Ruben "Streak" Souffront and the Denver Brewers

[BirdWatcher]

With both teams coming in playing very well, the first place Phoenix Speed Devils and their main (right now, really only) rival Denver face off for a 3-game series in the Mile High City.

And let's cut to the chase. It was a good series for the home team, as they sweep the Speed Devils and move to within 1 1/2 games of first place.
Basically this was a classic case of great pitching beating great hitting. Which is even more impressive given that the Speed Devils are not only the best hitting team in the WPK, but their lineup is stacked with great left-handed power hitters. And Brewers Field is a good place to be a left-handed power hitter. Unless, that is, you are facing the Denver Brewers pitching staff.

Game 1 was a squeaker- a 1-0 shutout! Daniel Torres, the lone lefty in the Denver rotation, got things started off on the right foot, dominating Phoenix for 8 innings, allowing just 4 hits while striking out 7 and walking 4. Torres improves to 10-4 with the win and now has a league best 2.24 ERA. Eric Singer comes in to get save #14. The lone run in the game was scored on an Andrew Kennedy sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8th. The kid finds a way to contribute even on a night when he goes 0 for 3.

The middle game of the series is the highest scoring, as the Brewers win 5-3. In a game in which Cheol-han Lee was constantly having to work out of self-made trouble (he gave up 3 runs on 13 hits in 7 innings pitched- though he didn't walk anyone and collected 5 strikeouts), Tanner Yurek (.292/.384/.522) provided an offensive spark by crushing a pair of HR's, driving in 3 runs. Yurek is now up to 17 homers for the season. Jared Stephenson (.221/.246/.362) also pitched in with his 17th homer of 1970.
Lee improves to 12-4 with a 2.88 ERA.

Game 3 was another shutout victory, though this time with a bit more wiggle room as the Brewers won 5-0. Fifth starter Will Smart continued his fantastic season, working 7 1/3rd scoreless innings, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 4 and walking 3. Once again it was the team that hits the fewest HR's in the league, rather than the team that hits the most, that put runs on the board via the long ball. Light-hitting utility infielder Oscar Vargas (.181/.259/.274, but who does have a little HR power on occasion) hit his 3rd HR of the season in the 6th inning, a 2-run shot, and Antonio Puente (.247/.359/.485) hit HR #20, a solo bomb, in the 8th.

With one more day before the calendar turns to September, we once again have a race on our hands for the MGL pennant.

[BirdWatcher]

After the emotional uplift from the series sweep of Phoenix it was perhaps inevitable that the Brewers would experience a bit of a let-down playing against the 5th place Detroit Falcons, and they did, dropping both games of the 2-game series.

In game 1, starter Abel Pennington was looking pretty sharp early on, striking out 2 Falcons in the first inning, but then he was forced to leave the game due to back spasms with only those 2 outs recorded. Adam Getchell took over and perhaps wasn't properly prepared for the situation as he allowed 6 runs on 6 hits over 3 1/3rd innings pitched. Jaden Francis was next and didn't fare much better, allowing 3 runs on 3 hits over the final 5 innings. The Brewers lose 9-4. Getchell takes the loss, dropping to 6-2 with a 2.59 ERA.

Game 2 saw Harry Lyerly once again take the mound. Although Lyerly gave up a run in the 1st inning on a pair of singles and a walk and another run in the 4th on a solo HR, other than that Lyerly was once again masterful, as he tied his own record for K's in a game with 14. Lyerly pitches 9 innings, giving up just the 2 runs on 5 hits, while walking just 2 batters. The game goes to the bottom of the 9th with the Brewers trailing 2-1, but youngster Andrew Kennedy takes Lyerly off the hook with a pinch-hit, lead-off HR (his 7th HR of the season). The Brewers fail to score after that though and the game heads into extra innings. In the top of the 11th Eric Singer uncorks a wild pitch with the bases loaded and 2 outs which scores what proves to be the winning run. The Falcons win 3-2 and Singer drops to 7-6 with a 1.97 ERA. Although he doesn't get a decision in the game Lyerly is named Player of the Game and sees his ERA drop to 2.68.

