Moose Haas

Brewers Blown Back

Rangers 6, Brewers 3
Brewers now 65-46 (1st by 4.5 games)
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Moose Haas couldn't stop the barrage of Rangers singles.

MILWAUKEE — Today was a day to be a singles hitter at County Stadium. Unfortunately, a singles-hitting team the Brewers are not.

You see, the there was a stiff wind blowing in today. On several occasions, Brewers hit baseballs that would appear to be home runs on any other day. Paul Molitor hit such a drive in the sixth inning that was caught. Ben Oglivie hit another that should have been caught, but the wind so confused outfielder Larry Parrish that the ball bounced off of his chest for a bases clearing double.

“Wind was the thing,” manager Harvey Kuenn lamented later. “Balls were holding up — the ones you thought would drift.”

Meanwhile, the Texas Rangers hit singles off of Brewers starter Moose Haas. Lots of them. In the seventh inning, trailing the Brewers 3-2, the Rangers reached on six hits, all singles, to take a 6-3 lead. It’s all they would need.

The loss snapped the Brewers’ three game winning streak, but they won two of three in the series and Kuenn is satisfied.

“I’m happy to get two out of three anytime,” Kuenn said. “I’d take two out of three the rest of the year.”

And that’s pretty much what the Brewers have been doing under Kuenn. Since he took over for Buck Rodgers, Milwaukee is 42-22, winning 66% of their games. So that philosophy certainly holds true.

The homestand continues tomorrow with a five-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays, beginning with a double header that starts at 6 PM CT.

Brewers Overcome Whitson, Chaos to Win in 10

August 6 Leave a Comment

Brewers 5, Indians 2 (10)
Brewers now 62-44 (1st by 2.5 games)
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1982 Topps Cecil Cooper — Cecil Cooper tied the game in the eighth and won it in the 10th.

CLEVELAND — For seven innings, Cleveland starter Ed Whitson dominated the Milwaukee Brewers. Then the real game started.

The Brewers didn’t collect their first hit until Paul Molitor singled to lead off the sixth. They didn’t get their second until Molitor singled in the eighth. And then…

Cecil Cooper had seen three pitches in three fruitless at bats until that point. But then Whitson made a mistake.

“It was a fastball down the middle,” Whitson explained. “His eyes lit up like silver dollars and I knew it was gone the minute I threw it.”

Cooper unloaded Whitson’s meatball over the right centerfield fence for his 23rd home run of the season. Suddenly, after struggling to even get a hit for seven innings, the Brewers and Indians were tied at two.

Moose Haas kept the Brewers in the game throughout, allowing only two runs on 10 hits and two walks through nine innings. He may have come out for the tenth except that Mike Hargrove lined a shot off of Haas’ hand to end the ninth.

Both teams passed up opportunities to win the game, but the Brewers would finally capitalize in the 10th (though it would come after poor execution). Molitor again singled to lead off the inning and moved to second on an error by Miguel Dilone. Robin Yount then dropped a hard bunt back to the mound and Molitor was caught in between second and third. Luckily, he stayed in a run-down long enough to get Yount to second.

Then the drama…

Cecil Cooper again came through, this time with a one hop single to right. Yount flew around third and appeared to beat a strong throw from outfielder Von Hayes. The throw was to the left shoulder of catcher Ron Hassey, who made a swipe tag of Yount as he slid across the plate.

Umpire Drew Coble pointed down, and Yount assumed he was being called out. Robin jumped to his feet and appeared to grab Coble by the shoulders. Ted Simmons, who had raced over from the on deck circle, then began screaming at Coble. Manager Harvey Kuenn rushed out of the dugout and third base coach Harry Werner rumbled toward the plate.

Coble then waved both arms and made the call he was attempting the entire time: SAFE. He had simply pointed to where Yount had touched the plate.

“I don’t know what I did but there was no way in the world I was out,” Yount explained. “I snapped a bit. When I realized he had called me safe, I said ‘ok’ and walked away as fast as I could because I thought I was in trouble.”

Kuenn had a similar account. “To tell the truth I have no idea what I was saying to Coble out there. [Gorman] Thomas grabbed me by the shoulders, shook me and yelled, ‘He called him SAFE!’ in my face, and I said, ‘See ya later.'”

Moments later, Ted Simmons hit his 18th home run of the season to give the Brewers a 5-2 lead that they would not give up. Rollie Fingers pitched the 10th for his 25th save.

The Brewers’ lead in the AL East increased to a season-high 2.5 games after the Boston Red Sox fell to the Chicago White Sox 6-3.

Stormin’ Gorman Socks Two

July 27 Leave a Comment

Brewers 8, Rangers 2
Brewers now 56-40 (1st)
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ARLINGTON, Tex. — Gorman Thomas entered today’s game with five hits in 19 at bats on the road trip and 12 for his last 69. He had one home run dating back to July 15.

Today, Gorman was the hero in an 8-2 Brewers win. In the fourth inning, he pasted a 1-1 pitch off of Rick Honeycutt into the left field bleachers between two fan-made Brewers signs for a three-run homer to give the Crew a 3-1 lead. In the sixth, he slugged another Honeycutt offering just over Lee Mazzilli‘s glove for a two-run homer to make it a 5-1 game. The home run gave him the American League lead with 25.

