Denver Brewers Week 8 results:
Summary:
The final week of May was much better for the Brewers as they won 5 of 6 games played.
The week began with a 3-game sweep of Oklahoma City in Denver.
In game 1, the Brewers broke a 3-3 tie with a 3-run bottom of the 8th, courtesy of a 3-run bomb by
Willie Romero (.291/.328/.436), his 5th long ball of the season.
Eric Fehrenbacher (2-5, 3.25) was very solid again and finally got some run support to get his 2nd win of the season. He worked 8 innings, giving up just 3 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits.
Dan Folk worked the 9th for his 9th save.
Game 2 was mostly about the offense for both teams. Brewers starter
Bernie Lopez had his worst start of the season, allowing 8 runs on 11 hits over his 5.2 IP, but was taken off the hook by his offense and got a no-decision.
Jeremy Beeson (.333/.363/.452) continued his fine rookie campaign, going 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI, and hitting his 10th double of 1987.
Jerry Lillie, last year’s rookie star for Denver, was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 3 RBI and hit his team-leading 12th home run. Veteran lefty
Scott Evans (4-2, 2.82) got the win and rookie reliever
Cesar Perez pitched the final 2 innings to gain his 2nd save.
And
Jeremy Beeson (.337/.366/.459) was once again in a starring role in the final game of the series, going 2 for 4 with a run and 4 RBI, hitting his 11th double, to help the team get the sweep of the visiting Diamond Kings.
Stephen Brooks (2-3, 6.02) pitched respectably, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits over 7.1 IP in the win.
After an off day (travel day) on Thursday, the Brewers started a 3-game set in St. Louis against the surprising 1st place Redbirds.
They dropped game 1 to the red-hot Redbirds, with St. Louis starter Greg Grieve (5-2, 2.62) mostly shutting them down for 8.2 IP, giving up just a pair of unearned runs on 4 hits.
Eric Maisch (2-5, 5.16) took the loss for the Brewers, having given up 5 runs on 7 hits over 7 innings, although he did strike out 8 batters while walking just a pair.
Willie Romero (.301/.335/.457) collected 2 of the Brewers 5 hits in the game, but Denver did not manage even a single extra-base hit in the loss.
The Brewers bounced back in game 2.
Jim Atwell (6-3, 5.24) was sailing along heading into the 7th inning, having allowed just 1 run on 5 hits, but then after getting the first out in the bottom of the 7th he was forced to leave due to an injury. (As we now know, it was a season-ending torn rotator cuff.) But unheralded veteran middle-reliever
Paul Johnson (1.17 ERA!) hurled the final 2.2 IP to get his 1st save of the season.
Jerry Lillie (.275/.362/.573) led the way on offense, going 3 for 4, driving in a pair of runs with his 13th homer. And rookie left fielder
Wayne LaCross (.328/.403/.617) stays hot, going 2 for 5 and hitting his 9th homer of the season.
Game 3 was another win for the Brewers, with more
Wayne LaCross heroics, but as this is the Brewers GOTW, more details will appear below.
Brewers Game of the Week:
Wayne LaCross, rapidly growing his reputation, hit his 10th homer of the season (in 154 PA) in the top of the 10th inning, a 2-run shot that would prove to be the game winner and give the Brewers the series against St. Louis on Sunday afternoon.
Eric Fehrenbacher got his second start of the week and wasn’t at his best, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 11 hits over 5.1 IP. But the Brewers bullpen, as has been true nearly the entire season, was spectacular and set up the extra innings win by shutting down the potent St. Louis offense over 4.2 innings.
Cesar Perez (3-0, 1.63) got the win while
Dan Folk earned his 10th save.
Notes from Around the WPK:
Later I will update the standings around the league as we enter June in a separate post so won’t go into that too much here.
But suffice it to say that Seattle is trying to cling to 1st in the SJL West but have seen a surging El Paso catch up to them entering June, Washington stays strong and has a nice lead in the SJL East, San Francisco and St. Louis are in a virtual tie for 1st in the MGL West (with Denver in 3rd, 2 ½ games back), and the reigning WPK champion Detroit Falcons are atop the MGL East.
Players of the Week:
Donovan Hickson was the SJL MVP in 1985 and although he hit 39 bombs and drove in 100 runs in 1986, he saw his batting average dip to .228 and his WAR drop from 8.0 to 3.3. Thus far he is bouncing back well in 1987 and is once again a main contender for the MVP honors.
You might be getting tired of hearing the name Alex Afanador but you better get used to it. At age 24 the Baltimore slugger (who is also a very good fielder at several positions and has a near elite eye at the plate) will likely be one of the biggest superstars in the league for years to come (also has high work ethic).