August 22, 1978: Cecil Cooper stars, rookie Willie Mueller earns first win for Brewers

With a 3-2 victory over the Cleveland Indians in the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday, August 22, 1978, the Milwaukee Brewers won their 70th game for only the third time in their nine major-league seasons.1 A 12-4 record in eight twin bills (five sweeps, two splits, swept once) played a role in their success. Milwaukee previously swept Cleveland and had a split in two June doubleheaders. For the 54-69 Indians, this was their 12th doubleheader of the season. They had split eight, and were playing the second game to make it nine.

After both teams started left-handers in the first game, they started right-handers in the nightcap. Paul Reuschel made his first start for the Indians after being claimed off waivers from the Chicago Cubs in June. In three-plus seasons in the major leagues, he had only two starts in 175 games (12 appearances since joining Cleveland). The home-team Brewers had Eduardo Rodríguez toeing the rubber. Earlier used mostly in relief, he was making his seventh start of the season.2 Versus Cleveland, the Puerto Rican was 0-1 in two starts, a complete-game loss in 1976 and a 1977 six-inning no-decision.

The first two innings were quiet, six up, six down for the Indians without a ball leaving the infield and three batters striking out. The Brewers had a single in each frame, by Don Money and Sal Bando, but a double play in the first and a fielder’s choice in the second kept them scoreless.

In the third, the first two Indians reached base, on a single by Bernie Carbo and a walk to Jim Norris, but Rodriguez got out of the trouble with a force-play grounder at third and a double-play ball by Rick Manning. The Brewers broke the ice in the bottom of the inning, scoring two runs on a one-out double by Money that plated Gorman Thomas and Buck Martinez, who led off with singles.

The Indians scored once against Reuschel in the fourth. Duane Kuiper led off with a ground-rule double, moved to third on Buddy Bell’s grounder to second, and scored on a single to left by Andre Thornton. Thornton stole third, but Reuschel retired the side on a pop foul and groundout, then held the Brewers to singles by Cecil Cooper in the fourth and Money in the fifth.

The Indians tied the score in the fifth on singles by Norris, Tom Veryzer, and Kuiper, then got to Rodriguez for two more runs in the sixth on two-out singles by Gary Alexander and Carbo, and a triple to left field by Jim Norris that ended Rodriguez’s night after 5⅔ innings during which he gave up nine hits for four runs, all earned, while fanning three and walking one.

Coming out of the Brewers bullpen was 21-year-old rookie Willie Mueller, who grew up 35 miles north of Milwaukee in West Bend, Wisconsin.3 Promoted earlier in the month, the closer for the Double-A Holyoke Millers4 was making his second appearance for the Brewers. It was his first in County Stadium, with family and friends in attendance. He worked quickly to squelch the rally, coaxing an inning-ending pop foul to the catcher by Veryzer, the first batter faced. Cleveland now led 4-2.

After giving up the lead, the Brewers threatened in the bottom of the sixth, knocking Reuschel out of the game. With one out, left-handed-hitting Cooper walloped an opposite-field double to left and Bando walked, bringing Cleveland skipper Jeff Torborg to the mound to summon righty Dan Spillner. Obtained from San Diego in a June trade, Spillner was making his 24th Indians appearance with a 2-1 record, one save, and a 3.38 ERA. Spillner got Jim Wohlford to hit a force-play grounder to short and fanned Thomas to end the inning without yielding a run. In his first start since 1976, Reuschel hurled 5⅓ innings, with eight hits, two earned runs, and two K’s.

Mueller returned to pitch the seventh and got two grounders for outs. An error by catcher Martinez on a short grounder put Bell on first. Mueller walked Andre Thornton but got Johnny Grubb on another groundball to end the inning with the Indians leading 4-2. From that point, neither team threatened until the home half of the ninth.

Jim Wohlford led off the bottom of the ninth with a single to center but was forced at second on Thomas’s fielder’s choice. Milwaukee’s first-year manager George Bamberger pinch-hit for Buck Martinez with left-handed-swinging Dave May, who kept the home fans’ hopes alive with a single to right that advanced Thomas to second.5 Although Spillner had worked three solid innings, Torborg decided to bring in reliever Jim Kern, his closer and the losing pitcher in the first game. With two runners on base and one out, Kern got Robin Yount to fly out to center, but Money followed with his fourth hit of the game, loading the bases with two outs.

Needing to get only one out, righty Kern walked the next two batters, Ben Oglivie and Hisle, each on five pitches,6 forcing in two runs and tying the game. With three hits in four at-bats, Cooper stepped to the plate.

Kern had struck Cooper out the previous four times he faced the Brewers first baseman. “I don’t think I have ever got a hit off of him,” Cooper commented after the game.7 Cooper took the first two pitches for strikes, took a ball, then fouled off a pitch. On the next pitch, Cooper slashed an outside fastball to left field for his fourth hit, sending Money home for a comeback 5-4 victory, his second four-hit game with a walk-off single in the 1978 season.8

Milwaukee’s rookie pitcher Mueller earned the win, his first in the majors. Excited with the victory, Mueller said, “I’ll never forget it. I didn’t have my very best stuff. I was pitching wild.” His manager thought differently, saying he was “fantastic.”9 It proved to be his only big-league decision. On the other side, Jim Kern had a tough day, garnering two losses, evening his record at 8-8.

Acknowledgments

This article was fact-checked by Bruce Slutsky and copy-edited by Len Levin.

Sources

In addition to the sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL197808222.shtml

https://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1978/B08222MIL1978.htm

Notes

1 The franchise was in its 10th season, having started as the expansion Seattle Pilots in 1969 and going 64-98. The Brewers won 74 times in 1973 and 76 in 1974. In both years the 70th win occurred in September.

2 Rodriguez was making his sixth consecutive start and was 2-2 in the six previous starts. He made 19 earlier appearances out of the bullpen and would have one start after this game and five relief appearances.

3 Mueller turned 22 eight days later, on August 30. He was the Brewers’ fourth Wisconsin-born player, preceded by Gene Brabender of Black Earth, Wisconsin; Jerry Augustine of Kewaunee; and Jim Gantner of Eden.

4 Mueller was 7-5 with the Millers, leading the Eastern League with 15 saves in 96 innings pitched with 74 strikeouts and 39 walks.

5 May was traded to Atlanta in late 1974 for Henry Aaron’s swan-song return to Milwaukee. The Brewers purchased May’s contract from the Braves in May 1978 and used him primarily as a DH or pinch-hitter. He was batting .190 with 12 hits, 2 homers, and 8 RBIs entering the August 22 game.

6 Mike Gonring, “Cooper, Brewers a Big Hit.” Milwaukee Journal, August 23, 1978: 9.

7 Gonring.

8 Cooper’s first four-hit game of the season was on May 21 in a 2-1 victory versus California with another game-winning single.

9 Lou Chapman, “Brewers Pull Off a Miracle,” Milwaukee Sentinel, August 23, 1978: Part 2, 1.