[BirdWatcher]

Brewers record: 5-2 (week), 33-12, 1st place, MGL (season).

May 23, versus Detroit: 6-4.

The Brewers take the final game to win the series against Detroit. John Weaver (3-0, 1.78) got the win, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits in 6 IP. Tim Shore pitched the final inning for his 7th save. RodRod went 2 for 4 with 3 RBI and hit 2 doubles to get to 8 on the season.

May 24-26, versus Portland: 4-3, 5-4, 5-9.

The Brewers stay in Denver and next take on Portland for a three-game series.
They win a walk-off in the 10th inning in game 1, when Zacarias Martell hit a 1-out single to drive in Brett Taranto from third (Taranto having come into the game to pinch-run for Andrew Kennedy). Sekien Hamasaki got the start and allowed 3 runs on 5 hits over 6 innings but, of course, did not figure in the decision. Tim Shore (1-0, 0.69) pitched the final 2 innings for the win. Joe Willemse went 3 for 5 in the game and hit his 2nd double of the season. And the recently signed Brad Tesh hit his 1st HR as a Brewer, driving in 3 runs.

Game 2 sees another late push from the Brewers to get the win. Trailing 4-1 going into the bottom of the 8th, Joe McPhillips 2-run HR to cap a 4-run inning gave the Brewers the lead, and ultimately, the victory. A no-decision for the tough-luck Sadahige Kawasaki, who gave up 4 runs on 10 hits over 6 1/3rd innings. Eric Marino (2-0, 1.15) pitched 1 2/3rds innings for the win and Jason Gottula pitched the 9th for his 4th save.

In the final game of the series, former Brewer Ruben Souffront led the Wild Things to victory. Souffront went 3 for 5, missing hitting for the cycle only by virtue of not hitting a single in the game. He scored twice and drove in 5 runs. Cheol-han Lee (4-1, 4.79) gave up 7 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits over 6 innings. Oddly, while Lee has not pitched well, he has hit very well (.389/.421/.556) and he hit his 3rd double of the season, driving in 2 runs. Brad Sherman had his best game yet as a Brewer, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and 2 RBI and hit his 1st HR of 1976 in the loss.

May 27-29, at Los Angeles: 7-6, 7-2, 0-2.

The Brewers then head to L.A. to take on the 6th place Spinners.
In the first game of three the Brewers scored 4 9th inning runs to get a come-from-behind win. Joe McPhillips (.273/.349/.409), off to a very slow start at the plate, led the way offensively in this one, going 2 for 5 with 4 RBI, hitting a 2-run HR in the 1st inning and a 2-run double in the 9th to put the Brewers in the lead again, and for good. Erik Sloan (6-2, 2.48) got the start, and the win, giving up 6 runs (3 earned runs) on 10 hits over 8 innings pitched. Tim Shore easily dispatched the Spinners in the bottom of the 9th for his 8th save. RodRod went 3 for 5 in the win.

Game 2 saw Zacarias Martell (.274/.361/.387) lead the offense with a 2 for 4, 2 run, 4 RBI game, hitting his 9th double and 1st HR of the season. Another great start for Steve Green (5-2, 2.21), who lasted 8 2/3rds, giving up 2 runs (1 earned) on 6 hits. Brett Taranto (.369/.401/.523) went 3 for 5 and drove in a pair of runs.

Eduardo Obando, the 27-year old starting pitcher who entered the WPK this past off-season as an international free agent out of Mexico, is taking the league by storm. He has been dominant. And was no less than that against the Brewers in game 3, shutting them out on 6 hits, and improves to 7-1 with a 1.79 ERA. Matt Helm held his own against Obando for 7 innings, allowing no runs on just 4 hits, but then had to leave the game with a sore elbow. Ben Flynn came in and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits while recording just a pair of outs, and takes the loss (2-3, 6.35). (Flynn was sent back down to AAA the next morning.) Josh Schaeffer (.305/.458/.359) went 2 for 3 in the loss.

Notes from around the league: The Columbus Whalers have lost 4 straight and have fallen into a 2nd place tie in the SJL, while Washington (29-16) rises to first. The surprising El Paso Dawgs (28-17) are even with Columbus and the two have identical records, 1 game behind Washington. The Boston Berserkers (27-18) sit in 4th place, 2 games back. The Chicago Fire are in last place, with a 15-30 mark.
The Brewers hold a 7 game lead over Brooklyn and Oklahoma City, both at 26-19. The Detroit Falcons have now lost 8 straight and are 19 games out in last place, at 14-31.
Ruben Souffront still leads the MGL in batting average at .370, while Brewer Brett Taranto is second at .366.