 game. The home run gave him the American League lead with 25.
“It was a fastball over the plate and the wind was blowing out,” Thomas told the Milwaukee Sentinel about his second home run. “Tonight was my night but on this team, tomorrow could belong to someone else.”
The next time Thomas strolled to the plate in the eighth, he was struck by a Dan Boitano fastball up around his elbow. Gorman, clearly fumed, glared at Boitano as he slowly walked to first.
In the eighth, reliever Pete Ladd threw a pitch up and in on Buddy Bell that sent him to the deck, and umpire Rich Garcia warned both benches. Was it retaliation? Ladd says no, though he did say Boitano should have been throwing strikes with the game out of hand at 7-1.
Moose Haas, on the other hand, did throw strikes. He allowed one run on seven hits and no walks through seven innings. He came out of the game after his left forearm stiffened up thanks to a fifth inning liner by George Wright. Haas is not expected to miss any time.
The best news of the night is that the Red Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1, meaning that the Brewers are once again a half game up in the AL East. They look to extend that lead in the rubber match with the Rangers tomorrow.
Brewers Baffled by Knuckleball
Rangers 3, Brewers 1
Brewers now 55-40 (2nd)
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ARLINGTON, Tex. — Last time the Brewers met knuckleballer Charlie Hough, the Rangers pitcher was knocked around and out in the third inning. Today… Well, today was a different story, as Hough led the Rangers to a 4-1 win.
The secret? He had less movement on his knuckler.
“If it’s really moving,” Hough explained to the Milwaukee Sentinel, “I end up walking six guys and throwing 2,000 pitches. It’s a funny pitch. You just can’t predict which way it will go, which is good since the hitter can’t either.
Hough kept Brewers hitters off balance all game, mixing in an occasional 70 MPH “fastball” with his famed knuckleball. He limited the Crew to only a run on four hits in nine innings while walking only one.
Mike Caldwell was the victim of another opposing pitcher’s gem as he pitched plenty well enough to win. Caldwell scattered nine hits over eight innings while allowing only two earned runs.
The loss was the Brewers’ second in a row and fifth in their last seven games. This has been the team’s most challenging stretch under Harvey Kuenn.
Is Harvey worried? “I’m not worried in the least,” he said. “These guys are too good of players not to snap back.”
Well, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 3-2 today to retake first place in the AL East by a half a game. So hopefully fortunes will change quickly.
Game Notes: The Rangers had come into the game having lost 10 of their last 12 games. … Pitching coach Cal McLish visited the club after missing nearly two months with myasthenia gravis, a chemical imbalance resulting in a weakness in the muscles. No decision has been made on his role with the club for the remainder of the season. … Robin Yount was named the American League Player of the Week along with Baltimore’s Tippy Martinez by batting .460 with four homers and six RBI. … Randy Ready, the third baseman for the Brewers’ El Paso farm club, was named the Topps AA Player of the Month for the second straight month. He hit .388 with two homers and 18 RBI. … Brewers general manager Harry Dalton hinted that he wouldn’t mind picking up a starting pitcher with big league experience for the stretch run, but wouldn’t name any names.