Milwaukee's All Stars include pitchers Ron Reed (10-5, 2.92 ERA) and Rich Gossage (2-0. 22 saves, 1.32 ERA), along with battery mate Thurman Munson (.348/.403/.483 with 52 RBI).

The Riders will start the second half at home with a visit from Cleveland.

Game 82: Shut out for seven innings by Dennis Eckersley and Fred Scherman, the Riders rally for three runs in the eighth with some help from All Star third baseman George Brett, who commits an error with two outs. That miscue is followed by RBI singles from Thurman Munson and Larry Biittner, which give the Riders a 3-2 lead. Rich Gossage shuts them down in the ninth and Milwaukee wins the first game of the second half.

Game 83: Jon Matlack improves to 11-5 as the Riders get 10 hits, including a pinch hit two-run double from Jim Wohlford, to beat Cleveland 7-2.

Game 84: Mike Lum and Richie Hebner each hit their 10th home run of the season; Richie Hebner scores four times; Larry Biittner drives in four runs; and Mason Karg blasts a three-run double as the Riders win 15-7 to sweep Cleveland. Fred Norman is the beneficiary of the offensive fireworks, improving to 7-5.

Interleague series with the league's best team, Montreal, followed by Georgia Force and Chicago, are next on the schedule.

Game 85: Ron Reed pitches eight innings, strikes out eight, hits two doubles of his own (giving him seven for the season) and wins his 11th game, 4-1. Rich Gossage gets the save.

Game 86: Bill Lee pitches seven solid innings, Mason Karg hits his fifth home run, and the Riders collect 13 hits in a 6-3 win over Montreal. Rich Gossage gets another two-inning save.

Game 87: Jon Matlack scatters seven hits over six innings; Georgia Force commits three errors, leading to four unearned Milwaukee runs; and the Riders beat Atlanta 6-2.

Game 88: Milwaukee takes advantage of a tired Atlanta bullpen, scroing 10 times in the last three innings, to beat the Force 14-4. Richie Hebner and Mike Lum continue to battle for the team home run lead, with Hebner coming out on top after a two-homer game trumps Lum's single tally.

Game 89: Manny Trillo's three-run homer in the first inning chases Fergie Jenkins; the Riders hold on from there for an 8-5 win. Ron Reed is shaky but gets his 12th win; Thurman Munson and Larry Biittner each has three hits.

Game 90: Deron Johnson's SIXTY-FOURTH error of the season leads to two Rider runs, but other than that Jim Colborn is unscathed. Bill Lee is not so lucky, allowing 13 hits in six innings, and the Riders' 11-game winning streak comes to an end in Chicago, 5-2.

Milwaukee heads home for a six-game homestand starting with a visit from Baltimore.

Game 91: Milwaukee drops the opener to the horrible Brown Brewers (22-68) as Jon Matlack is roughed up in the third and Wayne Garland throws 3.1 scoreless innings in relief of Bob Gibson. The Riders get only four hits.

Game 92: Milwaukee gets great pitching from Fred Norman and Darold Knowles, and is able to take advantage of an exhausted Brewer bullpen, evening the series with a 7-1 win. Jim Wohlford drives home three runs.

Game 93: Prospect Walter Ster hits his first home run of the season; Thurman Munson and Mason Karg each hits their sixth, and Ron Reed allows only one run in eight innings as the Riders win the series with a 12-2 decision in the finale.

Boston comes to Milwaukee for a three-game set next.

Game 94: Boston gets 13 hits, but only one for extra bases, and Bill Lee limits them to two runs through 6.2 innings. Milwaukee does hardly any better at the plate (14 hits, one double) but Jim Sundberg, playing a bit out of position at SS, commits a key error in the third and the floodgates open. Milwaukee wins 5-2 with Rich Gossage earning his 27th save. The error is Sundberg's 53rd of the season.

Game 95: Jon Matlack tosses eight shutout innings for his 13th win, 5-0 over Boston. Walter Ster hits his second home run and drives home three.

