Miracle Month Puts Brigade in Hunt
At the all-star break, the Wichita Brigade were 20 games below .500 at 34-54, 16 games out of first place and in last place in the Northern League West.
Now, after a 24-4 August that completed a two-month 39-15 run, the Brigade are where nobody expected them to be: two games out and within striking distance in the final month of the season.
The August charge was led by Pitcher of the Month Ubaldo Jimenez, who went 5-0 with a 1.85 ERA. But the pitching staff has done this surge despite still having allowed the most runs in the Northern League. Nonetheless, Jay Hughes and Johnny Schmitz joined Jimenez to lead the charge. And, after a rough July that was part of another down season for Rube Waddell, the Wichita icon went 5-0 with a 3.40 ERA during the August run. Add in Ricky Nolasco's own 5-0 month - with a 3.97 ERA - and the comeback story is told.
The Brigade took advantage of a two-month stretch that saw every other team in the division play sub-.500 ball. Their offense remains #2 in the North, and with five .300 hitters in the everyday lineup, the Brigade seem poised for a stretch run that would be the most remarkable comeback story in PBL history.
"There ain't a man in here who ever gave up," outfielder Cleon Jones (.306-11-84) said. "Another month of good ball is all we need."
That run begins as they go for the sweep in Milwaukee tonight before heading to Sacramento. They host the division leading Chicago Hitmen for a 3-game set to end the season...a series that could, incredibly, mean everything.