The Brewers short home stand concludes with 3 games against Baltimore.
In the first game the Brewers jump out to a 6-0 lead only to see that lead evaporate in the 7th and 8th innings. The teams go into extras tied at 6-6 and trade zeroes until the bottom of the 12th when the Brewers get a walk off bases loaded walk for the win. Anyway, weird game. Matt Helm was carrying a no-hitter into the 7th inning when things fell apart. Although Helm did allow 4 hits in the inning it was a 1 out error by third baseman Mike Foster that really doomed him, as all 4 runs scored in the inning were unearned. Helm's ERA stays perfect at 0.00 after his 6 2/3rds innings pitched in this one. Jaden Francis pitches the final inning and a third to get the win and also has an ERA of 0.00. In addition to drawing the game winning walk, Josh Schaeffer (.276/.400/.379) went 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 3 walks in the game. Joe McPhillips (.314/.368/.571) was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and hit his 3rd double of 1974. McPhillips also picked up his 4th stolen base while Schaeffer swiped his first of the season.
Game 2 saw the Brewers again take an early lead only to need late game heroics to get the win. This time the game winner was a bit more dynamic as Bobby Erbakan hit a 1-out Grand Slam to give the Brewers the 6-4 win. It was Erbakan's (.289/.386/.526) first HR of the year and he also hit his first triple of the season and drove in 5 runs. Jonathan Koch (.455/.500/.727) went 2 for 3 and hit his 2nd HR. Cheol-han Lee was cruising along, having allowed no runs on 3 hits in 5 innings pitched when he had to leave the game due to back spasms. Eric Johnson gave up 3 runs in an inning and two thirds to relinquish the lead he inherited. But Sam Pruiett was very sharp the last 1 1/3rd innings and got the win, his first of the 1974 season.
The Brewers were denied the sweep when Harry Lyerly looked even worse in his second start than he had in the first, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits (2 HR) in just 2 2/3rds innings pitched. The Brewers tried to claw their way back into this one but fell short and lost 8-3. Lyerly falls to 0-2 with a 10.38 ERA. Andrew Kennedy (.436/.476/.513) went 3 for 4 in the loss, hitting his 3rd double. Zacarias Martell (.417/.545/.625) hit his 1st big league HR.
The Brewers now sit in 1st place with an 8-3 record, a half game ahead of the 8-4 L.A. Spinners and a game and half ahead of the 7-5 Brooklyn Aces.