Game 96: Boston's offense shows some life, collecting 11 hits and generally abusing Fred Norman, but the Riders respond with 13 hits of their own and finish a sweep with a 9-7 win. Rich Gossage gets his 28th save despite allowing a run.

The Riders now head east to visit New York.

Game 97: The top three batters in the Rider lineup have three hits each, but the club is shut out by Frank Tanana through eight. Milwaukee finally breaks into the scoring column in the ninth, but it's too little too late as the Mammoths take the opener 3-2.

Game 98: Milwaukee scores three times in the first, but Bill Lee gradually gives all that away, and more. Vida Blue strengthens as the game goes on and ends up with a complete game 7-6 win despite a two-run rally by the Riders in the ninth.

Game 99: Jon Matlack helps the Riders salvage the finale in New York, pitching six effective innings and picking up his 14th win of the season, 4-2. Jim Wohlford sparks the offense with four hits from the leadoff spot.

Milwaukee returns home to face Washington.

Game 100: Bill Madlock bounces back from an 0-5 performance in the finale at New York with a three-hit, three-RBI game, including a double and a home run. Jim Wohlford continues his hot hitting with two more hits, and Fred Norman walks none in six strong innings as the Riders take the opener 7-1.

Game 101: Washington's young Steve Rogers goes the distance, but he surrenders 16 hits and nine runs in the process. Walter Ster has three hits and three runs, Ron Reed hits his ninth double, and Bill Madlock drives home five as the Riders win 9-2. Reed improves to 14-6.

Game 102: Struggling Tom Underwood (4-10 entering the contest) shuts down the middle of the Milwaukee batting order and salvages the finale for Washington, who scores just enough off Bill Lee for a 3-1 win. Lee drops to 12-11.

Milwaukee stays home to host the White Sox (58-44) next; the Riders still cling to a one-game division lead as Anaheim lost its first game in the last 10 tonight.

Game 103: Tom Seaver never seems to have an "off" day, at least when he faces the Riders, and the opener of this series is no exception. Seaver runs his record to 21-3 with a three-hit, 10-strikeout complete game shutout. Jon Matlack nearly matches Seaver's success but comes out on the short end of a 2-0 decision.

Game 104: Milwaukee drops a game behind Anaheim as Chicago's Rich Folkers outpitches Fred Norman and the White Sox take a second straight game from the Riders, 6-2.

Game 105: Chicago gets four decent innings out of a AAA prospect, then five shutout frames from its bullpen, to complete a sweep of the Riders with a 7-2 win. Milwaukee drops two back of Anaheim.

The Riders' schedule doesn't get any easier as they head to Minnesota.

Game 106: Ted Sizemore hits a two-run double in the fifth to get the Riders on the board and then scores on Mason Karg's home run (his seventh). The Riders go on to defeat the Mooseheads, 7-3, behind Bill Lee.

Game 107: For the second straight time, Mickey Lolich pitches a gem when facing the Riders, going eight innings and walking none. Milwaukee does get 11 hits but few of them consecutively; Minnesota evens the series with a 5-2 win.

Game 108: The Riders lose another one, 3-2, and fall three games behind Anaheim. Mason Karg's homer gives the Riders a 2-1 lead, but Dave Laroche allows the tying run in the eighth and Darold Knowles can't stem the tide in the ninth.

Milwaukee will host Detroit next.

Game 109: Ron Reed allows only six baserunners and one run in eight innings, and the Riders generate just enough offense to beat Detroit, 4-2. Rich Gossage earns his 30th save.

Game 110: Early errors lead to two unearned Detroit runs and this one is a close one throughout, but Rich Gossage navigates his way through the final four outs to preserve a 6-5 win. Mason Karg and Bill Robinson drive home two runs each.

Game 111: Larry Biittner hits a bases-loaded double in the first and the Riders never look back; Detroit uses eight pitchers in an 11-2 defeat. Bill Madlock has four hits for Milwaukee and raises his batting average to .413.