Next- the Brewers travel to Phoenix to play 3 more against the 1st place Speed Devils, who now hold a 2 1/2 game lead over Denver.

[BirdWatcher]

With both AAA Chester and AA Nashville having great season and easily leading their respective leagues, the Brewers didn't want to prematurely pull too many players up to the big league club so that some of the young men could experience the thrill of winning with their current clubs. Although both Chester and Nashville some time ago clinched their leagues, the idea is to give them both a chance to take a championship more or less with their rosters intact.

So the Brewers were fairly judicious in their September 1st call-ups, bringing back Ruben Souffront and Jose Careaga, along with veteran outfielder James Jackson and finally top pitching prospect Steve Green. It is believed that Green is nearly big league ready and it is expected he will be given a chance to earn a spot on the team in 1971 so the Brewers wanted to give him a first taste of what life is like in the WPK. Plus, the rather advanced Green, while being a good teammate down at AAA Chester, was clearly itching to be in Brewers purple and would rather be part of a contending team in Denver than a dominating potential championship team in Chester.

In a few weeks, once Chester and Nashville have either won championships or not, a few more players might be brought up for a taste of big league life. Most likely are firstbaseman Steve Hobza (a likely trade bait candidate this off-season), infielder Danny Roman, who will likely be auditioning for a back-up position on the team in 1971, and catcher Jeff Darden, who will likely be given a chance to compete for the back-up catcher job in Denver next season.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers Rookie League team- the Greensboro Bisons- wasn't very good this season. With just a few games left on the schedule they are trying not to finish in last place.
And with a few amateur drafts in a row now in which the Brewers have not had a chance at the best talent, the lower rungs of the Brewers organization are not littered with prospects.

Still, a few players down at Greensboro this season distinguished themselves as having some potential for a big league role eventually.
Perhaps most intriguing is 17-year old outfielder Jorge Gonzalez. Gonzalez was a scouting discovery signing made by head scout Nick Meskill this past winter and the kid has some promise. While he has good speed he is still unpolished as a base runner. And he is likely at best a slightly above average defender with an average arm- likely his best fit is leftfield. But he has the potential to be a good contact hitter with decent power and an advanced eye. There is some concern about his apparent inability to drive balls into the gaps, but with his line drive hitting style and potential for making good contact, it is hoped that he might improve in this area going forward. And while much is unknown still about his personality and intangibles, there are indications that he has strong internal resources and is unlikely to become over-whelmed as he moves up the organizational ladder. And mostly, he is only 17 years old, so plenty of time for growth.

21 year old outfielder Adam Nelson, who was the Brewers 2nd round pick in the 1970 draft, has also performed very well at Greensboro. In Nelson's case this might likely have a lot to do with being much more mature and experienced than much of the competition. Still, Nelson shows good defensive potential, possesses great speed and base-running savvy, and has the potential to be a plus contact hitter with a good eye at the plate. Team management also loves Nelson's character traits, as he is seen as a strong leader and a team-first guy. While his ceiling is probably a fourth outfielder in the bigs, he will be given every chance to prove himself in the next few years.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers play 3 games in 2 days against the Speed Devils in Phoenix and nearly get another sweep, but end up having to settle for taking 2 of 3.

In game 1 of a Wednesday doubleheader, lefty Daniel Torres once again dominates Phoenix, shutting them out for 7 1/3rd innings, giving up 6 hits, striking out 3 and walking 2. Liann-wei Hua came in to work the final 1 2/3rds and preserved the shutout as the Brewers won 5-0. Torres improves to 11-4 with a 2.14 ERA with the victory. Andrew Kennedy (.322/.346/467) once again made big contributions with his bat, going 2 for 4 in the lead-off slot and hitting his 8th HR of the season.

The Brewers led in the night-cap 3-2 going into the bottom of the 9th but could not hold the lead as Eric Singer (5th blown save, 2.03 ERA) gave up a run on a pair of hits and the game went into extra innings tied at 3-3. The Brewers had plenty of opportunities to score in extras, leaving at least one runner stranded in every inning from the 10th to the 14th, but it was finally the Speed Devils who managed to plate the winning run with a 2-out single in the bottom of the 14th. Phoenix prevails 4-3.

