Game 10: Eddie Leon and Nate Colbert hit solo home runs, but those are the only hits the Riders get against Detroit's Catfish Hunter in a 6-2 loss. Ron Reed allows 12 hits and six runs in six innings, dropping to 0-2.

Game 11: Fred Norman has another good start, and gets shutdown relief from Ramon Hernandez, who collects his third save, as the Riders win 3-2. AAA 3B Timothy Rehberg drives home the winner in the eighth with his first big-league hit.

Game 12: Nate Colbert blasts two homers, driving home three runs, as the Riders take a 5-1 lead after four and then hang on for a 5-4 win, with Ramon Hernandez throwing a scoreless ninth for his fourth save.

Divisonal play begins with Milwaukee in first place at 6-6 and headed to Oakland to face the Zoo.

Game 13: Nate Colbert's RBI single caps a three-run eighth inning which gives Milwaukee a 4-3 lead, but the Zoo ties it off John Strohmayer in the bottom half. Milwaukee puts two men on base in the ninth but fails to score, and Bill Lee retires Oakland in order to send the game to extras. Milwaukee collects five hits in the 10th, including Larry Biittner's fifth of the game, a two-run double, and takes an 8-4 lead. Oakland goes down meekly in the bottom half and the Riders get over .500 for the first (and possibly last) time this season.

Game 14: Nate Colbert hits his fifth home run, Thurman Munson hits his first, and Ron Reed looks like a capable major league pitcher as the Riders beat Oakland 7-3. Muinson drives in four runs.

Game 15: Milwaukee collects four consecutive run-scoring singles in the first, get homers later from Richie Hebner and Angel Mangual, and Fred Norman strikes out 10 to improve his record to 3-0 as the Riders win a third straight over Oakland, 8-2.

Game 16: The Riders choke up a 4-1 lead in the eighth and ninth innings, but Ted Ford's twelfth-inning home run delivers them a victory in the end. It's Ford's fourth homer of the season; earlier in the game Nate Colbert had hit his sixth.

After sweeping Oakland, the Riders have a three-game lead in the division at 10-6. We return home to host Anaheim (4-12).

Game 17: Larry Biittner's first home run of the season ties the game at three in the third; Timmothy Rehberg hits a two-run single in the eighth and the Riders survive a shaky start by Tommy John for a 5-3 win. Anaheim scored three in the first but none after. Darold Knowles gets his first win in relief and Ramon Hernandez records his fifth save.

Game 18: Ron Reed throws a complete game shutout and is backed by three homers, including Nate Colbert's seventh, in a 10-0 decision. Gene Michael hits his first homer of the season, a three-run shot.

Game 19: Ted Ford hits a three-run homer in the first, but the Angels tie things up in the fourth with help from an error by AAA shortstop Stewart McClain. Milwaukee outscores the Angels in the final three innings, however, putting three on the board to Anaheim's two, and wins their ninth straight, 6-5. Ramon Hernandez allows his first run of the season but gets his sixth save. Nate Colbert hits his eighth home run.

Game 20: Milwaukee's amazing run ends at the hands of Rudy May, who throws eight five-hit innings at a suddenly meek Rider lineup. Jon Matlack doesn't keep it close, and the Angels salvage the finale 5-1.

Milwaukee's first interleague competition will be against New York (12-8) and Montreal (6-14). After that we face Kansas City (10-10), who is three games back of us at this time.

Game 33: Heartbreak for the Riders as Ramon Hernandez suffers his first blown save of the season, choking up a 2-1 lead in the ninth; Baltimore has three straight RBI singles to take a 4-2 win. The Rider bats were not much help, collecting only seven hits.

Game 34: Dave LaRoche implodes in this one, allowing a three-run homer by Bob Gibson in the eighth to tie the game at five; Baltimore scores twice in the 10th to win it 7-5.

Game 35: Stop me if you've heard this one before.. Dave McNally throws a complete game shutout against the Riders, 3-0. Milwaukee manages only five singles and are swept by the IronBirds.

We have some interleague contests on tap; first St. Louis and then Cincinnati.

