Well, all good things must come to an end eventually. Even, and maybe especially, 13 game winning streaks in the WPK.
It's just unfortunate that this one came to an end with such a resounding thud.
The Brewers came to Charlotte the owners of a 13-game win streak to face the 2nd place Sting who themselves had won 3 straight. And the Brewers leave Charlotte having helped the Sting extend their streak to 6 in a row.
Early season winning streaks can be awfully fun but this is a lesson in just how quickly the advantage they afford a team can melt away. The Brewers now lead the Sting by only 2 1/2 games in the suddenly once again very competitive MGL.
Of course, losses can be instructive too, and hopefully the Brewers will learn from being on the wrong end of this series sweep. And as often is the case, there were silver linings to these clouds as well. More about that below.
So, in game 1 Cheol-han Lee suffered his first loss of the 1974 season. The unheralded but rather potent Sting lineup- led by Rule 5 pick up Bill Burkart, talented rookie right fielder Tom Williams, young budding superstar center fielder Jose Gutierrez, and veteran second baseman Amari Williams- got to the Brewers ace for 4 runs on 8 hits in his 6 innings pitched as the Sting prevailed 4-1. Lee drops to 5-1 on the season with a 2.38 ERA. Jonathan Koch (.357/.385/.482) was the only Brewer who managed to get more than a single hit, as he collected 2 singles in 4 at-bats.
The Game 1 Silver Lining: Okay, this one's a bit of a stretch- but interestingly starter Cheol-han Lee and reliever Jordan Stephens, who pitched the last 2 innings, end the game with identical ERA's (2.38). So maybe there is the silver lining, regarding Stephens. After a rather rough outing several weeks ago his ERA had inflated quite a bit but with another strong couple of innings in this one he seems to have returned to the form we have become accustomed to.
Game 2 was a pitching duel between Harry Lyerly and the talented young Charlotte knuckleballer Lienhart Brown. The game went to the bottom of the 9th tied 0-0 (Jamel McNeil having replaced Brown in the 7th inning before giving way to former Brewer Josh Morrow in the 9th). Harry Lyerly, having plenty left in the tank, was still on the mound in the 9th and got the lead-off hitter to bounce into a harmless grounder- well, harmless enough until it was mis-played by shortstop Chad Brown. The next hitter laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to second and Lyerly gave way to left handed reliever Liann-wei Hua to face the tough lefty hitter Tom Williams. Perhaps Lyerly should have stayed in the game. Hua threw a wild pitch with a 2-2 count to move the runner to third, and then gave up the game-winning single.
Oh, and the Brewers managed only 1 hit in the game- a Ryan Rodgers single in the 6th inning.
The Game 2 Silver Lining: This one should be obvious. Harry Lyerly took the loss, one he really didn't deserve. But he pitched by far his best game of the season yet, against a very fine hitting team in a hitter's park. Lyerly gave up no earned runs in his 8 1/3rd innings pitched, allowing just 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. Hopefully this bodes well for the rest of the season.
Veteran left-handed starter Erik Sloan continues his early struggles as he allows Charlotte to score 5 runs in the 2nd inning and another in the 3rd. Sloan gives up the 6 runs on 7 hits in his 5 innings pitched. Sloan, normally known for his great control, also walked 6 batters while striking out just 4. Sloan takes the loss and moves to 3-3 on the year with an ugly 5.55 ERA. Ryan Rodgers (.448/.560/.540) continues his fine season with a 2 for 4 day at the plate and an outfield assist, throwing out Matt Sisk at home plate from his spot in left field. Bobby Erbakan (.299/.352/.530) also went 2 for 4 in the loss.
The Game 3 Silver Lining: Eric Johnson, who hasn't pitched much yet this season but has been hit hard in his two previous appearances, pitched a strong 3 innings in this one. His ERA drops from 12.46 to a somewhat less horrible 7.36.