Game 3 was another tight contest until late. It was tied 1-1 until the Brewers managed to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the 7th, which they then stretched to a 3-1 lead in the 8th. Meanwhile Adam Getchell was giving the Brewers a great performance, allowing just 1 run on 3 hits over 8 innings pitched, striking out 4 and walking none. The Brewers made things even easier for him when they scored 4 more runs in the top of the 9th to break the game open. The final score would be 7-1. Getchell improves to 7-2 with a 2.42 ERA. Ryan Rodgers (.369/.480/.468) continues his great season with a 3 for 4 day, hitting double #27. The recently recalled James Jackson went 2 for 4 and hit his 2nd HR in a Brewers uniform for the 1970 season.

With the series victory the Brewers move to within 1 1/2 games of Phoenix again in the race for the MGL pennant.

[BirdWatcher]

And once again, coming off a successful series against first place Phoenix, the Brewers stumble against the 5th place Detroit Falcons.

In game 1 of a 3-game series at Falcons Ballpark, Brewers captain Abel Pennington gets knocked around for 7 runs (6 earned) over 5 innings pitched. Pennington struck out 4 while walking 3. Reliever Josh Morrow didn't fare much better, giving 3 more runs in 3 innings pitched. The Brewers drop the game 10-3. Pennington drops to 7-9 with a 4.04 ERA. There was one offensive highlight for the Brewers as Tanner Yurek (.293/.383/.526), who continues his great 1970 season, hit 3 doubles to get his season total up to 24.

Game 2 wasn't quite as humiliating, but it still resulted in a Brewers loss. And in some ways it was even more frustrating, as Will Smart again pitched a great game- working 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 7 hits with a pair of strikeouts and no walks allowed- but the offense staying mostly silent. The game was tied 1-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th, when Brewers reliever Liann-wei Hua had an uncharacteristically bad appearance, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits while only recording one out in the 8th inning. That was enough for Detroit as they won 3-2. Smart's ERA improves to 1.36 while Hua gets the loss and drops to 3-5 with a 1.71 ERA. The Brewers managed only 2 hits in the game against 22-year old Eduardo Saucedo, who isn't considered a great talent but has had a very fine season as he improves to 13-3 with a 3.22 ERA, and reliever Andrew Brandon. One of the Brewers hits was a rare HR by defensive specialist Oscar Vargas (.197/.272/.303), his 4th of the season.

The Brewers did at least avoid getting swept, as rookie Steve Green, in his very first start, in fact his very first WPK appearance, threw 8 great innings, allowing 1 run on 5 hits in 8 innings pitched, striking out 5 while walking none. A very impressive beginning to a potentially promising career. The Brewers won 4-1. Eric Singer pitched a perfect 9th inning to pick up save number 15 (2.00 ERA). Pat Rondeau (.290/.333/.389) had a nice game as he went 2 for 4 and hit his 2nd HR of the season. (Steve Green also collected a hit in the game and scored a run. Like two other young Brewers pitchers- Harry Lyerly and Adam Getchell- Green is better with the bat then the average pitcher.)

Fortunately for the Brewers, the Speed Devils dropped 2 of 3 to Brooklyn in Phoenix and Denver remains just 1 1/2 game behind the front-runners.

One bit of bad news though- Antonio Puente suffered a knee contusion in the last game of the series and is expected to be hobbled for about a week or two. To be on the safe side, and with a deep outfield, the team placed Puente on the 10-day DL. Still, it is a bad time to be without the team's best power hitter and one of the best OBP guys and fielders on the team.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers return home to face the 7th place Brooklyn Aces and they win 2 of 3.

