Mariners

Doc a Band-Aid for Pitching Woes

September 1

Brewers 7, Mariners 3
Brewers now 78-53 (1st by 4.5 games)
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MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Brewers acquired veteran pitcher Don Sutton from the Houston Astros because their pitching wasn’t good enough. Don’t tell that to Doc Medich.

Medich, you’ll recall, was purchased from the Rangers last month with the expectation of him becoming the team’s fifth starter. Now that Sutton is on the roster, the only reason Medich is getting a start is because the team has a double header tomorrow with the Indians and an extra starter is needed.

Medich, of course, keeps pitching better than adequately. Tonight he went eight innings, allowing three runs on only five hits, walking five and striking out seven. The win improved his record on the season to 10-11 and with the Brewers to 3-0.

“He pitched a good game tonight,” manager Harvey Kuenn said of Doc’s performance. “A little erratic and seemed to not get his rhythm. He was behind a lot of the hitters, but when he had to make a good pitch, he did.”

That kind of sounded like the description of a typical performance of teammate, team ace and potential Cy Young Candidate Pete Vuckovich, doesn’t it? Gets himself into trouble. Makes the pitches when he needs to.

Okay, Medich is no Pete Vuckovich. But the fact that he’s the team’s sixth starter and is available in case of emergency is a very safe feeling for these Brewers. The additions of Medich and Sutton could, if you’ll pardon the medical puns, cure the team’s pitching woes down the stretch.

The offense, of course, will continue to be just fine. The top of the order (Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Cecil Cooper) went a combined 4-for-8 with three walks, four runs scored and six RBI. Molitor hit his 14th and Cooper his 27th home run of the season.

Both the Red Sox and Orioles won as well, so the Brewers remained up 4 1/2 and 5 games up, respectively.

Caldwell Cruises Again

August 31

Brewers 8, Mariners 2
Brewers now 77-53 (1st by 4.5 games)
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MILWAUKEE — The Brewers lost yesterday’s game because of poor defense and an inability to get the big hit. Today, they won because of both.

Locked in a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the third with two outs, Ted Simmons singled home Robin Yount to make it a 2-1 game. Mariners pitcher Bryan Clark then walked Gorman Thomas, bringing Ben Oglivie to the plate with runners at first and second. Oglivie hit a tapper in front of the mound, a routine play, but first baseman Gary Gray couldn’t handle Clark’s throw.

Gray’s error loaded the bases. Don Money then hit a ground ball to shortstop that Todd Cruz bobbled after Gorman Thomas ran by and possibly distracted him. One run scored.

Twice the inning should have been over. Then Charlie Moore knocked a single to right, plating two more runs. Three unearned runs that inning in all.

And that is all the Brewers would need. They scored eight in all, led by Ted Simmons’ 3-for-5, two runs scored and two RBI. But the real story was once again Mike Caldwell.

Caldwell was sharp again, allowing only two runs on eight hits in seven innings for his third straight win and sixth in his last seven starts. Now 13-11, he was the “much maligned Mike Caldwell” prior to the managerial change in June.

“When you are left in a situation where you have to go get ’em and you get out of them,” Caldwell explained, “it builds confidence.”

Rollie Fingers and Dwight Bernard pitched a perfect inning apiece to close it out.

Now that Don Sutton is on the staff (YES! WE GOT DON SUTTON!), the Brewers suddenly look very impressive with a 1-2-3 of Pete Vuckovich, Sutton and Caldwell. And Bob McClure has looked awfully good lately as well.

Speaking of Sutton, the Brewers were forced to make a move today to make room for him on the roster. They chose to designate Jerry Augustine for assignment. Augustine was 1-3 with a 4.88 ERA this season in 19 appearances, two of them starts and one complete game.

“Looking at the overall make-up of our pitching staff,” GM Harry Dalton explained, “it just seemed the most sensible move to make.”

It’s tough to argue. Since spring, Augustine has been hanging on to his spot by the skin of his teeth. It’s surprising he’s lasted this long.

Augustine’s best season with the Brewers was in 1979 when he went 9-6 with a 3.45 ERA.

Brewers Fall in 10

August 30

Mariners 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Brewers now 76-53 (1st by 4.5 games)
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1982 Topps Stickers Pete Vuckovich — Vuke allowed two runs through eight innings, but the offense struggled to provide him with run support.

MILWAUKEE — Pete Vuckovich fought out of jams for eight innings. He did all he could to keep his team in the game. The Brewers’ offense and defense didn’t cooperate.

