UL Washington

Vuckovich Returns, Brewers Win

July 24

Brewers 7, Royals 4
Brewers now 55-38 (1st)
Box Score | Season Schedule

KANSAS CITY — After missing some time with an injured hand, ace Pete Vuckovich returned to the mound today against the Royals. It didn’t start out pretty for Vuke, but then again his starts rarely are a thing of beauty. He just wins.

The Brewers took a first inning lead on a two-run home run by Cecil Cooper, his 20th of the season. Vuckovich gave a run back in the first following a leadoff triple by Willie Wilson and a sacrifice fly by UL Washington. The Brewers extended their lead to 4-1 in the 2nd after a series of singles, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly. But the Royals tied it back up when they scored three more runs on Vuke on four hits, a walk and an error.

Cecil Cooper made it 5-4 in the third on a comebacker to the mound that scored Yount, and then both offenses remained silent until the ninth. At that point, Paul Molitor and Robin Yount took matters into their own hands, knocking in two more runs to give Vuke a little more cushion.

Vuckovich won, pitching a complete game and allowing three earned runs on 10 hits. He improved to 11-4 on the season.

Game Notes: The Red Sox lost, thereby increasing the Brewers’ lead in the AL East to a game and a half. … Robin Yount lined a single off of rookie pitcher Derek Botelho in the third, knocking him from the game. … Brewers hitters are hot. During the last 19 games, Robin Yount is hitting .430; Jim Gantner is hitting .549 over his last 17 games; Ted Simmons is hitting .408 over his last 12 games; and Don Money is hitting .464 over his last eight games.

Brewers Hesitate, Royals Win

May 3

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.

May 3-5 Series Preview vs. Kansas City

May 3

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.