In game 1 Brewers ace Cheol-han Lee was not sharp, allowing 6 runs on 11 hits over 6 innings pitched, striking out 4, walking 2, and giving up 2 HR's. The Brewers were losing 6-0 going into the bottom of the 6th when they plated a pair to cut the lead to 4 runs. Then in the bottom of the 8th the Brewers strung together a pair of walks and a single, scored a run on a 1-out sacrifice fly off the bat of Tanner Yurek and then veteran Mark Compton hit a 3-run HR to tie the game at 6-6. This was Compton's 3rd HR in a Brewers uniform in 1970- his 15th overall.
The game went into extras with both bullpens getting through the 10th easily. The Aces threatened to score in the top of the 11th but Eric Singer managed to wriggle out of a jam, stranding 2 runners. Then with 1 man on and 2 outs in the bottom of the 11th, the Brewers got a pinch-hit walk-off HR from an unexpected source- Chad Brown (.257/.287/.340). It was just the 2nd HR of the season for Brown and gave the Brewers the 8-6 victory.

Harry Lyerly, like Cheol-han Lee in the game before, was not at his best in game 2. Lyerly gave up 6 runs (5 earned) on 10 hits in 7 1/3rd innings pitched. On the other hand, he did strike out 9 while only walking 1. He gave up 1 HR and it was a biggie- a 3-run shot with 2 outs in the 7th inning. Unfortunately, unlike the previous game the Brewers offense could not take their starter off the hook as the team falls 6-4 in game 2. Lyerly drops to 15-7 with a 2.81 ERA. On the plus side, Lyerly did go 2 for 3 with 1 run scored at the plate. Jared Stephenson (.215/.240/.356) hit HR # 18 in the game.

After 2 disappointing games from Brewers starters, game 3 was all about pitching. The two teams failed to score in the regulation 9 innings. And they kept that going all the way into the bottom of the 14th. Then, leading off the 14th, Chad Brown fouled off a pitch, watched another sail by for a ball, then slammed the third pitch into the left-center stands for a 413 foot walk-off. Amazingly, Brown hits his 2nd HR in 3 games, and now has 3 HR's for the season. Daniel Torres worked 7 innings, giving up just 1 hit while striking out 5 and walking 5 and sees his league leading ERA drop to 2.05. Veteran lefty David Brown pitches 4 innings in relief, allowing 3 runs and striking out 1 but not giving up any walks or runs. Brown gets credit for the win, improving to 3-2 with a splendid 0.64 ERA.

With the series victory the Brewers remain 1 1/2 games behind Phoenix in second place in the MGL.

[BirdWatcher]

So, on September 10th, as we head into the home stretch of the 1970 season, we have a real pennant race in the MGL.
The SJL appears to be mostly a done deal, with Jacksonville leading the second place Washington Night Train by 11 games and their magic number is 10.

Although the Brewers are only 1 1/2 games behind Phoenix, the smart money is still on Phoenix to win the MGL. Though given that the Brewers have still played 5 fewer games than Phoenix, have 4 fewer wins but also 1 fewer loss, much is in their own hands. The two teams do not have any games left head-to-head, but the season is still far from over.

Go Brewers!

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers return home to Denver for a 9-game home stand, starting with 3 against the 4th place Baltimore Lords.

The Brewers drop 2 of 3 to the Lords as the bats go very, very cold again. Fortunately for the Brewers, the Phoenix Speed Devils are playing even worse, as they get swept by Oklahoma City, leaving the Brewers just 1/2 game behind the Speed Devils as we enter September 14th.

The Brewers are shut out in game 1 against the Lords and lose 6-0. Abel Pennington continues to be the weak link in the Brewers starting rotation, as he allows 4 runs on 9 hits in just 5 1/3rd innings pitched. With the loss Pennington drops to 7-10 with a 4.12 ERA. The Brewers are held to just 6 hits by veteran, 5-time All-Star Mike Sayers.

Game 2 is much the same, although the Brewers do manage to score once in the 5-1 loss. Will Smart is not at his best, giving up 5 runs on 9 hits in 6 innings pitched as he drops to 7-3 with a 1.71 ERA.