Milwaukee regains a share of the West Division lead and heads to Cleveland to face the Saltdogs.

Game 112: Fred Norman and two relievers combine on a 3-hitter; unfortunately two of those hits are RBI doubles. The Riders muster only five singles off Dennis Eckersley and two Saltdog relievers and are shut out, 2-0, in the series opener.

Game 113: Thurman Munson and Mason Karg each hits a home run as the Riders even the series with a 7-1 win behind Ron Reed, who improves to 16-7.

Game 114: Bill Lee is the victim of poor support in this one; Manny Trillo's third home run of the season accounts for Milwaukee's only scoring in a 3-1 loss. Lee pitches a complete game and walks none, but falls to 14-12.Milwaukee heads to Baltimore to face the Brown Brewers before beginning the third stretch of divisonal play.

Game 115: Baltimore's exhausted bullpen costs them in the opener; Milwaukee draws 11 walks and gets four RBI from Mason Karg as they take the first game of the series with an 8-4 win. Jon Matlack is at less than top form but earns his 16th win.

Game 116: Baltimore starter Bob Forsch (7-17, pitching on less than full rest) dominates the Rider lineup, pitching a complete game and allowing only a solo home run to Richie Hebner. Fred Norman, meanwhile, is shredded by the Brewer offense as Milwaukee falls, 11-1.

Game 117: The Riders are shut down again by the Brewer pitchers, mustering only two hits off Bob Gibson, Wayne Garland, and Dick Drago. Baltimore takes the series with a 4-0 win.

The third round of divisional play begins next with a visit from Anaheim. Milwaukee trails the Angels by one game. Bill Lee will start the opener and new pitcher Bruce Kison is expected to pitch the series finale.

With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Riders have struck a deal with Boston to acquire starting pitcher Bruce Kison for outfielder Bill Robinson and the Riders' second round choice in the 1976 draft. It seems like an odd deal on the surface, as the Riders are loaded with pitching and not quite so much on offense, but they always say you can't have too much pitching. Kison has pitched better than Bill Lee and Fred Norman this year and may be the piece necessary to advance in the playoffs this season.

Game 118: Anaheim scores three times in the first inning off Bill Lee and Steve Busby pitches a gem as the Angels take the opener 4-2. Milwaukee falls two back. It may be time to start tracking the wild card standings... luckily the Riders have a four game advantage in that race for the moment.

Game 119: Anaheim strikes early again, scoring three in the first off Jon Matlack. Matlack allows two more in the second before settling down, and the Riders put three on the board in the bottom half of that inning, but i;s too big a deficit to make up. Anaheim scores three more in the ninth to make the Riders' two-run rally in the bottom half look meaningless in an 8-6 decision.

Game 120: Bruce Kison's first start for the Riders goes exceedingly poorly. He allows five runs in the first and the day doesn't get any better. Anaheim completes a convincing sweep with a 15-1 blowout.

Milwaukee falls to four games back of the Angels but manages to maintain a four-game lead in the wild card race. The Riders head to Kansas City to face the Blue Sox next.

Game 121: Fred Norman pitches six strong innings and the bullpen shuts out the Blue Sox for three frames as the Riders snap their losing streak with a 5-1 win at Kansas City. Jim Wohlford drives in two runs; Larry Hisle hits his fifth home run of the season.

Game 122: Larry Hisle's two-run double, Milwaukee's only extra base hit, keys a five-run fourth inning and Ron Reed pitches another gem as the Riders win 8-3. Reed improves to 17-8.

Game 123: Kansas City scores three unearned runs in the first, but Milwaukee responds with three of their own in the second, then takes the lead on Bill Madlock's third-inning homer. Bill Lee allows only one more run the rest of the night and the Riders take the finale, 8-4.

Milwaukee returns home to host Oakland, always a tough opponent for us and over .500 this season.