The entire Brewers’ offensive attack came in the bottom of the fourth when Ben Oglivie launched a towering two-run homer into the bullpen in right. The Brewers had three hits in that inning. They had three in the other nine combined.

Even so, this game shouldn’t have ended in 10 innings. Jim Slaton, who had relieved Vuke to begin the ninth, retired the first two batters he faced in the 10th inning. He then walked David Revering, which would seem harmless enough with two outs.

But with John Moses pinch running on first, Rick Sweet laced a base hit to center. The speedy Moses turned around second and challenged the arm of Gorman Thomas by heading for third. Gorman fired… and fired high, over Paul Molitor‘s glove and into the Mariners’ dugout. The eventual winning run scored.

Considering the lack of Brewers offense and the fact that the Mariners had 12 hits and left 11 on base may just mean the Brewers never deserved to be in this game anyway. Four times they stranded either runners at first and third, second and third or the bases loaded without scoring.

So while the focus of this loss may fall on the errant throw by Gorman Thomas, the offense is the real story. But given that the offense is so rarely the reason for a loss this season, we can chalk this one up to “they just didn’t have it that day.”

But the Brewers can’t have many more of these games during the final month of the season since their rivals are suddenly adding pressure. The Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles both won, pulling to within 4 1/2 and 5 games of the Brewers, respectively.

Mariners in Giving Mood, Brewers Sweep

August 22

Brewers 8, Mariners 5
Brewers now 72-50 (1st by 6.0 games)
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Moose Haas recovered after allowing a grand slam in the first inning.

SEATTLE — Sometimes, you don’t have to be the team that wins the game. Just as long as you aren’t the team that loses it.

The Brewers didn’t play their best baseball today. They really didn’t deserve to win. But the Seattle Mariners simply gave them too many second chances. Eventually, the Brewers won by default.

The Mariners took a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to an improbable rally. With no one on base and two outs, Al Cowens singled and Moose Haas walked both Richie Zisk and Dave Revering. Dave Henderson then launched a grand slam to put the Brewers into a huge hole.

Then the Brewers duplicated the start of the Mariners’ rally in the top of the second, again with two outs and no one on. Ed Romero, filling in for an injured Ben Oglivie, singled to center. Ned Yost walked. Jim Gantner then hit a routine grounder to Todd Cruz at short that should have ended the inning. Second baseman Paul Serna, though, was late covering the bag and everyone was safe. Paul Molitor reached on an infield single, scoring one. Todd Cruz then made a throwing error that scored two more runs. And Cecil Cooper singled in two more.

What do we have? Five Brewers runs, and although one of the runs was technically earned, none of them should have scored. Suddenly, the Brewers had a 5-4 lead that they didn’t really deserve.

Well, they did deserve it… Because the Mariners certainly didn’t deserve to lead. It’s complicated…

After that six outs of insanity, the bats went quiet for both teams until the bottom of the eighth. Once again, the Mariners struck with a long ball with two outs. This time, it was Al Cowens with a solo shot to tie the game at five.

But of course, this was not a game the Mariners were meant to win. Ned Yost led off the top of the ninth inning with a single to left. After Gantner bunted Yost over, Floyd Bannister was removed in favor of shut-down closer Bill Caudill. Let’s set the scene…

Caudill, known as “The Inspector,” entered the field to the playing of the Pink Panther theme song. Caudill was 10-4 with a 1.85 ERA. He has been close to automatic.

After a first pitch strike to Paul Molitor, the Kingdome organist giddily played The Inspector’s theme music again. Then on the next pitch, Molitor ripped a single to left that scored Yost, taking second on the throw, and giving the Brewers a 6-5 lead.

“I was looking for a fastball,” Molitor explained. “I came up against him in a similar situation in Milwaukee and he struck me out on fastballs, so that was all I was looking for and I got one.”

Molitor then stole third and scored when Robin Yount laced a single off of Caudill’s glove to make it 7-5. Yount then stole second, the team’s fourth swipe of the night, and scored off of Gorman Thomas‘ single off of the left field wall.

The Brewers scored eight runs in all, but only three of them should have scored. But sometimes, you can win by simply not being the worst team on the field that day. That was the case on this night.

The Brewers swept the Mariners and next play the Angels tomorrow in Anaheim. The Red Sox beat the A’s 4-2 to keep pace six games back of the Brewers.