Cheol-han Lee had a bounce back start in game 3 and the Brewers won 3-1. Lee worked 7 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 6 hits while striking out 4 and walking none. Lee improves to 13-4 with a 3.00 ERA. David Brown came into the game in the 8th after Lee had gotten himself into a bit of trouble, allowing a triple and a one-out single which gave the Lords their lone run, and Brown shut things down with great efficiency. He then also worked a perfect 9th to pick up his 3rd save of the season (0.62 ERA.) Oscar Vargas got the big hit of the game for the Brewers, a 6th inning 2-out, 2-run HR, his 5th of the season. Vargas (.199/.267/.319) also hit his 5th double of the season in the game.

[BirdWatcher]

Harry Lyerly hurls his league leading (best in all of the WPK) 7th shutout of the 1970 season, striking out 14 batters for the 4th time (edit: sorry, actually 5th time) in his Brewers career- 5 more times than any other Brewers pitcher ever has- while giving up just 3 hits and walking just 1 batter. (Edit: I should add that Lyerly's game score for this game was 94, which is the second highest in the WPK this season after a 95 Mike Hiatt scored in his June 21st no-hitter in which he struck out 9 and walked 1.)

The Brewers manager says that Harry looked like a real ace out there. Well, I think it's about time we just accept that Harry Lyerly IS the ace of the Brewers staff.

Phoenix had the day off so the Brewers move into a virtual tie for first place (a few percentage points ahead of the Speed Devils.)

[BirdWatcher]

The 3-game series versus the 7th place Portland Wild Things began with the Lyerly masterpiece reported directly above as the Brewers win 4-0.

Daniel Torres provided a fine start in game 2, working 7 2/3rds innings, allowing just 2 runs on 2 hits while striking out 9 and walking 4. The Brewers trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of the 6th when they scored 3 runs, being given the gift of a couple of errors by Portland's defense and adding a trio of singles to that to take advantage of the opportunity. The Brewers plate a few more in the 8th on a Jose Careaga (.175/.283/.350) pinch-hit HR to get the easy 6-2 win. Torres improves to 12-4 with the still league leading 2.06 ERA.

Game 3 saw Portland take an early lead off young Adam Getchell, scoring 3 in the 1st and another in the 3rd. But Denver fought back, getting a single run in the bottom of the 3rd and 2 more in the 5th to shrink the deficit to just one run at 4-3. Portland would add to the lead with a run in the top of the 9th and it didn't look great for the home club.
But the scrappy Brewers fought back in the bottom of the 9th. Pat Rondeau (.285/.327/.382) got things started with a 1-out walk. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third on a ground out off the bat of Andrew Kennedy (.301/.334/.438). So, man at third but two outs and still down by two. But then Ryan Rodgers (.365/.479/.462) and Tanner Yurek (.283/.377/.508) both walked to load the bases. Up to the plate came Ruben Souffront, who has struggled so mightily for the Brewers in the 1970 season. Ruben had entered the game in the previous inning as a pinch-runner and had stolen second base, advanced to third on the wild throw from the catcher, but had been stranded there. Now it was Ruben's chance to do something impactful with the bat. And this time, he did. On the very first pitch he saw he drove the ball on a deep line drive just over the rightfielder's head, driving in all three runners and winning the game! The Brewers win 6-5 and sweep the series.

The Brewers now lead the MGL by a full game over the still scuffling Phoenix Speed Devils.

[BirdWatcher]

With still a few weeks left on the schedule, the Jacksonville Wolf Pack have clinched the Shoeless Joe League pennant. This marks the third time that the Wolf Pack have won the SJL and the first two times they went on to win the WPK championship.

It may be a while before the Wolf Pack know who they will be facing in the 1970 WPK World Series as both Denver and Phoenix continue their uneven play as we head into the stretch run. The teams are now in a virtual tie for 1st place after the Brewers drop the first 3 of 4 against the 3rd place San Francisco Velocity (will report on shortly when last game is in the books). The Velocity have nearly no chance of taking the MGL pennant, but with 4 straight victories and the struggles of the two teams ahead of them in the standings, they still have some faint hope.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers hit the road starting with a 4-game series at San Francisco and proceed to lose 3 of 4 to the 3rd place Velocity.

