The Denver Brewers entered a 3-game home series against the second place San Francisco Velocity needing just a series win to clinch the MGL West pennant.
In game 1 they got a strong start by
Austin Bond (15-7, 3.53) and a 3 for 3, 1 run scored and 2 RBI performance from star right fielder
Antonio Acuna (.316/.352/.522) to claim a relatively easy 8-3 win (the Velocity scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th before being shut down).
But the Velocity weren't ready to roll over and play dead yet as they powered to a 10-3 win in game 2. The Brewers starter
Mike Costa (8-8, 3.76) gave up 4 home runs in his 6 1/3rd innings pitched (2 each to veteran infielders Leo Willis and Kasey O'Neil).
Antonio Acuna went 2 for 4 in the game and hit his team best 26th home run and collected his MGL-best 109th RBI.
The Brewers jumped out to a 5-run lead in the 3rd inning of game 3 and although the Velocity answered with 4 runs of their own in the top of the 4th, veteran starting pitcher
Eric Johnson then shut things down and the Brewers eventually would run away with the game by scoring 4 runs in both the 7th and 8th innings on the way to a 13-5 win to clinch the pennant.
Johnson, whose WPK career started in Denver and who is a native of Trinidad, Colorado, started the season poorly as a member of the Pittsburgh Roadrunners, going 1-6 with a 5.86 ERA but has now gone 7-3 with a 3.10 ERA since joining the Brewers, winning 5 of his last 6 starts (with the lone loss a low scoring affair which was decided by a single run). With the inconsistencies of the rotation this season,
Johnson's importance in stabilizing things a bit down the stretch run should not be under-estimated. Foremost among the offensive stars of this game was veteran second baseman
Bobby Erbakan, who has had a solid season at the plate (.282/.342/.446) even while being a jerk in the clubhouse and in the dugout. Fourth outfielder
Myles Ford (.332/.369/.540) has quietly built a great case for more playing time in 1984, not only with a good bat, including flashing some real power, but with excellent defensive play in center field.
Meanwhile, over in the MGL East the Brooklyn Aces took another step towards claiming their 2nd division pennant in the past 3 seasons with a win over the second place Detroit Falcons to take 2 of 3 in a series in Brooklyn. Brooklyn now leads the MGL East by 4 games over Detroit and 10 1/2 over Oklahoma City, the only other team that hasn't been mathematically eliminated from contention in the division.
Prior to the Brewers clinching the MGL West, the mighty San Antonio Keys and their murderers row lineup clinched the SJL West and have a WPK-best 96-56 record.
In the MGL East, the Washington Night Train, having relinquished first place to the Philadelphia Mud Hens earlier in the month, have recently had an 11-game win streak and now lead the division over Philly and Boston by 4 1/2 games.