20: A Moore Odyssey

It began innocently enough for Brewers catcher Charlie Moore: a two-out single in the last of the eighth off Detroit reliever Ed Glynn, the final hit of the night in Milwaukee’s 6-0 win over the Tigers at County Stadium on May 17th. The boxscore would show that designated hitter Larry Hisle led all batters with a double, a home run, and two RBI, and that Brewers starter Bill Travers shut down the Tigers on four hits, earning his first win. But for Moore’s late-inning base hit, which had no affect on the outcome, it mostly went unnoticed.

The next day, Moore connected for a single in an 8-1 Brewers win, and in the two games he’d start against the Angels in the three-game series that followed, he’d collect two more hits, including one in the infamous ‘Sixto Lezcano Game’ of May 19th. Four straight games, with one hit in each…at the time it wasn’t worthy of mention, but 16 games and 22 hits later, the 24-year-old from Birmingham, Alabama would share – along with Darrel Chaney of the Braves – the longest hitting streak of the young season at 20 games, and along the way would become an SP78 legend.

“I’d just come off a seven-game streak, and I was more than happy with that one,” said Moore, when asked about his accomplishment. “I never thought I’d even make it to ten, much less twenty.”

13-14 July Keeps Brewers From Gaining Ground

The Milwaukee Brewers ended the month of June in second place in the AL East, just one game behind the first-place Yankees; one month later, they were still in second, but had dropped to five games back, after a disappointing 13-14 July. With the Yanks still going strong in July, the Brewers really needed to keep pace, but instead they now find themselves not only in danger of slipping further away from first, but also losing their hold on second place to the resurgent Tigers, now nipping at their heels in third place, just 3½ games back.

Helping to keep the Brewers afloat was the stellar pitching of starting ace Mike Caldwell, playing in his first full season with Milwaukee, who went 4-0 for the month with a 0.68 earned run average and four complete games in five starts. His season record stands at 16-4, and with two full months left to play, he should be a shoo-in for his first career 20-win season, and possibly his first Cy Young Award. Also making an impact was reliever Ed Farmer, called up from AAA in early July, who finished the month with a 1-0 record, three saves, and an ERA of 1.29. At the plate, utility player Don Money led struggling Milwaukee batters with a .329 average, while starting in nearly every game at either first, third, or DH. Paul Molitor had 33 hits to add to his team-leading total of 111, and Gorman Thomas powered eight HRs to boost his season tally to 19.

To check out the Brewers’ team page for statistics and results through July, click here. The boxes for league leaders, team rankings, and award totals have been left blank; these numbers will be added after all AL team statistics have been finalized, and July award winners have been picked.

TWISP Notes #68

a
TWISP Notes
March 6, 2018

• Milwaukee ace Mike Caldwell became the first SP78 pitcher to win 19 games this season when the Brewers topped the Blue Jays 4-2 at County Stadium on August 16th. Caldwell (19-4) was one out away from securing his 17th complete game, but a walk and a pair of base hits by the Jays prompted a relief appearance from Ed Farmer, who coaxed a fly out from Dave McKay to end the threat. Caldwell will go for his 20th on August 22nd, when he faces the Indians in the first game of a twinbill at Milwaukee.

• Tribe southpaw Rick Waits, going for his 17th win of the year, settled for a no-decision after departing in the eighth of a 2-2 game between the Indians and Tigers at Detroit. It took 14 innings, but the Tribe ultimately came out on top by an 11-3 count.

• With a theft of second base off Orioles starter Mike Flanagan in the sixth inning of their game at the Kingdome, Julio Cruz of the Mariners recorded his 90th steal of the season, helping the M’s top the O’s 3-2. Cruz is now just six steals shy of the AL season record of 96, held by Tiger great Ty Cobb, and barring injury has a good chance of breaking Cardinals speedster Lou Brock’s major league record of 118, set in 1974.

TWISP Notes #66

TWISP Notes
December 8, 2016

• June stats have finally been calculated and finalized, and teams are currently being updated on the SP78 site. All National League teams are complete, and American League teams have been updated through the Kansas City Royals, with seven AL teams left to fill out. After that, work will begin on July stats.

• Giants veteran Willie McCovey drilled his 498th home run in a game against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on August 12th. McCovey connected off LA reliever Rick Sutcliffe, a solo shot in the eighth inning that gave the Giants some insurance in an eventual 4-2 win. McCovey also had two singles in the game to complete a 3-for-4 night.

• The Brewers have lost five in a row, and have dropped to five games back of the first-place Yankees in the AL East.