Game 1 saw the Velocity jump out to an early 3-0 lead in the 3rd inning against rookie Steve Green in just his 2nd major league start. Green would settle down and pitch a decent game- working 7 innings, giving up the 3 runs on 8 hits, striking out 5 and walking none- but while the Brewers managed a couple of runs- 1 in the 4th and 1 in the 7th- they could not completely erase the early deficit and lost 3-2. Green drops to 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA. The Brewers 2 runs came on solo HR's by Antonio Puente (21) and Tanner Yurek (19).

Cheol-han Lee started the second game and while he wasn't horrible he wasn't terribly sharp either- giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 8 hits over 7 1/3rds innings pitched. The Velocity scored first in the 2nd inning- a single run- and both teams scored 3 times in the 4th and that was the extent of it as the Velocity won 4-3. Lee drops to 13-5 with a 3.02 ERA. Antonio Puente (.245/.365/.488) homered again, his 22nd of the season.

In game 3, Harry Lyerly had another strong outing but was victimized by sloppy defense behind him and very little offensive support. Lyerly worked 8 innings, giving up 4 runs- but none were earned, on 4 hits while striking out 10 and walking 4. The team committed 2 very costly errors behind him- one by Chad Brown, his 32nd of the season, and one by gold glover Bobby Erbakan, his 2nd. The Brewers managed 2 runs on only 3 hits against the Velocity's captain, Josh Lueck, who is a fairly mediocre pitcher. The Brewers lose 4-2. With the loss Harry Lyerly drops to 16-8 but his ERA improves to 2.59. With his 10 K's Lyerly now has 221 on the season, which is the 8th most in a single season in WPK history.

The Brewers finally got a win in game 4 behind another strong start by Daniel Torres. Torres worked 8 innings of 3-hit, 2-run ball, striking out 9 and walking just 2 batters. The offense also came alive, with Tanner Yurek (.286/.378/.519) leading the way with a 3 for 4, 3 run, 2 RBI game and he hit his 20th HR of the season. Although reliever Jaden Francis gave up a few runs late making the final score 7-4, this one was a pretty easy victory. Daniel Torres is now 13-4 with a 2.07 ERA and with only 1 or at most 2 starts left in the season he is likely a shoe-in to finish with the best ERA in the MGL.

The Brewers now have a 1/2 game lead over Phoenix in the race for the MGL pennant.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers AA affiliate Nashville closes out a wonderful season by winning the league championship, defeating the Los Angeles Spinners AA farm club, the Glendale Wolfhounds, 4 games to 1.

Joost Poot wins the series MVP award for the Red Wings. Joe McPhillips contributes with a strong series and hits 2 HR's for the Red Wings.

Poot has the potential for a big league role in the future with his blazing speed and superior defensive skills but likely won't develop the offensive talent for more than a back-up role.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers drop 2 of 3 to the Lords in Baltimore.
Fortunately, Phoenix continues to play poorly as well and the Brewers remain in a virtual tie with the Speed Devils for first place in the MGL.

The Brewers lose game 1, 5-1, as Will Smart has one of his poorer starts of the season, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits over 6 IP. Smart drops to 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA for the season. Pat Rondeau (.292/.333/.390), who had been slumping at the plate of late, provides one of the few bright spots for the team as he goes 3 for 5 in the lead-off slot.

Game 2 sees the Brewers bounce back behind the solid pitching of Cheol-han Lee (7 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 5 K, 1BB), and a bunch of runs scored late in the game. With the Lords leading 1-0 going into the 8th inning behind their ace Jose Santos (16-10, 2.30), the Brewers offense erupted for 8 runs in the 8th, the big blow being a 2-out Grand Slam off the bat of Bobby Erbakan (.256/.325/.348), his 8th HR of the season. The Brewers win 8-1 and Lee improves to 14-5 with a 2.97 ERA.

Harry Lyerly starts game 3 for the Brewers. And for the second start in a row he is sabotaged by sloppy defense and lack of run support. The team commits 3 costly errors, though admittedly one was on Lyerly himself, and fails to score in the game. The Brewers lose 5-0. Lyerly lasts just 6 innings, giving up 5 runs, though only 2 are earned, while striking out 4 and walking 1. He drops to 16-9 with a 2.60 ERA.

