Angels

Sixth Inning of Hell Leads to Loss

Angels 5, Brewers 2
Brewers now 79-55 (1st by 3.5 games)
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Jim Gantner's miscue in the sixth helped the Angels score four runs.

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.

Stars Come Out in California

August 25 Leave a Comment

Brewers 7, Angels 3
Brewers now 73-51 (1st by 5.0 games)
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1982 Topps Stickers Robin Yount — Yount went 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run.

ANAHEIM — Tonight’s game with the California Angels was won by the Milwaukee Brewers because of three players: Ted Simmons, Robin Yount and Pete Vuckovich.

It was the slow-footed Simmons who dropped a surprise bunt in the first with two outs and Yount on third that would score a run.

“That surprised everyone,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “Including myself. He did it strictly on his own. I know he caught the Angels by surprise and us too. A pleasant surprise.”

In the bottom of the first, Simmons stepped up again to keep the Brewers in the lead. With two outs, Rod Carew took off from first on a pitch to Fred Lynn. Lynn laced a base hit into the gap in right center, and Carew raced around third towards the plate. Outfielder Charlie Moore fired a one hop bullet to Simmons, who blocked the plate and tagged Carew before he could score.

Simmons, of course, was not done. In the fifth inning and the score still 1-0, the Brewers catcher again made his presence known with two outs. Simmons drove a Steve Renko fastball over the right field wall for a two-run homer to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead.

That would be a critical hit as the Angels would strike right back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs of their own. The Angels would then pull to within one on a Reggie Jackson solo homer in the bottom of the sixth.

At that point, it was shortstop Robin Yount who took center stage. Robin doubled home Paul Molitor in the top of the seventh to give the Brewers a two-run lead and knock out Renko. Then, in the top of the ninth and Molitor on again, Yount knocked a two run homer to put the game out of reach. Yount finished with four hits, two runs scored and three runs batted in.

The contributions of Simmons and Yount were nice, but it was the mound work of Pete Vuckovich that kept the Brewers in control all game. Vuke allowed only three earned runs on seven hits in a complete game to improve to 15-4. Vuke shares the league lead in wins with Kansas City’s Larry Gura, and he stands alone with a .790 winning percentage. Vuckovich is now 29-8 in his two seasons with the Brewers and is gaining a reputation for winning big games.

“He’s got to be the best,” Kuenn said of Vuckovich. “He rises to the occasion each and every time.”

The second place Red Sox beat the Mariners 5-4 in 12 innings to keep pace five games back of the Brewers. Milwaukee has a day off tomorrow before starting a four-game series with the A’s in Milwaukee.

Game Notes: Reggie Jackson hit his 31st home run of the season, pulling to within one of Gorman Thomas for the AL lead. … Rickey Henderson of the A’s stole two more bases and now has 116, two shy of Lou Brock‘s single season record. Henderson and the A’s now head to Milwaukee for four games, where the Brewers will be challenged to prevent Henderson from breaking the record.

Brewers Come Up Short in Ninth

August 23 Leave a Comment

Angels 5, Brewers 3
Brewers now 72-51 (1st by 5.0 games)
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Gorman Thomas came to the plate as the tie run in the ninth, but struck out.

ANAHEIM — “This series is important,” Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “There’s no question the Angels can win the West and that we could meet in the playoffs.”

“Important” may be a bit strong for a two-game series against an out-of-division opponent. But one could consider this a measuring stick series to help determine just how good these Milwaukee Brewers are.

So far, not so good. Second year pitcher Mike Witt dominated Milwaukee, allowing three runs on seven hits in a complete game victory to improve to 8-4. And really, those stats don’t do his appearance justice.

Through eight innings, the Brewers managed only one run on four hits. But Robin Yount led off the ninth with a single to center. Cecil Cooper followed with a fly out, but Ted Simmons then doubled to left. Ben Oglivie made things interesting by clubbing a two-run single to right center to bring the tie run to the batters box.

It couldn’t have been a better scenario for the Brewers, as that player with a bat in his hands was none other than baseball’s leading home run hitter, Gorman Thomas. But Gorman swung and missed three times and broke his bat in half over his knee, to the delight of the Angels faithful.

“Damn, Gorman had three good rips at three good pitches and just missed them,” Kuenn said after the game.

Roy Howell then followed with a strikeout of his own, and the Brewers came up short.

Unfortunately, the second place Red Sox didn’t come up short, beating the Seattle Mariners 4-3 to pull to within five games of the Brewers in the AL East. The final game of the two-game series between the Brewers and Angels is tomorrow at 9:30 pm CT.

Brewers Are Loose in Win

May 30 Leave a Comment

Brewers 7, Angels 3
Brewers now 22-23 (4th)
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Cecil Cooper went 2-for-4 with his sixth homer of the season.

ANAHEIM — After blowing three-run leads in back-to-back games, it was nice to flip the script on the Angels today.

