In game 1 of 3 against the Diamond Kings, the Brewers drop a tight one, 5-4. Erik Sloan, the reigning MGL Pitcher of the Year, struck out 9 batters in 7 innings pitched, but he also allowed 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits. Sloan falls to 1-2 with a 3.43 ERA. Kevin Curtis (.265/.286/.471), known much more for his defense behind the plate than his batting skills at the dish, hit his 2nd HR of the season and also walked once, scoring twice in a 1 for 3 day. Ryan Rodgers (.267/.405/.367) went 2 for 4 and hit his 3rd double.
Game 2 saw another fine start by 26-year old Eric Johnson. Johnson went the distance in a 7-2 win, giving up the 2 runs on just 5 hits while striking out 4 and walking none. Johnson improves to 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA. The Brewers offense was led by Joe McPhillips (.314/.368/.514), who is starting to live up to his great potential. McPhillips went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 driven in, and he hit his 1st HR of the season. Ryan Rodgers (.324/.439/.529) stays hot, going 3 for 5 and hitting a pair of triples.
The Brewers got another fine start from Harry Lyerly in the rubber match, but then almost let the win get away from them. Lyerly (2-0, 1.61) worked 7 innings, giving up 3 runs (including back-to-back-jacks in the 6th) on 8 hits but also striking out 10 while walking 3. The Brewers had a 6-4 lead going into the 9th inning and closer Jose de los Santos was brought in to finish the game off. He didn't. de los Santos gave up 3 straight doubles, without recording an out, before being replaced by Sam Pruiett. Pruiett got the 3 outs that were needed but the runner at second advanced to third on the first out (a groundball out) and went home on the second (sac fly). So the Diamond Kings had taken the lead 7-6 going into the bottom of the 9th. Their closer, Darwin Keiser, was on the mound, having also pitched the 8th. After walking Pat Rondeau to start the inning, he induced a harmless fly ball out off the bat of Ryan Rodgers to get the first out. (Rodgers had fouled off 5 pitches after falling to a 1-2 count before finally making the out.) At this point young fireballer Ben Bakeman was brought into the game. He walked Joe McPhillips to put two men on. But then struck out Andrew Kennedy for the second out. Things weren't looking good for the home nine. But guess who was up? That's right, Mike "Hero" Foster. And after working to a 3-2 count, Foster hammered a line drive up the middle that tied the game. So at least the Brewers would stay alive for extra innings, if nothing else. Jonathan Koch was up next. Koch already had 2 hits in the game, including a 4th inning double (his 3rd). And with an inauspicious 0-2 count working against him, Koch managed to make contact and hit a ground ball, which snuck past the second baseman into right field. The speedy Joe McPhillips easily scores from third. Walk-off celebrations ensue. It was a good day for the youth movement. With his 3 for 5 day Koch improves to .295/.320/.364. Mike Foster's 2 for 4 day makes his slash line .291/.339/.309. Andrew Kennedy went 2 for 5, hitting his 4th double and is now .298/.322/.368. Oh, and Kevin Curtis, whose career single-season high in homers was 7 in 1971, hit another long ball today to give him 3 for the season and put him on pace for 35. Where did that come from? (What you don't know is that I had a game wiped out recently by technical difficulties. A game in which Kevin Curtis hit a homerun. So he really seems to be hitting the ball hard this season.)