(I'm trying to get 3 starts each out of Lee and Lyerly in these last 13 games of the season- which is to say 2 more starts now after this series- and Lyerly's 113 pitches thrown in this game should help that, given his high stamina. Lee only threw 94 pitches in his start, and this is guy who is a true workhorse, having started 36 games in each of the last 2 seasons. It could make things a little tricky if we get to the World Series- but just getting there is the first priority.)

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers travel to Portland for a 3-game series against the Wild Things and get a series sweep.

Game 1 sees a combined shut-out for the Brewers staff as Daniel Torres pitches the first 5 innings, giving up just 3 hits while striking out 1 and walking 5. Youngster Jaden Francis pitched a very good 2 innings after that, not allowing a hit or walk and striking out 2. And veteran lefty David Brown finished it up with 2 solid, giving up 2 hits and striking out 2 while preserving the shutout. The Brewers win 5-0 as Antonio Puente (.240/.363/.478) goes 2 for 4 and hits HR #23. Daniel Torres improves to 14-4 and drops his league leading ERA down to 2.01.

In game 2 it takes 6 Brewers pitchers and 10 innings, but the Brewers win 6-1. Abel Pennington was solid for the first 5 innings, giving up just 1 run on 3 hits. The Brewers did not counter with a run of their own until the 6th inning. The game remained tied 1-1 at the end of the regulation 9. But in the top of the 10th the Brewers broke out for 5 runs by putting together a combination of a pair of singles and double with 3 walks, an error, and a wild pitch.

Game 3 was another tight one as the Brewers squeaked out a 3-1 victory. Rookie Steve Green gave the Brewers a good 5 1/3rd innings, allowing 1 run on 3 hits while also walking 4 and striking out 1. Once again the bullpen was flawless in preserving a narrow lead. Eric Singer pitched the final 2 innings to get save #16 (1.84 ERA). Green improves to 2-1 with a 2.21 ERA to start his major league career. Pat Rondeau (.295/.335/.399) and Andrew Kennedy (.305/.336/.432) led the way offensively for the Brewers. Rondeau went 2 for 5 and hit his 8th triple of the season and Kennedy chipped in with a 2 for 4 game and drove in RBI #51 (in 374 PA's.)

With the sweep and with the Speed Devils losing the last 2 games of their 3-game series in Detroit, the Brewers now hold a 2 game lead in the race for the MGL pennant.
The season is far from over, but the oddsmakers are now seeing the Brewers as the clear favorites to take the MGL crown again.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers long road trip ends in Oklahoma City with 4 against the 7th place Diamond Kings (although technically the Brewers are the home team in the first game of the series as this is a make-up game of a home game rained out earlier in the season.)

The Brewers take 3 of 4 from the Diamond Kings to get ever so closer to a second consecutive MGL pennant and WPK World Series appearance.

In game 1 of a Monday doubleheader (the make-up game), the teams are tied 1-1 going into the bottom of the 9th. Since the Brewers are technically the home team in this one, this gave them an advantage. Which they took. Bobby Erbakan (.256/.326/.353) hit a 1-out triple (his 2nd of the season) and then with 2 outs Chad Brown (.250/.281/.333) legged out an infield hit while the speedy Erbakan came in to score the winning run. Cheol-han Lee pitched a strong 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 4 and walking none, though he didn't get the decision. Eric Singer pitched the last 2 innings for the win, improving to 10-6 with a 1.80 ERA.

Will Smart started the night-cap for the Brewers and was solid for 6 1/3rds innings- allowing just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. It was another tight game as the Brewers took a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the 9th only to see the Diamond Kings tie in it the bottom of the 9th on a lead-off HR by Bob Pena (17). Both teams failed to score in the 10th, but then the Brewers broke through with 1 in the top of the 11th when Pat Rondeau (.296/.337/.401) hit a 1-out single to score Ruben Souffront from second base (Souffront had come in as a pinch-runner and had stolen 2nd). It would prove to be enough as David Brown, who had pitched the 10th also, closed things out for his 5th win (to 2 losses, with an 0.54 ERA.)

