Bob McClure

Blue Jays Bully Brewers

Blue Jays 9, Brewers 4
Brewers now 59-44 (1st-Tied)
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TORONTO — The Blue Jays entered today’s game in last place and 10 1/2 games back in the AL East. But they sure didn’t play like it.

And to be fair, they haven’t played like it at all lately. They are 12-6 since the All-Star break. After a first inning unearned run, Dave Stieb toyed with Brewers batters until Don Money hit a solo homer in the eighth and two desperation runs were scored with two outs in the ninth.

Bob McClure was not nearly as good for the Brewers. He allowed three runs on a double, triple, two singles and a walk in the first inning. The next two batters reached in the second, and McClure’s day was quickly over.

“Bobby just didn’t have it today,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel after the game. “He had no location and was high with all his pitches.”

Jerry Augustine and Randy Lerch, making his first relief appearance since being removed from the rotation, weren’t much better. They combined to allow five more runs in six innings to put the Brewers in a 8-1 fifth inning hole.

Former Brewer Buck Martinez was also a thorn in his old team’s side. He went 2-for-3 with a home run, driving in two for the Blue Jays.

“I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun to beat these guys,” Martinez said about his last place team beating the first place team.

The Red Sox beat the Orioles 5-2 to to pull back into a first place tie with the Brewers in the AL East.

Game Notes: Cecil Cooper left the game in the fourth with a sore big right toe after being stepped on by Garth Iorg. … Robin Yount had a routine day off. Rob Picciolo got the start at shortstop and went 1-for-4.

Rangers Bobble Game to Brewers

July 28 Leave a Comment

Brewers 3, Rangers 2
Brewers are now 57-40 (1st)
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1982 Topps Rollie Fingers In Action — Rollie Fingers was the talk of the clubhouse after the game.

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.

Closers Fall, Brewers Lose in 9th

July 23 Leave a Comment

Royals 4, Brewers 3
Brewers now 54-38 (1st)
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KANSAS CITY — Through eight full innings, neither the high powered Brewers nor the Royals could score a run. Starters Bob McClure and Paul Splittorff did all they could do, but neither pitcher would earn a decision.

The game fell on the two preeminent closers in the game, Dan Quisenberry of the Royals and Rollie Fingers of the Brewers. Things changed in a hurry.

Quisenberry took the mound after Splittorff allowed a leadoff single to Ted Simmons in the ninth. Gorman Thomas deposited an 0-2 fastball into the left field bleachers to give the Brewers a 2-0 lead. On the very next pitch, Ben Oglivie made it 3-0 with a home run of his own.

You’d think that would be more than enough to win. Whether or not McClure would remain flawless, the Brewers have Rollie Fingers as back-up. Surely, he wouldn’t fail like Quisenberry, right?

Unfortunately, wrong. McClure allowed a leadoff single to UL Washington and George Brett connected on the first well-hit ball off of McCLure on the evening, a two run home run. Rollie Fingers took the mound and allowed three singles that tied the game before Frank White laid down a successful suicide squeeze to win the game.

Kuenn said it was the hardest defeat in his 45 games as the team’s manager. It may be Brewers’ fans hardest defeat of the season.

Brewers, Twins Brawl

July 20 Leave a Comment

Twins 5, Brewers 3
Brewers now 53-37 (1st)
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1982 Donruss Robin Yount — Robin Yount's slide started the brawl.

MINNEAPOLIS — When you open your newspaper and look at the box score in the morning, you’ll see that the Twins beat the Brewers 5-3, beating the Crew for the second straight time and forcing a first place tie with the Red Sox. But if you focus on that, you miss the story.

This wasn’t a baseball game. It was a brawl. During breaks from the brawl, they played some baseball.

It all started in the bottom of the fifth inning when Kent Hrbek slid hard and high into Jim Gantner in an unsuccessful attempt to break up a double play. Gantner was sent sprawling and would be removed from the game with a deep thigh bruise.

“I don’t care when they slide low,” Gantner told the Milwaukee Sentinel after the game, “but when they hit me up here [upper thigh] they were in the air.”

Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn was furious about the slide. He immediately charged the field to come to his second baseman’s aid. On the way off the field, he was seen jawing at Hrbek.

“You can quote me,” Kuenn said later. “I called him a no good SOB for taking a cheap shot at my second baseman. He told me he was just sliding but he’s full of it. You might be able to slide like that in A ball but up here’s a different story. He’s a big boy in a big man’s game. It was a cheap shot. Period.”

Hrbek watched the tape after the game and admitted it was a poor slide. “I am a poor slider and I guess that proved it.”

Kuenn didn’t buy it. “If he’s a bad slider,” he said, “get some sliding lessons.”

The Brewers would get their revenge in the sixth. With Paul Molitor on second and Robin Yount on first, Cecil Cooper hit a double play ball to second baseman Juan Castino. Castino flipped to shortstop Lenny Faedo for the force and Yount went far outside of the baseline to take out Faedo and knocked him on the temple with his forearm.