Game 36: Another Fred Norman start, another blowout loss; St. Louis pounds Norman for eight runs on the way to a 12-1 win. Nolan Ryan improves to 7-1 with a complete game 3-hitter.

Game 37: Milwaukee gets its revenge at home, with Jon Matlack's eight strong innings backed by Gene Michael's three RBI in a 7-2 decision.

Game 38: Milwaukee scores four in the first, but the Steamboats rally back bit by bit, get a two-run homer from Fred Kendall (his first of the season) and win 6-4.

Game 39: Skip Lockwood, in his second start of the season, throws eight shutout innings, allowing only two hits while striking out nine, and the Riders even things with Cincinatti, winning 2-0 in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee returns to PL competition with a visit to Boston.

Game 40: Ted Sizemore drives home three runs from the leadoff spot and Nate Colbert blasts his 12th homer. Tommy John settles down after a rough start and the Riders take the opener in Boston, 7-4.

Game 41: Fred Norman pitches better than usual, but still puts the team in a 3-0 hole after two innings. Both teams get 12 hits but the Riders' are all singles; Boston evens the series with a 4-2 decision.

Game 42: The only scoring in this game comes in the third inning; unfortunately it's the Stranglers getting the better of the exchange, 2-1. n Matlack falls to 4-5.

We return to Milwaukee to host the 27-15 White Sox.

Game 43: Darold Knowles tries mightily to give this game away, but Ramon Hernandez stems a three-run rally in the ninth to preserve a 5-4 win for the Riders. It's Hernandez' 12th save. Mike Lum and Nate Colbert hit home runs for Milwaukee.

Game 44: Skip Lockwood's third start is nowhere near as successful as his second; he is outpitched by Tom Seaver as the White Sox even the series with a 7-1 win.

Game 45: Milwaukee's offensive drought continues as they score only on a Ted Ford solo home run and drop the finale to Chicago, 2-1. Tommy John is the tough-luck loser.

We head to Washington to face a team that may be a little closer to our ability level in the 18-27 Commandos.

Game 46: Nate Colbert hits a three-run homer in the fifth, and Fred Norman actually makes it stick; Milwaukee wins 4-2, with Ramon Hernandez earning his 13th save.

Game 47: Nate Colbert doubles and homers, driving in three more runs, and Jon Matlack throws six scoreless innings to even his record at 5-5 as the Riders beat the Commandos 9-5.

Game 48: Milwaukee gets good pitching from Ron Reed and starts to pull away in the seventh, scoring runs in each of the final three innings to triumph 5-1. Reed improves to 5-4; Ted Sizemore and Richie Hebner each hit two doubles.

Interleague matches with Los Angeles and San Diego are next on the schedule.

Game 49: Richie Hebner has four hits, including a double and a homer, to pace Milwaukee in a 6-4 win over the Sunsets in LA. Skip Lockwood evens his record at 2-2 and Ramon Hernandez collects his 14th save.

Game 50: George Stone was 1-6 entering hits game, but the Riders couldn't touch him. Los Angeles gets a three-run homer from Al Kaline and cruises to a 7-2 win over Tommy John.

Game 51: Fred Norman evens his record at 5-5 with eight strong innings, backed by two home runs from Richie Hebner in a 6-2 decision.

Game 52: Mike Lum has two doubles and six RBI to pace the Riders as they blow out the Gringos 14-3. Jon Matlack allows only three unearned runs in eight innings to improve to 6-5. Nate Colbert hits his 17th home run, a three-run blast.

The Riders head to New York to face the Mammoths before starting the second round of divisional play.

Game 53: Milwaukee puts 15 runners on base but scores only one, on Nate Colbert's solo home run, as the Mammoths take the opener 2-1. Mike Lum is 0-5 and strands eight baserunners all by himself. Ron Reed takes a tough loss.

Game 54: Jim McAndrew shuts down the Riders on four hits for eight innings, and Skip Lockwood has a rough outing. The Mammoths win, 6-0.

Game 55: Milwaukee salvages the finale, getting eight shutout innings from Tommy John and a huge game from Ted Ford, who hits two three-run homers.

We start the next round of divisional play by hosting 14-41 Oakland. At 27-28, we are currently two games behind Kansas City for the division lead.