Game 17: Nate Colbert hits a two-run homer in the first, then walks with the bases loaded to start a five-run rally in the fifth as the Riders overcome a shaky performance by Skip Lockwood to win the opener, 7-5. Denny Riddleberger gets his second save.

Game 18: Nate Colbert again figures prominently in a five-run fifth, this time with a three-run homer, and Tommy John throws a complete game five-hitter with no walks to improve to 3-0; Riders win, 5-2. Colbert has 21 RBI in the first 18 games.

Game 19: Fred Norman is still winless as Blue Moon Odom shuts down the Rider bats in a 3-2 loss. Richie Hebner hits a pinch hit homer for Milwaukee but the starting lineup generates nothing at the plate.

Game 20: The A's have no problems solving Gorman Ely, pounding him for seven runs in three-plus innings. Bill Lee appears unready for duty and allows five more; in the end, Oakland earns a split of the series with a 13-3 win.

Our first two interleague opponents will be Atlanta and Montreal.

Game 29: One of Milwaukee's best offensive performances of the season is wasted as Ted Abernathy and Denny Riddleberger allow five Philadelphia runs in the bottom of the eighth, handing the Phillies a 9-8 win. Nate Colbert has three extra base hits, and Larry Hisle has a three-hit game as the Riders pound out 16 hits. All for naught. Ron Theobald's single drives home the winner.

Game 30: Three Philly pitchers combine to three-hit the Riders, sending tough-luck Ron Reed to his fourth loss (1-4 despite a 2.62 ERA), 4-1. Nate Colbert drives home the only Milwaukee run with a grounder.. it's his 27th of the season.

Game 31: Once again the Riders fail to execute with men on base.. they collect 15 baserunners but score only one time. Meanwhile, Dave LaRoche walks the first two Pi batters in the bottom of the ninth, prompting a pitching change. Joe Torre greets Denny Riddleberger with a three-run homer, giving St. Louis a 4-1 win.

Game 32: Gorman Ely struggles, but the offense kicks into a higher gear. AAA outfielder Bryan Willy has two 2-run singles; Nate Colbert drives home three runs; and Ted Sizemore delivers a pinch-hit, two-run single. Denny Riddleberger picks up his first win with 2.1 innings of scoreless relief in a 10-9 win.

We are headed back to Milwaukee to face the 20-12 Baltimore IronBirds.

Game 33: Gene Michael homers in the seventh; this amazing feat is followed by consecutive triples from Eddie Leon and Ted Sizemore, tying the game at three. The Riders cannot get Sizemore home, however, and the game goes to extras. Al Severinsen throws only three pitches, but the last one is decisive. Roy Foster hits it into the bleachers and the IronBirds take the opener 4-3 in 10 innings.

Game 34: It's become somewhat clear that Fred Norman is not ready for a regular slot in the rotation. He falls to 0-4, allowing four runs in five innings, as Baltimore takes a second straight over Milwaukee, 8-3. Thurman Munson and Mike Lum each hit home runs, but the bats don't do much else.

Game 35: In a reversal of fortune, tough-luck Ron Reed beats the unbeatble Dave McNally, 5-3. McNally had been 4-0 prior to this game, but he ran into trouble in both the fourth and fifth innings, allowing home runs to Richie Hebner in the fourth and Mike Lum in the fifth. Reed goes six innings and gets his second win.

Chicago and Cincinnati are up next as we go back to interleague play.

Game 36: Richie Hebner commits two errors, one of which leads to four unearned runs off Skip Lockwood, but the Riders battle back, scoring single runs in the seventh, eighth, and ninth to tie the score at five. They threaten in the tenth, but Willie Vegas hits into an inning-ending double play with runners at the corners. Bill Lee enters to pitch the tenth and surrenders a walkoff home run to Dave Duncan.

Game 37: Milwaukee evens things with Chicago, getting seven strong innings from Tommy John and a two-run double from Nate Colbert to break a seventh inning tie. Dave LaRoche closes for his second save and Milwaukee wins 3-1.

Game 38: Milwaukee is stymied by Cincy's Tom Bradley, who pitches a complete game four-hitter as the Steamboats rough up Gorman Ely for a 5-1 win.

