[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers return home to Denver to take on the 4th place Los Angeles Spinners in a 4-game, 3-day set.

Game 1 was another fine outing for Harry Lyerly, who gave up just 1 run on 3 hits (he had a no-hitter through 6 innings) in 7 1/3rd innings pitched, striking out 6, walking 4, and once again not giving up any HR's. The Brewers won 4-1 and Lyerly improved to 8-4 with a 2.77 ERA. Bobby Erbakan (.280/.352/.390) went 2 for 4. Andrew Kennedy (.294/.325/.390) went 1 for 2 with a walk and his 18th double. The Brewers scored all of their runs in the bottom of the 7th, the big hit being Pat Rondeau's (.290/.313/.353) 2 RBI double. Miguel Solis pitched the 9th and got his 8th save (1.65 ERA.)

The score was reversed in game 2, the Brewers losing 4-1. Steve Green wasn't bad in the start- working 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, striking out 8 and walking none- but the Brewers bats were shut down by Spinners' ace Jason Wilson. With the loss Green falls to 6-5 with a 3.13 ERA. Bobby Erbakan finally hit his 5th HR of the season after a long homer-less drought. Chad Brown (.296/.323/.401) went 2 for 3 in the loss, hitting his 22nd double.

The Brewers also failed to get much offense in the first game of the Sunday doubleheader, spoiling a fine start by young lefty Matt Helm, who worked 8 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits (6 K, 2 BB). The Brewers lost 2-1 and Helm dropped to 4-4 but with a very respectable 2.58 ERA.

Rookie third baseman Mike Foster helped the team get a narrow victory in the night-cap to secure a series split. Foster (.310/.330/.393), who has been very impressive at the plate and solid in the field, went 3 for 4 in the game and drove in 2 runs. Chad Brown continued his hot hitting, going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, hitting his 23rd double, and also stole 2 bases to put his season total at 16 (with 7 CS.) Brown, who turns 26 in about a month, is on pace to have his best big league season.

With the series split the Brewers stay in 3rd place, 7 1/2 games behind the Charlotte Sting, who have dropped 7 straight, and 4 1/2 behind the Brooklyn Aces.

Quick Ruben Souffront update: Ruben started the 2nd game of the Sunday doubleheader against his former team, but went 0 for 3 (though he did draw 1 walk) and made a big throwing error that allowed 1 run to score and contributed to a 3-run 2nd inning for the Brewers. Ruben isn't playing much for the Spinners and his numbers are not good. He is only signed for this season and perhaps will get a chance to try to resurrect his career with another team in 1973.

The Brewers are now 2nd in the league in runs scored and 2nd in runs allowed. Their current run differential of +62 is now the best in the MGL, just ahead of Charlotte at +60 and Brooklyn at +56. There is a lot of season left and the feeling in the Brewers clubhouse is that a 4th straight MLG pennant is still well within reach.