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1982 - August Summary
AUGUST (18-9): Despite some serious losses due to injuries (Buckner, Ripken, John Stearns, and Burt Hooton for 2 weeks), we had a very successful month and increased our lead over Chicago to 8.5 games. It’s time to start about our Magic # and going into September it’s at 23. At the bottom is a chart showing the team's AL West lead. We had surged as high as a 10-game lead after winning 9 of 10 in the middle of the month before dropping 3 of 6 to finish the month.
With the loss of Bill Buckner, Dave Stapleton stepped his game up by batting .331 with 2 HR’s, 16 RBI’s, and 16 runs. Richie Zisk has come alive leading the team with 6 HR’s in August. Zisk’s 21 HR’s for the season is just behind Andre Thornton’s team leading 23 dingers. Rookie Greg Walker has fit in well in place of Buckner. Walker is hitting .320 for the season with 8 HR’s and 21 RBI’s in 150 at-bats. He is also sporting a .420 OBP and a .968 OPS.
The pitching staff continues to be strong. Mike Witt was 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in 5 starts this month. Greg Harris filled in admirably during Burt Hooton's absence. He posted a 2.93 ERA in his 15 innings as a replacement starter and the team won all 3 of his starts though he didn’t earn a decision in any of them. Closer Tom Gorman earned 8 saves and a win in his 10 appearances. Overall, the team ERA of 3.55 is still tops in the AL.
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