Brewers 1982

Covering the Milwaukee Brewers throughout the 1982 season, in real-time, as it would have happpened.

Mike Morgan

Brewers Celebrate Bat Night in Style

Brewers 7, Red Sox 0
Brewers now 44-32 (1st-T)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Pete Vuckovich
Pete Vuckovich shut out the Boston Red Sox on three hits.

MILWAUKEE — Tonight was Bat Night at Milwaukee County Stadium, and the Brewers faithful showed up in record numbers. Of course, not all 55,716 attended the game for the free bat (and of course, not that many bats were available). First place was on the line.

So how did the Brewers celebrate Bat Night? They hit four home runs, of course.

Cecil Cooper cracked two more homers, giving him 20 on the season and three during the past two days. Paul Molitor smacked his eighth to lead off today’s game, putting him one shy of his career high just 76 games into the season. Robin Yount hit his 12th, continuing his All-Star-type season (even if he isn’t voted in). That’s the team’s one, two and three hitters.

The numbers are getting laughable. Harvey’s Wallbangers have now clubbed 35 long balls in 15 games, breaking the record formerly held by the mythical 1961 New York Yankees. They now have 113 homers on the season, putting them on pace to finish with 238, two shy of the record set by those same Yankees.

The Brewers are 21-8 under Kuenn, hit a lot of homers, yadda yadda yadda. You’ve heard it before. It’s almost getting tiresome.

“You make a mistake,” said Red Sox starter Mike Torrez, who allowed eight earned runs on 13 hits in 4 2/3 innings in yesterday’s drubbing, “and they’re going to take advantage of it. What you have to do is be flawless to beat them right now.”

It’s true. And no opponent, other than the Yankees’ Mike Morgan, has been flawless of late.

Of course, the general storyline these last few weeks has been that the Brewers are sending baseballs out of the park left and right while their pitchers are doing just well enough to win. Today was different.

Pete Vuckovich was nearly perfect. In fact, he was perfect, not allowing a baserunner until a one-out walk broke up the perfect game. He held the Red Sox hitless until two outs in the fifth, and would pitch a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits.

But Vuke was never thinking no-hitter. “I just wanted to keep putting goose eggs on the scoreboard.”

And he did. Nine times.

For the first time since April 14 when they were 3-2, the Milwaukee Brewers are in first place in the AL East. Of course, they currently share those honors with the Boston Red Sox.

“We’ve had to work hard for everything we’ve got,” Vuke told the Milwaukee Journal. “Hard work got us where we are at. Now we just have to try to stay there.”

Tomorrow, the Brewers look to move into the top spot by themselves. And stay there.

Mike Morgan Owns Brewers Again

Yankees 5, Brewers 3
Brewers now 42-32 (2nd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

Moose Haas
Moose Haas couldn't get out of the first inning.

NEW YORK — Twenty-two year-old Mike Morgan may have entered today’s game 4-4 with a 4.28 ERA, but he is the Brewers’ cryptonite. And actually, his last start was also against the Brewers. He is 3-4 with a 4.45 ERA against non-Brewers teams.

Considering how hot the Brewers are, this is significant. Since Harvey Kuenn took over on June 2, the Brewers are hitting .296 with 45 home runs and 175 runs, averaging 6.7 runs per game. Ted Simmons‘ home run today tied a Major League Baseball record of 27 team home runs over a span of 13 games. Of their last 15 games, the Brewers have lost three times. Two of those losses were at the hands of Mike Morgan.

And considering the Brewers lambasted Ron Guidry and Tommy John in the first two games of this series (both pitchers had ERA’s of close to 3.00 entering their respective starts), it’s a bit puzzling that they can’t handle a pitcher like Morgan.

But they can’t. The Brewers have scored fewer than seven runs only twice during the past eight games. Each time, you guessed it, was against Morgan.

Meanwhile Brewers starter Moose Haas couldn’t get two outs in the first inning before allowing five runs. Of his last five starts, four have been disasters. While nearly everything seems to be going right at the moment, Haas is not.

But we’ll move on. It’s one game. We need to be realistic. On the road in New York, we can’t expect a sweep.

Meanwhile, the first place Red Sox lost to the Tigers today and remain two games up on the Brewers. Guess who is coming to Milwaukee tomorrow? That’s right, the Red Sox.

The biggest series of the season to this point is about to begin. Buckle up!

Game Notes: Jim Gantner, who has been nursing a sore shoulder, will attempt to throw tomorrow.