Dave McKay Archives - Brewers 1982

A’s 7, Brewers 6
Brewers now 75-52 (1st by 5.5 games)
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1982 Topps Paul Molitor — Paul Molitor struck out with the tie run in scoring position to end the game.

MILWAUKEE — This game seemed to be in hand for the Brewers. And just as it was falling out of hand, they nearly made a miraculous comeback.

Starting pitcher Moose Haas was perfect for three innings: nine up, nine down. Meanwhile, the Brewers had built a 2-0 lead. It felt like, the way Moose was going, two runs could be enough.

Of course, it wasn’t. The next 2 1/3 innings were not kind to Haas. He’d allow four runs on seven hits and two walks. Pete Ladd relieved him with one out in the sixth and two on and allowed his one inherited runner to score. After six complete innings, the game was tied at four.

Two home runs off of Ladd appeared to put the game out of reach. Mitchell Page led off the top of the eighth with a solo shot and with one down in the ninth, Wayne Gross launched a two-run shot to make it 7-4.

But the Brewers didn’t quit. Gorman Thomas and Ben Oglivie singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth, bringing the tie run to the plate. Charlie Moore flied to right for the first out, but Roy Howell and Ted Simmons then hit back-to-back singles to make it a one-run game with runners at the corners and one out.

Suddenly, it seemed inevitable that the Brewers would at least force extra innings. Instead, the A’s turned to reliever Bob Owchinko. Jim Gantner grounded to second, and Dave McKay threw out Roy Howell trying to score. Paul Molitor then struck out to end the game.

“I thought we were going to come back,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “We battled all night but just couldn’t get it done.”

A team that has made a name for itself with monster rallies and offensive heroics came up short this time. But there’s always a next time.

The second place Boston Red Sox beat the California Angels in 10 innings to pull back to within 5 1/2 games of the Brewers. The third place Baltimore Orioles also won and are now six games back.

Brewers 10, A’s 6
Brewers now 69-50 (1st by 4.0 games)
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OAKLAND — Both the Milwaukee Brewers and Oakland Athletics had 10 hits in this game. It just so happened that the A’s committed two errors that led to five unearned runs.

And that, my friends, is the difference in this game. One could feel bad for A’s starter Matt Keough, who was the target of all five of those unearned runs. He actually outpitched Brewers starter Pete Vuckovich, who allowed five runs on nine hits in six innings, compared to Keough’s three earned runs on seven hits in the same amount of time. But we’re Brewers fans. We don’t feel bad for him one bit.

That said, a Keough miscue did lead to one of the runs. Paul Molitor, who would go 4-for-5, led off the game with a bunt single. Keough balked him to second, putting him in scoring position. With one down, Cecil Cooper then hit a routine grounder to first baseman Dan Meyer promptly booted it, allowing Molitor to score the first run.

Molitor doubled in two with two outs in the second to give the Brewers a 3-0 lead until Fred Stanley hit a rare home run in the bottom of the third to make it 3-1. It was his first long ball since 1979 and only the ninth of his career.

“I’m definitely going to have to work on my trot,” Stanley told the Milwaukee Sentinel.

Dan Meyer then made up for his error with a two-out RBI triple in the fourth to make it a 3-2 game. Then, with two down and a man on first in the top of the fifth, Cecil Cooper hit yet another routine grounder. This time it went to second baseman Dave McKay. Instead of ending the inning, he fumbled the ball, putting runners at first and second.

That error led to four Brewers runs as Ted Simmons singled up the middle and Ben Oglivie, who had three hard hit outs as well, hit a booming home run to dead centerfield.

“It seems like I have to hit it out to get a hit today,” Oglivie said after the game. “Though I’d rather have one hit like that than go 4-for-4 and lose.”

The home run would give the Brewers a 7-2 lead. While the A’s would make it interesting when they pulled to within two at 8-6, Ted Simmons then cashed in on another big two-out hit when he drove in Molitor and Yount in the ninth to make it 10-6.

The win snapped a four-game losing streak, a span when the Brewers scored only two runs three times.

“We lost four in a row because we couldn’t come up with the key base hit,” manager Harvey Kuenn told the Milwaukee Sentinel. “This time they make a couple of errors and we take advantage of it. It’s a good team that does that.”

The other good piece of news is that Rollie Fingers, nursing a sore pitching elbow, will throw prior to tomorrow’s game with the Mariners to determine if he’s ready to return.

“If it’s okay, then I’ll be ready to pitch,” Fingers said. “There’s no sense in sitting around when you may not get the chance to pitch for four or five days in a row.”

The Boston Red Sox fell to the California Angels 8-5, so the Brewers’ lead in the AL East widened to four games.

Ninth Inning Rally Comes Up Short

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