Game 25: Tommy John takes a beating from the struggling Athletics and the Riders go down hard, 11-3. Denny Walling hits his first home run of the season.

Game 26: Britt Burns continues to impress in his rookie season and the Riders collect 14 hits to beat the Athletics, 7-1. Burns improves to 3-0.

Game 27: Willie Aikens hits a home run in the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and Rich Gossage pitches a scoreless ninth inning to nail down the save as Milwaukee takes the series with a 3-2 win.

Minnesota is in town next.

Game 28: Jerry Mumphrey and Richie Hebner have three hits each while Rich Gossage appears to be back on track, pitching another scoreless ninth to clinch a 4-3 Rider victory. It's Gossage's 10th save of the season.

Game 29: The Riders drop back below .500 as Tommy John takes another beating in an 8-4 loss.

Game 30: Damaso Garcia has four hits, Britt Burns throws six solid innings, and the Riders take the series with a 10-5 win. Milwaukee gets 18 hits.

Cleveland is in town next.

Game 31: Milwaukee takes an early 3-1 lead but the Saltdogs chip away and chip away, scoring single runs in each of the sixth through ninth innings, and come away with a 5-3 win over the Riders.

Game 32: The top three hitters in Cleveland's lineup combine for 11 hits, though the Saltdogs still need 10 innings to top the Riders, 7-6. Cleveland has a 21-11 advantage in hits.

Game 33: Milwaukee avoids a sweep, scoring a 5-2 win behind Tommy John, who goes eight innings and improves to 3-4 on the season.

Anaheim is in town next.

Game 34: Britt Burns improves to 5-0 and the Riders crawl back to .500 with a convincing 9-3 win over Anaheim. Damaso Garcia has three more hits and Willie Aikens hits his seventh home run.

Game 35: Anaheim's Willie Wilson is 6-6 with five runs scored. Jim Rice adds five hits and Sixto Lezcano four more for good measure; the Angels crush Milwaukee 12-2.

Game 36: The Riders pound out 19 hits, including three home runs, and take the series with a 13-4 win over the Angels. Richie Hebner hits his first homer of the season.

The Riders start a two-city road trip in the Big Apple.

Game 37: New York takes the opener, 6-5, beating up on the Rider bullpen. Wayne Nordhagen homers off Rollie Fingers in the ninth but Milwaukee can't get another baserunner off the premier closer.

Game 38: Britt Burns takes his first loss, outpitched by Jerry Reuss, who throws a complete game 4-hit shutout in a 3-0 New York victory.

Game 39: Jon Matlack gets crushed again, leaving in the fourth and taking his fifth loss in five decisions; New York wins 9-5.

The Riders are in Atlanta next to face Georgia Force.

Game 40: Atlanta delivers a 10-1 beatdown to the Riders, scoring four unearned runs (six total) off reliever Dave LaRoche to pull away.

Game 41: Willie Aikens hits his ninth home run, Rich Gossage picks up his 12th save, and Tommy John evens his record at 4-4 as the Riders beat Atlanta 7-4.

Game 42: Len Randle homers and drives in three runs from the leadoff spot and Britt Burns gets back on the winning track as Milwaukee beats the Force 4-1 to take the series.

Milwaukee heads back home to face Chicago.

Game 43: Jon Matlack gets his first win and Ron Reed pitches three scoreless innings for his first save as the Riders beat the Goats 8-2 to open the homestand.

Game 44: Willie Aikens hits his 10th homer of the season and the Rider bullpen covers for Lary Sorensen as Milwaukee beats the Goats 8-5.

Game 45: No homers for Aikens in this one but he does have four hits, including a game-winning double in the bottom of the ninth, lifting the Riders to a 5-4 win.

Cincinnati is in town next.

Game 46: Cincinnati pounces after a first-inning error by Jerry Mumhrey to score five times off Britt Burns, and though the Riders outhit the Communists 16-7 thereafter, they never catch up and drop the opener 7-5.

Game 47: Former Rider Bill Lee gets the win in relief as Cincy's Mike Schmidt blasts two home runs to lead the Commies to a 10-6 win.

Game 48: Tim Blackwell hits a two-run pinch-hit double in the ninth to force extra innings, but Cincy wins it in the 11th when the Riders can't answer Mike Schmidt's homer in the top half.

Milwaukee heads out to Washington to start a 15-game road trip.

Game 49: Tommy John throws eight shutout innings and Denny Walling sparks the offense with three hits and two runs scored as the Riders start the road trip with a 3-0 win.

Game 50: Milwaukee collects 23 hits and gets another brilliant outing from Britt Burns as they smash Washington 15-2. The two Rider catchers combine for a 5-5 performance with a home run and four RBI.

Game 51: Hal McRae has four hits, all for extra bases, and five RBI, as the Riders continue their hot hitting with a 10-2 win over Washington. Jon Matlack has one of his best performances of the season and wins only his second game.

Now back over .500 and trailing division co-leaders Anaheim and Cleveland by one game, the Riders continue the road trip in Philadelphia.

