In the end, of course, it is the bullpen which betrays the Brewers and ends their hope of a repeat.
After having taken an early 3-0 lead over L.A. in the penultimate game of the 1975 regular season, starter
Sadahige Kawasaki, who picked a bad time to have back-to-back poor starts, gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to let the Spinners take the lead.
The Brewers offense fights back and ties it in the 7th thanks to a
Zacarias Martell lead-off single and an
Andrew Kennedy one-out, pinch-hit single to send Martell home.
And the score remained there until the bottom of the 8th. Having received a strong inning from veteran WPK starter
Chris Clough, who was signed to a minor league contract earlier in the season and brought up recently to provide some experience to the 'pen,
Tim Shore was brought in to face the dangerous middle of the Spinners order. (Clough has little left in his arsenal other than guile, experience, and pinpoint control, but in hindsight the Brewers might have been better off leaving him in the game over the, on paper at least, superior arm of Shore.) As has all too often happened this season, Shore was not up for the challenge. He allowed 2 runs to put the Brewers in a tough spot going into the 9th. And the Brewers offense once again proved resilient, giving Shouta Hori, one of the best relievers in the game in 1975, more than he bargained for. But unfortunately in the end they fell short, as
Jorge Gonzalez, who had collected two hits in the game, including his 13th double, struck out swinging with the bases loaded and two outs.
And thus endeth the Brewers saga of 1975. (Well, one game remaining, but meaningless now and likely will feature many young players who are fighting for a position on the team next season.)