“It was a fastball over the plate and the wind was blowing out,” Thomas told the Milwaukee Sentinel about his second home run. “Tonight was my night but on this team, tomorrow could belong to someone else.”

The next time Thomas strolled to the plate in the eighth, he was struck by a Dan Boitano fastball up around his elbow. Gorman, clearly fumed, glared at Boitano as he slowly walked to first.

In the eighth, reliever Pete Ladd threw a pitch up and in on Buddy Bell that sent him to the deck, and umpire Rich Garcia warned both benches. Was it retaliation? Ladd says no, though he did say Boitano should have been throwing strikes with the game out of hand at 7-1.

Moose Haas, on the other hand, did throw strikes. He allowed one run on seven hits and no walks through seven innings. He came out of the game after his left forearm stiffened up thanks to a fifth inning liner by George Wright. Haas is not expected to miss any time.

The best news of the night is that the Red Sox lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 3-1, meaning that the Brewers are once again a half game up in the AL East. They look to extend that lead in the rubber match with the Rangers tomorrow.

Brewers Mash Four Homers in Win

July 21 Leave a Comment

Brewers 10, Twins 4
Brewers now 54-37 (1st)
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Don Money hit two home runs to lead the Brewers

MINNEAPOLIS — The Brewers have been playing a finesse game of late to varying levels of success. That style does not fit Harvey’s Wallbangers.

Today, the Brewers returned to their roots, mashing four home runs en route to a 10-4 win over the Twins, salvaging the finale of a three-game series. Don Money, filling in for Cecil Cooper who sat with a sore right knee, mashed two long balls while Ben Oglivie and Charlie Moore knocked out one.

The tone was set early in this game. In the bottom of the first, Tom Brunansky hit what appeared to be a home run to right center, but Gorman Thomas made a leaping grab that pulled the ball back into the park.

The Brewers scored their first run on a leadoff homer by Money in the 3rd. Then they benefitted from Frank Viola‘s bout of wildness in the fourth, tacking on six more runs. Viola walked in one run before Paul Boris took the mound. Simmons hit a sacrifice fly, Gorman Thomas walked, and Ben Oglivie hit a grand slam just clear of the 327 foot sign in right.

“There was no doubt it was out of here but only in this place,” said Oglivie. “Any other park and you can forget about it.”

It was Benji’s 22nd home run of the season, tying him with teammate Gorman Thomas, Cleveland’s Andre Thornton and California’s Reggie Jackson for the AL lead.

Moose Haas picked up his third straight win and struck out eight in eight innings.

The Red Sox split a double header with the Rangers, giving the Brewers a half game lead in the AL East. The Brewers have a day off tomorrow before heading to Kansas City.

Game Notes: The Brewers won the season series with the Twins 7-5. The Twins are the only team to beat the Brewers since July 4.

Mike Morgan Owns Brewers Again

July 1 Leave a Comment

Yankees 5, Brewers 3
Brewers now 42-32 (2nd)
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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.

Brewers Bash Boston Again

June 26 Leave a Comment

Brewers 11, Red Sox 10
Brewers now 39-30 (2nd)
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Cecil Cooper homered for the second consecutive game.

BOSTON — If the Red Sox didn’t take the Brewers seriously prior to this series, the Brewers have made them and the entire league aware that they are an offensive force to be reckoned with after two games.

Two games, 20 runs and 31 hits for the Brewers. Five home runs by four different players. Clutch hitting.

Sure, the Brewers haven’t been particularly impressive on the mound, allowing 13 runs on 30 hits in those two games. But Harvey’s Wallbangers take advantage of their opportunities. The Brewers are 9-for-22 (.409) with runners in scoring position; the Red Sox are 6-for-21 (.286). It’s been the difference.

Still not impressed? Seven of the Brewers’ runs today were scored with two outs. That’s silly.

Today the home runs came from Ben Oglivie (18), Cecil Cooper (14) and Charlie Moore (3). It was Cooper’s second in as many days. It was Oglivie’s sixth in six days.

Sure, the Crew can’t catch the Red Sox during this four-game series, but they can certainly make their presence known. Two games down, they’ve cut Boston’s lead to three games. Suddenly, life at the top has gotten a bit less comfortable.

Now, it wasn’t all roses today. As has been mentioned, the Brewers’ pitchers have yet to impress in this series. Today it was Moose Haas who got knocked around for six runs on 11 hits in 5 1/3 innings. This was following an encouraging outing against the Tigers. Haas has now allowed six or more runs in three of his last four games.

Rollie Fingers wasn’t perfect, but we’re getting greedy when we expect perfection. He’s been close to flawless lately, and he blew a save before letting the Red Sox get back into the game with two runs in the ninth. But he held on.

No matter what happens in the next two games, we are convinced. The Milwaukee Brewers are a new team under Harvey Kuenn. They’ve earned the Harvey’s Wallbangers nickname. They were 23-24 when Kuenn took over. They are 16-6 since with 1,347,338 home runs.

Maybe not that many, but they’ve hit a lot. And they are doing it with a smile on their faces. We fans, too, smile as we watch.

Game Notes: Charlie Moore led the Brewers with three hits and three RBI. Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglivie and Ed Romero each had two hits … Dwight Bernard allowed two runs in 2/3 of an inning, snapping his scoreless inning streak at 12 2/3 innings.