Down 3-0 in the fifth, the Brewers busted out for four runs on starter Bruce Kison, highlighted by a two-out, two-run homer by first baseman Cecil Cooper. Knowing the team’s recent history of giving back leads, it was also comforting when the Crew tacked on three more runs via a single by Marshall Edwards and homers by Ted Simmons and Ben Oglivie.

Were the Brewers loose? Apparently. Closer Rollie Fingers walked out to the mound for the ninth, but Jamie Easterly, who had come on in the eighth, was already there. Fingers looked at Easterly with a straight face and said, “Hey, Rat. I’m the pitcher,” referring to Easterly’s nickname.

“Did Buck forget to tell me?” Easterly asked. Fingers laughed and trotted back to the dugout. It was all a set-up.

It was only one win, and only the sixth in their last 19 games. But that only makes you appreciate it more.

Game Notes: Gorman Thomas, who injured his shoulder diving for a ball on May 28, is unable to move his arm more than a few inches. Team says he could be out up to three weeks, though Thomas thinks he’ll be back in seven to 10 days … Since Charlie Moore is also out with a jammed thumb, the Brewers are without a reserve outfielder … If Thomas is put on the disabled list, the Brewers may call up Kevin Bass or make a trade for an outfielder … In the four games against the Angels, Cecil Cooper had seven hits, including three homers and six RBI.

Reggie Sends Crew to Fifth Place

May 29 Leave a Comment

Angels 5, Brewers 4 (10)
Brewers now 21-23 (5th)
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Reggie Jackson was quite proud of his game winning home run, as he tends to be.

ANAHEIM — Today’s game between the Brewers and Angels was nationally televised. The entire country was able to see for themselves just how flawed these Brewers are.

A blown 4-1 lead in the seventh, the second consecutive three-run lead lost. Fourteen hits, but 10 runners left on base. A blown save by the league’s pre-eminent closer. A Reggie Jackson home run in the bottom of the 10th to end the game. Only one win in six extra inning games. Two straight losses and six losses in the last seven games. Two games under .500 and fifth place for the first time since the Brewers were 4-6 on April 21.

And, of course, the controversy that follows losing. Manager Buck Rodgers and several Brewers are rumored to be fighting for their jobs. Today, All-Star closer Rollie Fingers made his dissatisfaction known.

Fingers relieved Randy Lerch in the seventh with runners on second and third and no outs, nursing a 4-1 lead. In eight previous starts, Lerch had lasted seven innings only once. So it should have been no surprise when he was unable to retire a batter to open the seventh.

Fingers felt the same, and wondered out loud why he hadn’t been brought in to start the inning rather than try to clean up Lerch’s mess. Bob Boone singled in two to make it a 4-3 game. With two down in the ninth, Fingers allowed an RBI single by Bobby Grich to send the game to extra innings.

Then, of course, came the shot the whole world saw. The booming drive by Reggie Jackson to left center field. Jackson swung mightily and posed, admiring his shot while he kissed his biceps and shouted to all who would listen: “That was me! I did it! Reggie Jackson! Me! Look at me!” Easterly put his head down in shame and scuffled back to the dugout.

The game may have ended dramatically to some, but it was no surprise to anyone who has been following this team closely. Drama implies the unexpected. We’ve seen this happen before.

The question all Brewers fans want answered: How many times do we need to see the same game end in the same painful way before changes are made?

Game Notes: Centerfielder Gorman Thomas injured his shoulder making a diving catch in yesterday’s game and did not play. He is considered day-to-day.

Brewers Start with Bang, End with Whimper

May 28 Leave a Comment

Angels 6, Brewers 5
Brewers now 21-22 (4th)
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ANAHEIM — Through 6 1/2 innings today, it had appeared that the Brewers we’ve all been waiting for had finally arrived.

Tied 2-2 in the top of the sixth, Cecil Cooper, Don Money and Gorman Thomas led off the inning with back-to-back-to-back home runs, a franchise record. Through six innings, Mike Caldwell had allowed two runs on five hits and no walks. And the defense behind him sparkled. Gorman Thomas made a diving catch on a line drive by Bob Boone in the third, then jumped up and doubled off Rod Carew at first.

It was all going so well. Maybe too well.

Then the Angels scored three runs off of Caldwell and Dwight Bernard in the seventh to tie up the game. Don Baylor would add the clincher in the eighth on a solo home run off of Bernard.

It was a loss. It was a painful loss. The Brewers have now dropped 12 of 17 to fall to 21-22 and 7 1/2 games back of the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. There were signs of hope, but we need more than signs right now.

The Brewers need results.

Game Notes: Charlie Moore will miss a couple of games with a jammed thumb, suffered in the first inning of yesterday’s game … Ted Simmons has hit safely in six straight games, his longest streak as a Brewer … Minor league pitching instructor Pat Dobson will replace Cal McLish as the team’s pitching coach until he’s healthy enough to return.