The Brewers finish up the month of July with a 2-day, 3-game series versus the Detroit Falcons in Denver.
In the first game of a rare Monday double header the Brewers relinquish an early 3-1 lead and were trailing 6-3 going into the bottom of the 7th and the Denver faithful were starting to express their frustration with the way things have been going lately for their team. And then all of that frustration just melted into elation as the Brewers sent 16 men to the plate in the bottom of the 7th, scoring 11 times and end of winning 14-6. Andrew Kennedy (.332/.376/.442), who entered the game as a pinch-hitter for pitcher Justin Bismark with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd, tripled home two runs and the inning was still going when his spot in the lineup came around again the same inning and he drove in 2 more with a single his second time up. In spite of not starting the game and not appearing in the field at all during the game, Kennedy still won the Player of the Game honors for his 2 for 2, 4 RBI performance. It would require taking a good deal more space here than I wish to in order to highlight every great performance in this game, but suffice it to say that Jonathan Koch (.317/.338/.470) continued his brilliance with a 2 for 5, 3 run, 1 RBI, 1 HR (11) game. And although he only went 1 for 3, Greg Tietz (.388/.444/.694) lone hit was his 5th HR of the season (in just 53 plate appearances.) Justin Peacock got the start for the Brewers and was not bad at all- giving up just 2 runs on 6 hits in 5 2/3rds innings pitched. He did not get credit for a win as Liann-wei Hua gave up the lead by allowing 3 runs while only recording 1 out. Justin Bismark, who has pitched very well since being called up from AAA earlier this summer, was awarded the win, his 1st and now has an ERA of 1.08.
The Brewers didn't score as many runs in the nightcap, but not by much. More importantly, their pitching allowed only a pair of runs to the Falcons, and the Brewers won 12-2. Lefty Erik Sloan pitched a solid game for the home team, working 7 innings and allowing 2 runs on 9 hits. With the win he improves to 10-6 with a 3.63 ERA. This time Andrew Kennedy got the start in left field. And was once again named Player of the Game, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 5 driven in and hitting his 4th HR of the season. Mike Foster (.285/.320/.394) also had a good game, collecting 3 hits in 5 at-bats. And light hitting defensive specialist Oscar Vargas (.226/.323/.304), getting a start at shortstop, went 3 for 4 and drove in a pair of runs.
Although it was a much closer, low-scoring affair, the Brewers got the sweep by winning game 3, 3-2, behind another strong start for Harry Lyerly. Lyerly really only made one mistake in the game, serving up a fat pitch to Detroit first baseman Jason Drum in the 3rd inning which he crushed for a 2-run HR. But Lyerly was strong after that and allowed just the 2 runs on only 4 hits in 8 innings pitched, striking out 5 and walking 3. With the victory, Lyerly improves to 9-4 with a 2.98 ERA. Jose de los Santos nearly blew the lead in the top of the 9th but Liann-wei Hua came in to strike out the one batter he faced, with the bases loaded and 2 outs, to get his 6th save (3.90 ERA.) Chad Brown (.291/.314/.358) who has been slumping for some time now, went 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 1 walk, and hit his 16th double. Andrew Kennedy (.332/.377/.447) only had 1 hit in 3 at-bats but that 1 was his 3rd triple of 1973 and he drew a walk. Also, for the second time in the series Chad Brown and Pat Rondeau successfully executed a double steal and this gets Brown to 18 for the season and Rondeau to an even 20.
With the series sweep the Brewers are now 1 game behind Brooklyn- who they next host for a short 2-game series, and lead the currently red-hot L.A. Spinners by a game and a half.