Lee May Archives - Brewers 1982

Royals 3, Brewers 2
Brewers now 11-9 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Jim Gantner — Gantner's hesitation at second proved costly.

MILWAUKEE — Not the best way to start this series.

The Royals are without Amos Otis (hamstring), Willie Wilson (hamstring), Willie Aikens (hand), UL Washington (back) and Lee May (groin). Other than George Brett, that’s pretty much the Royals’ lineup.

So the Brewers knew they were playing a team that was short-handed offensively. Quite the advantage. All they’d need to do is, I don’t know, score three or four runs. Right?

Right. Problem is, they only scored two. Brewers only had seven hits in nine innings, but they didn’t have many opportunities to score. The only true blown shot was in the first when Paul Molitor reached third in the first with one down. Ben Oglivie (strikeout) and Ted Simmons (pop-up) failed to bring him home. The only had a runner in scoring position one other time during the game.

Match-ups
May 3 at 7:30 pm
Mike Caldwell (1-1, 3.16 ERA) vs. Paul Splittorff (1-1, 3.38 ERA)

May 4 at 7:30 pm
Bob McClure (1-1, 5.94 ERA) vs. Larry Gura (2-1, 5.54 ERA)

May 5 at 12:30 pm
Moose Haas (1-1, 4.10 ERA) vs. Vida Blue (1-2, 4.15 ERA)

1982 Records
Milwaukee Brewers: 11-8 (3rd in AL East)
Kansas City Royals: 12-9 (2nd in AL West)

If the Royals are going to beat the Brewers, George Brett may have to do it on his own.

At 11-8, the Brewers are an above average team that has compiled its record against teams that have a combined 44-62 (.415) record. Of the five teams they’ve faced (Chicago, Cleveland, Minnesota, Texas and Toronto) only Chicago (.571) has a winning percentage over .410. But the Brewers only played the White Sox twice and split the series.

So what do we know about a team that has played 17 of their 19 games against bad teams? Not much. They can win more than they lose when they play them. That’s good.

But it’s easy to be disappointed in the start. The schedule was lined up for the Brewers to have a lead in first place in the AL East prior to taking on a wicked schedule against AL West teams during the month of May. The Brewers could have used some cushion.

The Royals are not the Minnesota Twins. They’re not the Chicago White Sox, for that matter. This is a new challenge. How they perform in this series will help us get a peek at whether the Brewers are a legit contender or a paper champion that has benefitted from a weak April schedule.

Brewers Hesitate, Royals Win

May 3-5 Series Preview vs. Kansas City