Vida Blue

Randy Lerch Shuts Out Royals

July 10

Brewers 7, Royals 0
Brewers now 47-35 (2nd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — The Brewers have been hitting home runs at a record pace since Harvey Kuenn took over, but it’s games like this one that leave little doubt that they are a serious contender for the AL East title and more.

Sure, the offense was fantastic again. The Brewers scored seven runs on 19 hits. Seven of the nine Brewers hitters had multiple hits. Paul Molitor, Robin Yount and Ted Simmons all hit home runs. Ho hum.

But starting pitcher Randy Lerch was the real story today. Coming in at 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA, Lerch is the clear weak link of the rotation. Yet he shut out what is probably the league’s number two offense, after the Brewers. Nine innings, nine hits, three walks, six strikeouts. No runs.

It was Lerch’s first shutout of the season and the second of his career (his first was in 1979 with the Philadelphia Phillies). Was today’s performance unexpected? You bet. He hadn’t thrown more than seven innings in a game all season, and he reached seven only twice in 15 outings.

But what makes this win most impressive isn’t the offensive explosion or Randy Lerch’s performance. It’s that it was done against the Royals, the AL West’s best team. And the offense teed off on Vida Blue (an accomplished starting pitcher who entered the game with a 3.40 ERA) for four runs on 10 hits, knocking him out before he could get an out in the fourth inning.

The Red Sox beat the Twins 5-4 today to keep the Brewers a game back. But they won’t be able to hold off this impressive Crew forever.

Bad Bounce, Poor Execution Lead to Loss

May 5

Royals 3, Brewers 2 (10)
Brewers now 12-10 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — After two unlikely heroes led to a Brewers victory yesterday, Mark Brouhard was set up perfectly to take those honors today.

In the second inning, Brouhard hit a two-run homer to left to give the Brewers a 2-1 lead. Minutes later, Brouhard made two fantastic catches, crashing into the left field wall to retire George Brett and Hal McRae in the third, keeping the Royals from scoring at least one run.

Even after the Royals tied the game fourth on a two-out RBI single by Onix Concepcion, it was Brouhard’s game. He had been the offense. His defense kept the team from trailing. Just score a run for the guy and make him the hero.

But Brouhard was the only Brewers player who came to hit. Vida Blue, making his first start since recovering from a shoulder injury, held the Brewers to two runs on six hits in six innings. Dan Quisenberry relieved him and held the Crew to two hits for four more.

Moore, Slaton Save the Day

May 4

Brewers 9, Royals 5
Brewers now 12-9 (3rd)
Box Score | Season Schedule

MILWAUKEE — You know what’s great about this team? You never know who is going to be the hero. It could be Robin. It could be Molly. It could be Coop, Gantner, Gorman or Oglivie. Lately, it’s even been Simmons.

Today? Today it was Charlie Moore.

Down 5-4 in the 6th, Larry Hisle took off on the first pitch from Royals’ reliever Grant Jackson. Moore promptly planted it into the first row of the left field seats, his first homer of the season.

The Brewers would never again trail. Moore would knock in another for good measure, finishing with two hits, three runs scored and three runs batted in.

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.