Game 3 featured Harry Lyerly and lots of Brewers runs. Lyerly picked up win number 17 on the season (to go with 9 losses with a 2.53 ERA), going the distance, giving up 1 run on only 3 hits, striking out 7 and walking 2. Were it not for one bad pitch which OKC shortstop Josh Nix hit out of the park, it would have been another shutout for the sensational young fire-baller. And this time Lyerly got plenty of offensive support as the team scored 11 runs on 16 hits. Lyerly himself was 2 for 4 with 1 RBI and hit his first double of the season. Firstbaseman Bobby Erbakan (.257/.327/.366) had two of the biggest hits of the game, a pair of 2-run HR's- his 9th and 10th of the season.

The Brewers fell a bit short of getting the sweep even though they had a few wasted opportunities late in game 4. In spite of another decent start by veteran lefty Daniel Torres, the Brewers fall 4-2. Torres worked 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits, striking out 1 and walking 3. Torres falls to 14-5 and his ERA rises just a bit to 2.14, though at this stage of things he will certainly finish with the best ERA in the MGL.

[BirdWatcher]

As we enter October and the final few regular season games of the 1970 WPK season, the Brewers have a 2 game lead over the 2nd place Phoenix Speed Devils. Both team have 3 home games left. The Brewers have the tougher task facing the 3rd place San Francisco Velocity. Although the Speed Devils take on Detroit, who recently took 2 of 3 from them.

The Brewers magic number is 2 and oddsmakers see them as having a 98.3% chance of winning the MGL. But the team is trying to put that all aside and focus on the task at hand. Which is beating the Velocity. One game at a time.

It looks like the Captain, Abel Pennington, will get the chance to start the opener of the final series. But if he struggles early both Adam Getchell and Steve Green are available to enter early and pitch several innings. Game 2 will likely see Cheol-han Lee start. And if the pennant is still on the line in game 3, Harry Lyerly will likely get the start.

It was also announced that Daniel Torres won the Pitcher of the Month honors in the MGL for September. Daniel has had another wonderful year in Brewers purple at the age of 35 and it is expected that the team will exercise their option for his contract for the 1971 season and bring him back for at least one more season.

[BirdWatcher]

The Brewers lose the first of three versus San Francisco, 4-1.
The game was very close until the 8th inning when S.F. scored 2 on a 2-run HR by the Velocity thirdbaseman Jesse Cibula. (Cibula, a native of Cortez, Colorado, is one of the brightest young stars of the WPK. At age 23 he is already a 6 time All-Star and he has a slash line of .331/.386/.602 for the 1970 season, with 20 doubles, 9 triples, 40 HR's, 20 stolen bases and a WAR of 8.6. He's a fairly mediocre defensive third sacker, but other than that everything about this kid is money.)
The Brewers managed to load the bases in the bottom of the 9th but then with 2 outs Antonio Puente came in to pinch hit and hit a harmless fly ball to left to end the game.

Meanwhile, Phoenix beat Detroit 3-1. With 2 games left on the schedule the Brewers magic number remains 2. They still have their fate in their own hands but they need to win the last 2 games or hope for some help from Detroit.

[BirdWatcher]

Cheol-han Lee pitches a great game and the Brewers get enough offense to win the penultimate regular season game of the season 5-1.
Lee goes the distance to improve to 15-5 (2.84), giving up the 1 run on just 3 hits, striking out 4 and walking none.
Antonio Puente (.242/.360/.483) helps lead the offense with a 2 for 4, 2 runs scored, 2 RBI game and hits his 25th HR of the season.

The Speed Devils also win though and so the season goes down to the last day with the magic number for the Brewers at 1. If they win against the Velocity they are once again MGL champs. If they don't, then they need Detroit to somehow take down Phoenix or we have ourselves a tie.

This means Harry Lyerly will get a final regular season start. It is a big test for the young man and the Brewers have to hope that the dominant Lyerly we have so often seen this past season and a half is the Lyerly who is out there on the mound in game number 162.