BREWERS STRAND 20, STILL SLIP PAST BOSOX
Travers, Rodriguez Combine on 4-Hitter
BOSTON, Sept. 23 (AP) - The Milwaukee Brewers left 20 runners on base--a major
league season high--but still eked past the Boston Red Sox 3-2 at Fenway
Park. Every member of the Milwaukee starting lineup reached base safely at
least once and only one--Charlie Moore--failed to amass at least one hit.
Boston pitchers were touched for 15 hits and walked 10, but still managed to
keep the Brewers from breaking the game open and actually held Milwaukee off the
the scoreboard for the final six innings of the contest. (All 15 of the
Brewers' safeties were singles.) Unsurprisingly, the Brewers stranded at
least one baserunner in every inning and left multiple runners on base in every
inning but one--the fourth, when Danny Thomas closed the frame by grounding into
a double play.
Milwaukee scored single runs in each of the first three innings. In the
top of the first, Robin Yount and George Scott drew consecutive one-out walks
from Red Sox starter Bill Lee. Sixto Lezcano grounded into a fielder's
choice, forcing Scott at second and Thomas walked to load the bases. Gary
Sutherland then dropped a single in front of left fielder Jim Rice, scoring
Yount, but Rice gunned down Scott at the plate to end the inning with the
Brewers on top 1-0.
In the second, Steve Bowling led off with a base hit and was sacrificed to
second by Jack Heidemann. Jim Ganter followed with a single to left,
scoring Bowling to make it 2-0.
Thomas and Sutherland opened the third with back-to-back walks and, two outs
later, Gantner drove home his second run of the game with a base hit to left,
plating Thomas. That spelled the end of the line for Lee, who left having
walked seven batters in just 2 2/3 innings. Tom Murphy replaced him and
retired Moore on a grounder to short to keep the score 3-0.
Brewers starter Bill Travers carried a no-hitter into the sixth but lost it on
Bob Montgomery's two-out single through the box. That began a ripple
effect that saw Boston cut the lead to a single run. Carlton Fisk doubled
high off the Green Monster in left-center field, scoring Montgomery and Rice
singled to right, plating Fisk to cut the deficit to 3-2. Rice then stole
second and Dwight Evans was intentionally walked. But Travers retired
Bobby Darwin on a routine fly ball to right to end the inning.
Murphy pitched into the sixth but was lifted after Scott's one-out single in
favor of Jim Willoughby. Murphy left having allowed four hits and a walk
but was charged with no runs when Willoughby pitched around a Thomas single to
keep the Brewers off the scoreboard. Milwaukee threatened repeatedly while
Willoughby was in the game--amassing seven hits and two free passes while the
right-hander was in the game--but couldn't dent home plate. The Brewers
left the bases loaded in both the seventh and eighth innings and stranded two
more baserunners in the ninth.
After the difficulties in the bottom of the sixth, Travers had a clean seventh,
but was replaced by Eduardo Rodriguez to start the eighth. Rodriguez
yielded a lead-off single to pinch hitter Carl Yastrzemski but retired pinch
hitter Cecil Cooper on a fly to left and then closed out the inning by turning
Fisk's comebacker into a double play. He then set the Red Sox down in
order in the ninth to end the game.
The previous major league high for runners left on base was 18, accomplished
five times but only once in a nine inning game (the Cincinnati Reds in a 10-6
victory at Pittsburgh on June 10).
9/23/1976, Mil76-Bos76, Fenway Park 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 1976 Brewers 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 15 1 20 1 1976 Red Sox 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 4 1 5 1 Brewers AB R H BI AVG Red Sox AB R H BI AVG Moore,C c 3 0 0 0 .188 Burleson ss 3 0 0 0 .304 Porter ph 1 0 0 0 .182 Dillard 2b 3 0 0 0 .262 Yount ss 5 1 2 0 .272 Yastrzemski ph 1 0 1 0 .257 Scott,G 1b 4 0 3 0 .263 Griffin,D 2b 0 0 0 0 .208 Lezcano rf 6 0 2 0 .292 Montgomery dh 3 1 1 0 .150 Thomas,Da lf 2 1 1 0 .230 Cooper ph 1 0 0 0 .256 Sharp ph 1 0 0 0 .227 Fisk c 4 1 1 1 .226 Sutherland dh 2 0 1 1 .196 Rice lf 4 0 1 1 .304 Aaron ph 1 0 1 0 .223 Evans,Dw cf 2 0 0 0 .225 Bowling cf 5 1 1 0 .160 Darwin rf 3 0 0 0 .226 Heidemann 2b 3 0 2 0 .225 Whitt ph 1 0 0 0 .375 Gantner 3b 5 0 2 2 .255 Baker,J 1b 3 0 0 0 .067 38 3 15 3 Hobson 3b 3 0 0 0 .210 31 2 4 2 Brewers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Travers W 15-14 7.0 3 2 2 3 5 93 55 4.00 Rodriguez,Ed S 5 2.0 1 0 0 0 1 22 14 4.38 9.0 4 2 2 3 6 115 69 Red Sox INN H R ER BB K PCH STR ERA Lee,B L 2-14 2.2 4 3 3 7 1 75 32 6.36 Murphy,T 2.2 4 0 0 1 2 38 29 2.92 Willoughby 3.2 7 0 0 2 2 69 41 2.77 9.0 15 3 3 10 5 182 102 Mil: Sharp batted for Thomas,Da in the 8th Aaron batted for Sutherland in the 8th Lezcano moved to lf in the 8th Sharp moved to rf in the 8th Porter batted for Moore,C in the 9th Porter moved to c in the 9th Bos: Yastrzemski batted for Dillard in the 8th Cooper batted for Montgomery in the 8th Griffin,D inserted at 2b in the 9th Whitt batted for Darwin in the 9th E-Heidemann, Fisk. 2B-Fisk(21). RBI-Sutherland(22), Gantner 2(8), Fisk(82), Rice(104). SB-Gantner(1), Rice(9). K-Moore,C, Lezcano, Gantner 3, Dillard, Fisk 2, Evans,Dw, Darwin 2. BB-Moore,C 2, Yount, Scott,G 2, Thomas,Da 2, Sutherland 2, Heidemann, Burleson, Evans,Dw 2. SH-Heidemann, Sharp. WP-Travers 2. GWRBI: Sutherland Temperature: 66, Sky: partly cloudy, Wind: out to left at 20 MPH. Attendance: 11,724 Game Time: 2:45