“I knew something would happen,” said Faedo, “but I never thought he’d come after me. I was just going for the force. The next thing I know he was on the turf trying to get me.”

Castino and centerfielder Bobby Mitchell then charged Yount while Brewers first base coach Ron Hansen tried to break up the fracas. It was too late as both benches cleared for a 10-minute brawl. Players were seen pushing and shoving across the field. Kent Hrbek and Brewers pitcher Bob McClure would emerge from the pile throwing punches. Ben Oglivie, Charlie Moore and Ted Simmons then came to McClure’s aid and ambushed Hrbek.

“I figured something was going to happen,” said Hrbek. “He [Kuenn] told me he was going to get me. I guess they got me.”

Hrbek and McClure would be ejected from the game.

When order was finally restored, a game was played. Jack O’Connor limited the Brewers offense to two runs on five hits through 6 2/3 innings. Mike Caldwell allowed five runs on 11 hits in the same length of time.

But the game was the side show. Everyone who witnessed this game will forever be talking about the brawl. Though the Brewers lost, it could be a moment that further brings them together as a team.

The first test is tomorrow, as they look to avoid the sweep.

Brewers Win Seventh Straight

July 17 Leave a Comment

Brewers 5, White Sox 2
Brewers now 52-35 (1st)
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Gorman Thomas — Gorman's two-run double gave the Brewers the lead for good.

MILWAUKEE — It was only a matter of time.

Through six innings, White Sox starter Britt Burns had the vaunted Brewers offense figured out. No runs on three hits, including three 1-2-3 innings. After six and one half innings of play, the White Sox led the Brewers 2-0.

Of course, you can’t keep this team down forever. When you have the chance, you’d better create a larger cushion than a measly two runs. That ain’t gonna hold up. It didn’t tonight.

With two down and Don Money standing on second, Jim Gantner and Paul Molitor struck with back-to-back singles (aided by an error on Ron LeFlore) to quickly tie the game at two and knock Burns from the game. Salome Barojas temporarily calmed the flames by getting Robin Yount to ground out to end the seventh, but the fire grew to a roar in the eighth.

Salome faced three batters that frame and couldn’t retire one. Cecil Cooper singled to center, Ted Simmons singled on a shot off of Salome and Gorman Thomas doubled to left to bring home both of them after a Salome balk moved both runners up a base. Kevin Hickey then took his turn on the mound, but the Brewers would add one more with a Charlie Moore sacrifice fly.

This is the problem if you’re the Chicago White Sox, Boston Red Sox or anyone else in the American League. Even when you slow down this record-setting offense, a sub-par game may be good enough to beat you. And the pitching always seems to step up when they need it most.

Today, Bob McClure did just enough, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks through 6 1/3 innings. Newcomer Pete Ladd made his Brewers debut by pitching 1 2/3 innings of scoreless, hitless baseball, and Rollie Fingers finished it off in typical Rollie Fingers-fashion — with a perfect ninth.

No, the Brewers didn’t hit four home runs today. They didn’t hit any. They “only” scored five runs. But they aren’t a one-dimensional team. They will always, it seems, find a way to win.

This was their seventh straight win and the fourth in a row against the White Sox. The Brewers go for the rare five-game sweep tomorrow. The Red Sox kept pace by beating the Royals 8-4 and remain a half game out.

Twins Blast McClure

July 7 Leave a Comment

Twins 11, Brewers 8
Brewers now 45-34 (2nd)
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MILWAUKEE — It’s pretty easy to boil today’s 11-8 loss to the Minnesota Twins down to one inning and one player: The second inning and Bob McClure.

After neither team had a hit in the first, the Twins came out swinging in the second. After retiring rookie Kent Hrbek for his fourth consecutive out, McClure endured the following:

Engle (walk)
Laudner (walk)
Ward (single)
Gaetti (home run)
Castino (single)
Mitchell (single)

Dwight Bernard then relieved McClure and got the final two outs, but not until his inherited runners scored.

Down 6-0 in the second inning, the Brewers offense didn’t give up. They never do. They played up to Harvey’s Wallbangers standards, scoring eight runs on 13 hits, including home runs by Ed Romero (1), Robin Yount (14) and Ted Simmons (12).

Of course, even if your offense scores eight runs, when you spot the opposition six you have to expect your bullpen to allow fewer than two runs over 7 2/3 innings. That didn’t happen.

And not to bag on the bullpen, but other than Bernard they didn’t do their job. After Bernard held things together with only one earned run over 4 2/3 innings, Jamie Easterly allowed two runs in two innings and Rollie Fingers allowed two more in one inning. So, if you want to get technical… Really, all the Brewers needed was for Easterly and Fingers to shut out the Twins over the final three innings. If you want to assign some blame there, feel free.

The loss was the Brewers’ second in three games and their third in six. Not awful. But the Red Sox beat the Rangers 8-5, so the Brewers now trail by a full game.

Game Notes: Robin Yount, Ted Simmons and Charlie Moore each had three hits.