Game Notes: The Brewers are in search of a right fielder and a left handed reliever. They did pursue outfielder Ellis Valentine of the Mets, but nothing materialized. … Frank DiPino has been dominating the Pacific Coast League and is expected to be called up when rosters are expanded to pitch the second game of a double header with Cleveland on September 2nd.

Fingers Returns, Locks Down Shaky Save

August 21

Brewers 3, Mariners 2
Brewers now 71-50 (1st by 6.0 games)
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1982 Donruss Doc Medich — Doc Medich pitched seven shutout innings for the Brewers.

SEATTLE — For seven innings, Seattle fans witnessed a pitchers’ duel. Doc Medich of the Brewers and Jim Beattie of the Mariners shut out the opposition. Once they were removed, offense suddenly had the advantage.

Beattie left the game prior to the start of the seventh inning, and the Brewers roughed up relievers Bryan Clark and Ron Musselman in the eighth. Milwaukee reached on four consecutive singles, scoring three runs to build what seemed to be an insurmountable lead with Rollie Fingers waiting in the wings.

It was Medich that Brewers fans were worried about. He was far from impressive in his Brewers debut on August 15 against the Blue Jays, walking six in 5 1/3 innings. So when Medich pitched seven shutout innings, limiting the Mariners to three hits and a walk, it felt safe to hand the ball to Fingers, who had been out since August 13 with a sore pitching elbow.

Fingers was fine in the eighth, allowing a harmless two-out single to Joe Simpson. But Al Cowens led off the bottom of the ninth with a double to left and Dave Revering hit a two-run homer to make it a one-run game. Fingers would retire Rick Sweet and Dave Henderson to end the game, but not before making Brewers fans sweat.

Maybe Fingers was just rusty. That is the hope. Because if this is a sign that he still isn’t healthy, trouble could be lurking for the Brewers. There simply is no replacement for a healthy Rollie Fingers.

The Brewers go for the sweep tomorrow at 6 pm CT.

Game Notes: The Boston Red Sox fell to the Oakland A’s 12-5, giving the Brewers a six game lead in the AL East. … Rickey Henderson stole his 114th base for the A’s today, putting him four shy of Lou Brock‘s single season record.

Pitching Falters Late, Ladd Holds On

August 20

Brewers 6, Mariners 5
Brewers now 70-50 (1st by 5.0 games)
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1982 Topps Rollie Fingers In Action — The Brewers are struggling without Rollie Fingers, who is not In Action.

SEATTLE — The Brewers have blown a couple of leads of late as they struggle to figure out how to cope without All-Star closer Rollie Fingers. Today, it nearly happened again.

The last time these two teams met in Seattle, the Brewers were reeling. Milwaukee had fallen to seven games out of first place and manager Buck Rodgers was replaced with Harvey Kuenn. So much has changed since then.

Of course, one of those changes is the health of Fingers. Starting pitcher Mike Caldwell and the Brewers were cruising through seven innings. The Brew Crew led 6-2 through seven and a half innings, and Caldwell had allowed only five hits. Then he ran out of gas.

The Mariners scored one in the eighth when Julio Cruz doubled, stole third and scored on a Dave Elder sacrifice fly. No big deal, the Mariners just did a good job of manufacturing a run.

Then Caldwell took the hill for the ninth. Richie Zisk doubled to center. Al Cowens doubled to right, scoring Zisk. Gary Gray singled to left, and suddenly it was 6-4 Brewers with no one out and the tie run on first base.

Without Rollie Fingers available, the Brewers turned to rookie Pete Ladd. Luckily for the Brewers, Big Foot did just fine. He struck out Dave Revering looking, and Rick Sweet then hit a sacrifice fly to make it a 6-5 game. With the tie run still on first, Manny Castillo flied to left and the Brewers breathed a sigh of relief.

Offensively, “Harvey’s Wallbangers” decided to go with a game of small ball. They collected 11 hits, but not one was for extra bases. The Brewers stole two bases and bunted twice, including a Paul Molitor safety squeeze to score a run in the sixth. Most importantly, hitting was timely as the Crew scored four of their six runs with two outs.

It was pleasant to see the offense score without the long ball, and the Brewers gained a game on the Red Sox, who fell 4-3 to the A’s. But the blinking question mark right now is over the bullpen. If Rollie Fingers is out for a significant amount of time, or can’t come back at 100%, can this team survive down the stretch?

So far, so good. But having won only two of their last six games, wins aren’t nearly as automatic under Kuenn as they once were.

Game Notes: Jamie Easterly, scheduled to throw a simulated game tomorrow, will not according to Kuenn.