The Brewers are off to OKC for 4 games against the 7th place Diamond Kings.
The Monday game is called off due to bad weather and re-scheduled as the first game of a Tuesday double-header.
(Okay, a little note outside the reality of the WPK. The first game of this series was not originally postponed. In fact, the Brewers were leading it 9-2 in the 8th inning when the game just froze on me. Couldn't get it back. Had to sacrifice the game. I wasn't very happy to lose an almost sure win. On the other hand, Bobby Erbakan had to leave the game with an injury mid-game (having homered earlier) and I didn't of course know how serious the injury was or if we might lose him for an extended time. Still, Harry Lyerly was also pitching a good game and the way this season was going I was sure in a re-do he would get shelled. I was wrong. All's well that ends well.)
In the opening game of the double-header Harry Lyerly pitched his best game of the 1973 season. Lyerly pitched 8 great innings, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 11 batters and walking 3. (I realized finally that I was letting him throw way too many pitches and got him out of there.) The top of the lineup provided him with all the offense he would need and more. Chad Brown (.329/.339/.427) was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored from the lead-off slot. Pat Rondeau (.412/.424/.510), hitting in the two hole, was also 3 for 5, scoring twice and driving in 2 runs, hitting his 11th double and 2nd triple. With the 5-0 win Lyerly improves to 3-3 with a 3.66 ERA.
Unfortunately, the Brewers see Steve Green continue his struggles in the night cap. Green allows 6 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits in just 4 1/3rd innings pitched. The Brewers lose 6-2 and Green falls to 3-5 with a 5.06 ERA. Pat Rondeau continues his amazing season, going 2 for 5 and picking up his 8th stolen base in the loss. Andrew Kennedy (.321/.353/.430) went 2 for 4 and hit his league leading 16th double.
Game 3 of the series makes me want to sing a song in praise of sloth. The two Brewers who are most often singled out for their poor work ethics- starting pitcher Eric Johnson and right fielder Josh Schaeffer- combined to get the Brewers back on the winning track. Johnson, who has been the best pitching surprise for the team this year, was once again masterful. Over 8 innings, he held the Diamond Kings to 2 runs on only 3 hits. And Josh Schaeffer (.306/.414/.633) went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI, hit his 3rd HR (he crushed it!), his 1st double, drew a walk, and continued to play excellent defense in right field. Jonathan Koch (.341/.350/.503) went 3 for 4 in the narrow 3-2 victory. Johnson got the win, improving to 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA. Which basically means that the 6th starter on the staff is having the best year of all so far.
Let's talk more about Jonathan Koch. What the heck has gotten into this kid this season? Game 4 saw the young second baseman almost single handedly power the offense to a 4-0 victory. And power being the operative word as Koch drilled his team-leading 7th HR while going 2 for 4 with 3 RBI. And with the exception of Steve Green, you have to like what you are starting to see from the starting rotation. It was Erik Sloan's turn in this game, and while he was playing with fire much of the game (the Diamond Kings had runners in scoring position in more innings than not) he somehow managed to get the shutout, allowing 6 hits over his 9 innings, striking out 3 and walking 2. Chad Brown (.333/.344/.432) is really hitting lately, and after having a 21 game hitting streak earlier in the season he is now up to 12 straight currently. In this game he went 2 for 5 with a run scored and hit his 10th double of the season.
With the 3-1 series win the Brewers climb back into a tie for 2nd place with Brooklyn, 1 game behind the Los Angeles Spinners.
Jonathan Koch is now leading the MGL in batting average at .344 as L.A. star Travis Johnson has been in an extended slump that has seen his average drop from .406 as recently as May 19th to .338 today. Ryan Rodgers is in second, just ahead of Johnson, at .339.