Game 39: Tough-luck Al Downing finally gets some support from the Steamboat offense as Riders are swept in this interleague matchup. Cincy puts eight on the board in the final two innings to finish off a 13-3 win. Fred Norman falls to 0-5, allowing three unearned runs and one earned run in five innings of work. Ted Sizemore hits his first home run of the season.

We head east to face the Boston Stranglers (21-18).

Game 43: Cleveland right fielder Mark Callahan commits two errors in the eighth inning, helping spark a six-run rally that lifts the Riders to an 8-5 win over the Flames. Gene Michael gives Milwaukee the lead with a bases-loaded double, then comes home on Mike Lum's home run. Denny Riddleberger picks up his third save with a scoreless ninth.

Game 44: Cleveland is pretty bad this season, but that is not enough to stop the Fred Norman Loss Train. He allows four runs in four innings and the bullpen surrenders some more as the Flames even the series with an 8-5 win. Richie Hebner and Angel Mangual hit homers for Milwaukee. Norman is now 0-6 with a 6.64 ERA.

Game 45: The embarrassment continues as the Riders drop a series to Cleveland, losing the finale 8-3. Cleveland's Bill Stoneman gets his first win of the season, improving to 1-7. Ron Reed is shelled (10 hits in 4.2 innings), dropping to 2-5.

At 18-27, we are off to New York to face the East-leading Mammoths (28-17).

Game 49: Milwaukee continues to provide relief to the losing teams of the APL, this time in the person of Fred Norman, who drops to 0-7 after allowing five runs in 4.1 innings. The Riders can't rally from that deficit, falling 5-3.

Game 50: Richie Hebner leads off the bottom of the ninth with a double and later scores on Larry Biittner's single (Biittner's second RBI of the season) to tie the score at three, and we go to extras. Hebner's 12th-inning error, however, leads to an unearned run for San Diego. Gene Michaels walks in the 12th but the Riders can't advance him from there and are swept by San Diego with a 4-3 loss.

Los Angeles Sunsets are up next and the bullpen is tired.

Game 51: Skip Lockwood gets back on the winning track with seven strong innings, and John Strohmayer closes out a 3-1 win with two shutout frames. Nate Colbert's two-run homer is the big blow.

Game 52: Nate Colbert homers again, a three-run shot in the 10th, and the Riders sweep the Sunsets with a 6-4 win. Bill Lee gets the win in relief with two innings of work. Ted Sizemore helped send the game into extras with his eighth inning home run.

Milwaukee heads east to face Washington.

Game 53: Nate Colbert homers and Richie Hebner hits a two-run triple to back Ron Reed, who throws six strong innings in a 6-1 Rider win. Reed improves to 3-5; Colbert now has 11 longballs.

Game 54: Gorman Ely has problems finding the plate, and it costs him; he walks five in 4.2 innings and loses 3-2. Tom Phoebus and two relievers limit Milwaukee to an Eddie Leon two-run single.

Game 55: Milwaukee's bats are silent through five, but they rally for four in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. Washington ties it in the bottom half, but Nate Colbert doubles and homers in the last two innings, driving in five runs, as the Riders win the finale 9-4.

After about one-third of the season, Milwaukee is 24-31. Not impressive, but we enter the second round of divisional play only four games out of first. If we can get more consistent hitting we might be able to stay in the race. We start by hosting Anaheim.

Game 56: The drive for relevance hits a bump as the Hells Angels win the opener 2-1 behind ace Rudy May (9-2, 1.44 ERA). Skip Lockwood pitches well but falls to 5-2. Milwaukee gets only three hits.

Game 57: Denny Riddleberger costs Tommy John a win, blowing a save in the ninth inning, but manages to escape with a tie game. After a scoreless tenth, and a scoreless top half in the eleventh, Angel Mangual leads off with a single. Two consecutive fielder's choices put Ted Ford on first base. Gene Michael hits his third single of the game, moving Ford to third, and Zoilo Versalles comes through with a pinch hit double to bring home the winner. Milwaukee evens the series with a 3-2 win.

Game 58: Anaheim takes the series with a convincing 7-1 win in the finale. Ron Reed strikes out eight in seven innings but also allows nine hits and five runs. The Riders collect eight hits, all singles, and barely get on the scoreboard.

We're now five out and traveling to Oakland before facing division coleader Kansas City.