The Brewers begin a 7-game home stretch with 4 against the pre-season favorite Los Angeles Spinners, who are in fact off to a good start as they sit in 2nd place, just a 1/2 game behind Brooklyn, with a 20-12 record.
The Spinners have a dominant starting rotation and a poor bullpen. They also lead the MGL in runs scored and several other offensive categories, are tied for 1st in stolen bases and are 2nd in HR's. In other words, they are a formidable opponent. If you can not get too far behind and can tire out their starting pitcher, you might have a chance. Otherwise, it will likely be a long day.
And in the first game of the series the Brewers only allowed 4 runs, but they failed to score even once and went down 4-0. L.A.'s veteran captain and staff ace Jose Santos held the Brewers to 5 hits in his 8 innings pitched. Harry Lyerly had his worst start of the season thus far, allowing 4 runs on 10 hits over 6 innings. He falls to 2-2 with a 2.98 ERA. Of the Brewers 6 hits in the game, Chad Brown (.343/.358/.440) hit 2 in his 4 at-bats, extending his hitting streak. Bobby Erbakan also extended his streak with 1 hit.
Game 2 wasn't much different as L.A. won 5-1. Steve Green continued his disappointing start to the 1973 season, allowing 5 runs on 8 hits (including 3 HR's) over 7 innings pitched. Green falls to 2-3 with a 4.65 ERA. Ryan Rodgers (.344/.443/.478) was 2 for 4 in the loss with a pair of doubles which gives him 6 for the season. Bobby Erbakan (.279/.348/.410) extended his hitting streak to 19 games with a 4th inning triple, his 2nd.
It took some late scoring, but the Brewers fight back to win the third game, 5-4. Erik Sloan pitches a solid 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits. Sam Pruiett, who replaced him, gave up a couple of runs, but after that the bullpen was solid and the offense started to wake up. Bobby Erbakan (.303/.365/.424) is starting to get hot, which seems like an odd thing to say of a player whose 3 for 5 game extended his hitting streak to 20 games. But the reality is that there were a good number of 1 hit games during the streak. Pat Rondeau (.452/.468/.534), who has now hit in 16 straight, was also 3 for 5, hitting his 4th double and picking up his 3rd stolen base. Jonathan Koch (.359/.373/.496) continues to have a great sophomore season with a 4 for 4 game, collecting a pair of doubles to get to 8 for the season. Koch is currently the holder of the 2nd best batting average in all of the WPK among qualified hitters. Chad Brown (.338/.352/.453) only had 1 hit in the game but it was a big one. Not only did it extend his hitting streak to 19 games but it was his 3rd homer of the season, a 1-out solo shot in the 8th inning that seemed to wake up the slumbering Denver offense.
The final game of the series got off to a very bad start for the home team. But as they say, all's well that ends well.
Eric Johnson was bound to come back to earth at some point, and facing the mighty Spinners was probably a likely time for that to happen. Johnson gave up 3 runs in the 1st inning and if not for a timely double play turned by the Brewers fantastic infield it could have been quite a bit worse. As it turned out Johnson would give up 6 runs on 9 hits in just 4 1/3rd inning pitched. But the bullpen was solid and the Denver offense just never gave up. Trailing 7-2 going into the bottom of the 6th, the Brewers scored 1 run in the 6th, 2 in the 7th, another 2 in the 8th, to tie the game 7-7 going into the 9th. Jordan Stephens pitched a perfect 9th to keep the game knotted. Then, in the bottom of the 9th, with L.A. closer Barry Guy on the mound, the Brewers saw Chad Brown fly out to center and Pat Rondeau hit into a 6-3 ground out. Extra Innings were starting to look inevitable. But veteran Ryan Rodgers did what he does so well, worked a walk. Bobby Erbakan, who had extended his hitting streak to 21 games earlier in the game, watched two straight balls pass by. He was almost on top of the next pitch, but he fouled it off straight behind the plate. The next pitch he swung at, and missed. One strike away from extra frames. But the next pitch, Bobby didn't miss. In fact, he sent it 426 feet away into the left-center stands. Erbakan's first HR of the 1973 season is a 2-run walk-off. And the Brewers salvage a series split.
Let's give some love to Andrew Kennedy too. Kennedy (.331/.346/.454) went 3 for 3 with a walk and an RBI in the win. And not to ignore Oscar Vargas. Vargas, who came into the game to replace the recently promoted Joe Willemse at third base, who had to leave with an as yet undisclosed injury, hit the 8th inning 2-run HR that tied the game. It was Vargas first bomb of the season.
Bobby Erbakan's (.310/.367/.465) hitting streak is now at 21 games. Chad Brown (.333/.347/.451) is at 20 games in his streak. And Pat Rondeau (.436/.451/.513) sits at 17 games and counting.