Game 118: Anaheim puts crooked numbers on the board in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings to take a 9-0 lead, but the Riders won't give up easily. They score seven times in the seventh, getting consecutive RBI doubles from Larry Biittner and Ted Sizemore, not to mention an error by Rod Carew. Skip Lockwood pitches two scoreless innings, and with two out in the ninth, Bill Madlock walks. Richie Hebner is inexplicably walked, and Thurman Munson ties the game with a two-run double. Dave Campbell retires the Angels in the bottom half to send the game to extras. Ted Sizemore singles to lead off the 10th and goes to second on Frank Taveras' sacrifice. Len Randle flies out but Larry Hisle singles, though Sizemore is held at third. Bill Madlock singles him home and the Riders lead 10-9. Rich Gossage allows a leadoff triple in the bottom half but gets two consecutive groundouts and a fly out to end the game.

Game 119: Bill Lee, recently having earned some victories by lasting through the fifth, doesn't even make it out of the second in this one. The Angels ambush him with three in the first and three more in the second; the Rider bullpen is used early and often as Anaheim rolls to a 15-2 blowout win.

Game 120: Bill Madlock homers and the Riders hit five doubles as they rally from a 4-0 first-inning deficit to take the series with an 11-6 win in the finale. Dave LaRoche pitches two scoreless innings and gets the win, his sixth of the season.

The Riders head to Minnesota to face the Mooseheads.

Game 121: Tommy John has his best outing in weeks, pitching a complete game and allowing only an unearned run, as the Riders beat Minnesota 12-1 in the series opener. Larry Hisle and Mike Ivie hit homers; Lenny Randle drives in three. John improves his record to 13-4.

Game 122: Bruce Kison allows only a solo home run in seven innings of work and the Riders pound out 14 hits in a 10-1 win over the Mooseheads. Larry Biittner hits his seventh home run and Richie Hebner hits two doubles for the Riders.

Game 123: Milwaukee blasts three home runs in the first off Jim Rooker, including consecutive shots from Larry Hisle and Hal McRae. Hisle adds another homer later and Rich Gossage pitches two scoreless innings for his 40th save as the Riders beat Minnesota 5-4.

The LA Sunsets will visit County Stadium next.

Game 124: Larry Hisle hits his third homer in two days and Bill Lee does make it through five today as the Riders beat LA, 5-2. Lee improves to 6-8.

Game 125: Lary Sorensen gets plenty of support from his Rider teammates, who bash 15 hits in a 9-4 win over LA. Sorensen gets his 10th win of the season, the fifth Rider pitcher to do so.

Game 126: Hal McRae hits two doubles for the second straight game, giving him 44 for the year, and Rich Gossage gets one of his easiest saves ever, retiring one batter with men on the corners to bail Tommy John out of a jam as the Riders win 5-1. John improves to 14-4; Gossage now has 42 saves.

Milwaukee will host Washington next.

Game 127: While the rest of the league has had no problem pummelling the Commandos, the Riders have trouble getting "up" for this matchup, apparently. Hal McRae drops a flyball in the eighth, allowing two runs to score, and Skip Lockwood gives up two more in the ninth as Washington steals a 5-4 decision from the Riders, who outhit the Commandos 13-6 but can't be bothered to bring any of those runners around.

Game 128: Milwaukee gets a little more production from the lineup today and Jon Matlack pitches seven brilliant innings as the Commandos fall 9-3. Matlack wins his 13th game; Jerry Mumphrey hits his fourth home run.

Game 129: Thanks to Bernie Carbo, the Riders escape with a 2-1 win in the series finale. Carbo's error to start the eighth inning starts a two-run rally that culminates with Jerry Mumprhey's two-out, two-run single. The Rider bullpen pitches five scoreless innings in relief of Bill Lee to ensure the win.

The Riders head to Montreal to face the Loria Lynchers (73-56).

Game 130: Former Rider Fred Norman allows 11 hits in five innings to his old teammates and Milwaukee beats Montreal 9-1 in the series opener. Milwaukee collects 17 hits in all, including three apiece by Jerry Mumphrey and Bill Madlock. Lary Sorensen gets the win, improving to 11-6.

Game 131: Tommy John throws eight shutout innings and the Spectres squeak out a 2-0 win over the Lynchers. Rich Gossage pitches the ninth for his 44th save.

Game 132: Bruce Kison allows two homers in a five-run third inning and the Lynchers hold on for a 7-2 win behind Catfish Hunter and Andy Messersmith.

Montreal hosts the Central-leading Cleveland Saltdogs (81-51) next.

Game 133: The Riders can't get much going against Steve Stone and Dave Campbell walks four batters in the seventh, leading to two runs for the Saltdogs, who emerge as 3-2 winners in the series opener.

Game 134: Milwaukee evens the series with a 15-hit barrage that includes Hal McRae's 48th double and Larry Hisle's 41st. Bill Lee moves within a game of .500 at 7-8 and Rich Gossage gets his 45th save.