Game 52: The Rider bats stay hot but the bullpen falls apart; Ron Reed and Rick Sutcliffe fail to retire any of the six batters they face in the seventh inning. Gary Matthews greets Sammy Stewart with a grand slam, and the Philly comeback is complete as the beat Milwaukee 12-9 in the opener.

Game 53: The double play combination of Damaso Garcia and Frank Taveras has four hits each as the Riders beat Philly 8-3, helping Tommy John improve to 6-4 on the season.

Game 54: Britt Burns walks none in eight innings of work and wins his eighth game of the season, 8-1 over Philadelphia. Wayne Nordhagen homers and drives in four for the Riders.

Interleague play arrives as the Riders head to St. Louis to face the Pi.

Game 55: Jon Matlack leaves early, but the Rider bullpen holds things together and Wayne Nordhagen drives in four runs to help Milwaukee rally for a 9-7 victory in St. Louis.

Game 56: Dave LaRoche and Rick Sutcliffe fail to hold a 4-2 lead, allowing three runs in the eighth (with the lead run scoring on Fred Lynn's bases-loaded single). Bill Madlock singles to lead off the ninth, but Tim Blackwell hits into a double play and Damaso Garcia strikes out to end it.

Game 57: Milwaukee rallies from a 4-0 deficit to tie the game in the seventh, taking advantage of a St. Louis error and a passed ball, then again from a 6-4 deficit to win it 7-6, getting consecutive triples from prospect Luciano Robinson and Richie Hebner in the top of the ninth. Rich Gossage strikes out three of the four batters he faces in the bottom half and earns the save in a 7-6 win.

The road trip continues with a trip to Kansas City for two.

Game 58: Kansas City solves Britt Burns, particularly Jerry Martin, who doubles, homers, and drives in five runs as the Blues take the opener 7-3.

Game 59: KC sweeps us, building an early 4-0 lead off Jon Matlack and holding on to win 4-3. The Riders put two on base in the ninth but Tom Burgmeier escapes with the save.

It's off to Houston next for another 2-game set.

Game 60: Jerry Mumphrey and Willie Aikens drive in three runs each as the Riders snap their losing streak with an 11-4 win in Houston. Despite the support, Lary Sorensen can't make it through the fifth inning, so Dave LaRoche gets the win in relief.

Game 61: Tommy John gives up five runs in the first inning and the Riders can't battle back, losing 6-4 to the Hooligans.

Two-game sets in Baltimore and Chicago are next as we continue our tour of the NL.

Game 62: Britt Burns gets clubbed around, but benefits from two 4-run innings by the Rider offense to win his ninth game as Milwaukee holds on for a 9-8 win in Baltimore. Willie Aikens and Damaso Garcia drive in three runs each.

Game 63: Rick Sutcliffe fails to hold a 5-3 lead in the eighth inning and the Riders lose in 10, 6-5, as the bats go silent after the sixth inning.

Game 64: Milwaukee survives a late three-run homer by Reggie Smith to hold on for a 5-4 win over the White Sox. Rich Gossage pitches a scoreless ninth inning for his 19th save.

Game 65: Tommy John falls back to .500 at 6-6 as he is chased in the fourth after allowing eight runs. Montreal is outhit by only one (12-11) but falls seven runs short in a 9-2 loss.

The tour of the NL continues with trips to Pittsburgh and Detroit.

Game 66: Britt Burns has a rough outing and falls to 9-4 as the Flying Dutchmen score a 7-5 win in the opener.

Game 67: The bottom half of the lineup does absolutely nothing and the bullpen can't hold a one-run lead in the eighth as the Dutchmen rally for a 4-3 win.

Game 68: The long road trip is taking its toll on the Riders, who are pummelled by Detroit, 15-5. Detroit gets 22 hits, including four home runs, and scores seven off reliever John Montefusco in 1.2 innings.

Game 69: Tommy John is brilliant; Tim Blackwell and Damaso Garcia drive in two each; and the Spectres beat Detroit 6-2.

The long trip will end after three more cities: New York, Oakland, and San Diego.

Game 70: Britt Burns allows two home runs, including a three-run shot to Dave Revering, and it's New York's Rick Langford who comes away with his 10th win as the Brakers beat the Riders 5-2.

Game 71: Dave Kingman ties the game with an RBI double in the eighth, but the Riders score three times in the 10th, the final two on Damaso Garcia's home run, and Rich Gossage works around a one-out single in the bottom half to preserve an 8-5 win over New York.

Game 72: Milwaukee gets contributions from up and down the lineup, including three RBI each from Bill Madlock and Luciano Robison, and good-enough pitching from the bullpen to take a 10-5 win from Oakland.

Game 73: Tommy John is back on top of his game and Rich Gossage recovers after a leadoff homer in the ninth to get his 22nd save as the Riders take another game in Oakland, 3-2.

Game 74: Britt Burns strikes out eight and walks none in seven shutout innings and gets his 10th win as the Riders edge San Diego 2-1.

Game 75: The long road trip finally comes to an end, and on a good note, as the Riders survive another ninth-inning run allowed by Rich Gossage to edge the Riveras 7-6. Gossage allows three hits but notches his 24th save.

Milwaukee returns home and will start the homestand with a visit from St. Louis.