The Scouting Report:
Game 1:
The Brewers have largely owned the Lords this season and that trend continued in this series, with game 1 featuring a terrific day at the plate for
Val Guzman who went 4 for 4 and continued his recent power hitting trend with a pair of dingers to get to 15 on the season.
Val also hit his 29th double, swiped his 20th base, and threw a runner out at home plate for his 6th assist, as he continues to build a legitimate MVP case. Much the same can be said of right fielder
Antonio Acuna, who only had one hit in this one but it was his team-high 19th home run. And
Sadahige Kawasaki continues to look like the prohibitive favorite for the MGL Pitcher of the Year award for 1979 (it would be his second consecutive) as he went the distance, giving up just 1 run- and he didn't allow that until there were 2 outs in the 9th inning- on 6 hits.
Kawasaki also went 2 for 4 at the plate including hitting a big 2-out, 2-run double in the 6th inning.
Game 2:
Brewers third baseman
Jake DiCesare (.324/.365/.517) is quietly having a great season- when he's healthy- and he led the offense to a game 2 win as he went 3 for 4 with a run scored and 3 RBI, hitting his 14th home run of the season.
Val Guzman stays red-hot, going 3 for 5 and picking up his team-best 21st stolen base.
Joe McPhillips (.309/.397/.501) was 3 for 5 and hit his 25th double and threw a runner out at home plate for his 9th outfield assist.
Sekien Hamasaki gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 8 hits over his 6 1/3rd innings but still earned the win and
Tim Shore pitched the 9th for his 25th save.
Game 3:
The Brewers get their second straight series sweep and have won six in a row now and
Joe McPhillips (.313/.400/.503) remains hot, going 3 for 5 again.
Jim Atwell got the start for the Brewers and pitched better than his line indicates in spite of not getting the win.
Atwell worked 7 2/3rds, being charged with 4 runs on 5 hits, and
Nick Schroeder came in and failed to hold the lead but vultured the win.
Tim Shore pitched the 9th for his 26th save in 28 chances.
Notes from around the league:
You have to feel kind of sorry for Jalen Cotton. The ultra-durable left-handed starting pitcher, who was the 3rd pick overall in the 1968 draft, has pitched most of his career on losing teams and has twice had the unwanted distinction of leading the league in losses. And yet the reality is that on the right team or teams he has the talent that he could have been considered one of the best pitchers in the game and even possibly a Hall of Fame candidate. In his best seasons he has been dominant: in 1972 he went 16-9 with a 2.07 ERA and helped lead the Charlotte Sting to their lone WPK Championship and in 1974 he was 18-8 with a 2.92 ERA. While his career win-loss record is 129-134 he has a respectable career ERA of 3.47 and WHIP of 1.26 with a career FIP- of 94. To be fair, his Wins Above Team number isn't a high as one might imagine, at 9.73. And he is the 16th highest paid player in the league and will see his annual salary rise to $466,000 per year for the next three seasons. Still, it might be some time still before the Chicago Fire are any good and this will likely continue to depress his statistics. This year the Fire are so far the worst team in all of the WPK, sitting in 12th place in the SJL with a 43-74 record, 37 1/2 games behind the first place San Antonio Keys.
The Keys (80-36) lead Columbus (78-38) by 2 games and the Philadelphia Mud Hens (70-46), who continue their second half surge and have won 6 straight, by 10 games.
Over in the MGL, the Brewers, who have also won 6 straight, now have a comfortable cushion of 16 games over the Los Angeles Spinners and Detroit Falcons, tied for 2nd with 64-53 records. Brooklyn (63-54), in 4th place, trails Denver by 17 games.