Rangers

Brewers Blown Back

August 11

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.

Ain’t No Stoppin’ the Brewers

August 10

Brewers 11, Rangers 3
Brewers now 65-45 (up by 4.5 games)
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Ben Oglivie broke out of his slump with a home run and four RBI.

MILWAUKEE — This game belonged to the Brewers from the start. Jim Slaton set the Rangers down in order in the top of the first, and the Brewers’ offense scored four in the bottom of the inning. That’s all they’d need.

Once again, they did everything right. Slaton, stepping in for the demoted Randy Lerch, allowed only two runs in seven innings pitched. The previously struggling Ben Oglivie went 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. Every starter other than Marshall Edwards had at least a hit, and four Brewers had two.

It’s almost getting to the point where running through all of the positives is exhausting. Just about everything is going well. And not only “well,” but “really well.”

At 65-45, this team now has the best record in all of baseball. They lead the Red Sox by a season-high 4.5 games in the AL East. So pardon Brewers fans if they’re getting a bit giddy.

That giddiness is spilling over into the organization itself. In the midst of the five-run sixth inning, County Stadium’s scoreboard lit up with the line “There ain’t no stopping,” inspired by the popular disco song “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” by McFadden & Whitehead. There were similar slogans posted throughout the game.

Brewers manager Harvey Kuenn, attempting to keep a level head, was not impressed with the hype. “It’s too early to get caught up in a pennant race,” Kuenn asserted, “there are a lot of games left. I think it’s a bit out of place,” he said, referring to the scoreboard messages.

Maybe. But Brewers fans are pumped. We can feel it. This is our year. And we’re going to enjoy every minute of it.

Caldwell in the Zone as Brewers Win

August 9

Brewers 9, Rangers 1
Brewers now 64-45 (3.5 games up)
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MILWAUKEE — They say that when a hitter is “in the zone” he can’t miss. He can do no wrong. Today, Mike Caldwell showed that a pitcher can be in the zone, too.

Caldwell pitched a six-hit complete game victory for his 10th win of the season and third straight. The win also allowed the Brewers to extend their lead in the AL East to 3.5 games, their largest lead of the season.

But while the Brewers offense pounded out 13 hits, featuring a home run by Jim Gantner and four RBI from Robin Yount, Caldwell was the star. Other than a third inning solo home run by George Wright, Caldwell was virtually flawless, walking two and striking out three.

“If you told me he was a 10-10 pitcher and I didn’t know it, I’d call you a liar,” manager Harvey Kuenn said of his starting pitcher. “He has pitched flat out super baseball.”

It’s Caldwell’s second consecutive complete game, having thrown a shutout the last time out. In fact, he’s allowed only five earned runs in his last four starts, covering 34 innings.

“It’s like a hitter can hit a pitch no matter where it is at,” Caldwell explained. “I throw the ball and just think inside or outside and the ball ends up there.”

Whatever it is, it’s certainly working for Caldwell.

And whatever Jim Gantner did today worked as well. In addition to the home run, he had two other hits giving him three on the game. A week ago, he said he would not shave until he collected three hits in a game. Following today’s win, he was finally able to shave the week old beard. “I’m a man of my words,” a cleanly shaven Gantner said.

Today’s game was anything but a clean shave, thanks to Mike Caldwell’s zone. Game 2 of the series is tomorrow at 7:30 pm.

Rangers Bobble Game to Brewers

July 28

Brewers 3, Rangers 2
Brewers are now 57-40 (1st)
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1982 Topps Rollie Fingers In Action — Rollie Fingers was the talk of the clubhouse after the game.

ARLINGTON, Tex. — This was one of those games that the Brewers may not have deserved to win. But the Rangers certainly deserved to lose.

The good fortune started for the Brewers with two outs in the first inning. Rangers pitcher Frank Tanana induced a Ted Simmons ground ball to third base that should have ended the inning. Instead, Buddy Bell bobbled the ball, Simmons was safe at first and Robin Yount scored.

After Gorman Thomas doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs, Ben Oglivie hit another ground ball that should have ended the inning. This time, rookie first baseman Dave Hostetler bobbled it, Oglivie reached and Simmons scored.

Frank Tanana dominated the Brewers. He pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run on five hits. But his defense committed four errors, largely contributing to the loss.

Of course, the Brewers wouldn’t have won on three runs scored without some solid pitching. Bob McClure allowed only two runs in seven innings and was pulled after his left forearm stiffened up. In the fifth inning, Ranger George Wright hit a liner off of McClure, leading to his early removal.

Rollie Fingers, though, was perfect. The game’s top closer pitched two scoreless innings without allowing a baserunner for his 22nd save.

“Bobby [McClure] pitched well tonight,” said manager Harvey Kuenn after the game. “But the highlight of the night was Rollie’s pitch to Bell. It started out as a forkball, and end up as, well, you know…”

Rollie’s pitch was the talk of the clubhouse. With Buddy Bell at the plate to lead off the inning, Fingers threw a pitch to his first batter. As Harvey said, it was meant to be a forkball. Instead, it sailed well behind Bell’s back and to the Brewers’ dugout. It finally came to a stop in front of Pete Vuckovich.

“That is my ‘I don’t really want to throw this pitch anyway’ pitch,” Fingers said with a sly grin.

The Brewers could laugh about the pitch and their overall subpar play because they won the game to take two of three in the series. Meanwhile, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 9-7 to remain a half game out in the AL East.

Stormin’ Gorman Socks Two

July 27

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 Baffled by Knuckleball

July 26

Rangers 3, Brewers 1
Brewers now 55-40 (2nd)
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ARLINGTON, Tex. — Last time the Brewers met knuckleballer Charlie Hough, the Rangers pitcher was knocked around and out in the third inning. Today… Well, today was a different story, as Hough led the Rangers to a 4-1 win.

The secret? He had less movement on his knuckler.

“If it’s really moving,” Hough explained to the Milwaukee Sentinel, “I end up walking six guys and throwing 2,000 pitches. It’s a funny pitch. You just can’t predict which way it will go, which is good since the hitter can’t either.

Hough kept Brewers hitters off balance all game, mixing in an occasional 70 MPH “fastball” with his famed knuckleball. He limited the Crew to only a run on four hits in nine innings while walking only one.

Mike Caldwell was the victim of another opposing pitcher’s gem as he pitched plenty well enough to win. Caldwell scattered nine hits over eight innings while allowing only two earned runs.

The loss was the Brewers’ second in a row and fifth in their last seven games. This has been the team’s most challenging stretch under Harvey Kuenn.

Is Harvey worried? “I’m not worried in the least,” he said. “These guys are too good of players not to snap back.”

Well, the Red Sox beat the Blue Jays 3-2 today to retake first place in the AL East by a half a game. So hopefully fortunes will change quickly.

Game Notes: The Rangers had come into the game having lost 10 of their last 12 games. … Pitching coach Cal McLish visited the club after missing nearly two months with myasthenia gravis, a chemical imbalance resulting in a weakness in the muscles. No decision has been made on his role with the club for the remainder of the season. … Robin Yount was named the American League Player of the Week along with Baltimore’s Tippy Martinez by batting .460 with four homers and six RBI. … Randy Ready, the third baseman for the Brewers’ El Paso farm club, was named the Topps AA Player of the Month for the second straight month. He hit .388 with two homers and 18 RBI. … Brewers general manager Harry Dalton hinted that he wouldn’t mind picking up a starting pitcher with big league experience for the stretch run, but wouldn’t name any names.