Game 135: Ted Sizemore hits a three-run homer in the first inning and the Riders go on to score seven times off an uncharacteristically wild JR Richard, who issues six free passes in as many innings. The 5-8 batters drive in at least two runs each and Milwaukee wins the rubber match 12-6.

The Riders are off to Cincinnati to face the Steamboats (75-60).

Game 136: After taking a 9-3 lead in the top of the seventh, Len Randle enters the game at shortstop to rest Frank Taveras. Randle commits errors in the seventh and eighth as the Steamboats storm back to tie the score. Both teams go down in order in the ninth and waste a single in the 10th. With two down in the 11th, Richie Hebner singles, bringing up Thurman Munson. Munson homers! Riders lead 11-9. Len Randle isn't quite done yet, however. He commits TWO MORE ERRORS in the bottom half of the inning within the first three batters, putting three men on with no outs. Rich Gossage gets a popout, but Jay Johnstone hits a run-scoring fly ball to make it an 11-10 game. Joe Lahoud comes to the plate... Gossage strikes him out! with high heat that Lahoud can't catch up to. Milwaukee wins, giving Bruce Sutter (13-3) a rare defeat.

Game 137: Hal McRae hits his 50th double and Bob Randall drives in three runs as the Riders pound out 16 hits in a 12-7 win over the Steamboats. Frank Taveras steals two bases, giving him 49, and Bruce Kison gets his 12th win.

Game 138: Thurman Munson hits two solo homers, including a tie-breaker off Bruce Sutter in the top of the ninth, and the Riders squeak by Cincy with a 3-2 victory when Rich Gossage works around a leadoff walk in the bottom half. Sutter takes two losses in the series, giving him four for the season. Frank Taveras steals two more bases to go over 50 for the season.

The Riders will host Chicago next.

Game 139: Hal McRae doubles and homers and passes the 100-RBI mark as the Rider beat the Goats 7-2. Bill Lee falls one out short of completing five innings and Ron Reed gets the win in relief. Reed is 8-1 on the season.

Game 140: Bill Madlock and Larry Hisle each hit home runs and Lary Sorensen pitches into the sixth as the Riders beat Chicago 4-2. Rich Gossage pitches the final 1.1 innings for his 48th save. Two RBI for Hisle give him 99 on the season.

Game 141: Tommy John gives up homers to Wayne Gross and Bob Stinson, and Chicago's Mike Caldwell tosses three shutout innings in relief to preserve 7-3 win for the Goats. Milwaukee outhits Chicago 10-9 but draws only one walk.

The Red Sox will be in town next.

Game 142: Larry Hisle drives in five and Hal McRae and Bill Madlock four each as the Riders beat Boston 18-2 in the series opener. Bruce Kison gets his 13th win. Hisle becomes the second Rider to reach the 100-RBI mark.

Game 143: Milwaukee hits three homers, all solo shots, and can't manage to score any other runs. As a result, they drop a 5-3 decision to the Red Sox.

Game 144: Bill Lee gets shelled; Boston scores five runs in each of the first two innings. A stellar performance from the bullpen is not enough and the Riders drop the series to Boston with a 12-7 defeat.

The Riders head to New York to face the Mammoths, who currently trail Cincinnati by three games in the wild card chase.

Game 145: Hal McRae hits his 53rd double to drive home a run, then steals third and scores on the catcher's wild throw as the Riders rally late to beat New York 8-4. Ron Reed pitches three innings in relief of Lary Sorensen to get his ninth win of the season.

Game 146: Tommy John has a clunker, giving up two Mammoth home runs, including one to .218 hitter Jerry Terrell, and the Riders lose an 8-5 decision to New York. Thurman Munson hits his 20th home run for Milwaukee and reaches 99 RBI.

Game 147: Len Randle has four hits from the leadoff spot but his teammates manage only three more and therefore he never crosses the plate. Four Mammoth pitchers combine to shut down the Rider offense as New York takes the series with a 5-2 win in the finale.

The Riders head to Atlanta to take on Georgia Force in their final series before the fourth round of divisional play ends the season.

Game 148: Milwaukee gets its 100th win of the season, roughing up 21-game winner Phil Niekro with nine hits and five walks in 3.2 innings and holding on for a 10-4 victory. Larry Biittner has four hits for the Riders, Thurman Munson becomes the third Rider to reach 100 RBI, and Bill Madlock positions himself to become the fourth, driving in his 99th run of the year.

Game 149: Ted Sizemore's three-run homer in the eighth erases a 3-2 deficit and caps a four-run rally as the Riders beat Atlanta 5-3. Rich Gossage pitches the eighth and ninth innings, facing only six batters, to earn his 50th save.

Game 150: Milwaukee scores seven times in the first two innings and then holds on for dear life to beat the Force 7-6. Bill Madlock drives in three runs to pass the 100-RBI mark for the season.

The end of the season brings three 4-game series against divisional rivals, with Anaheim visiting Milwaukee to start things out.

Game 151: Both teams get 10 hits, but Tommy John effectively scatters the ones he allows and the Riders open the series with a 6-0 win. Thurman Munson has four hits and four RBI to pace Milwaukee.

Game 152: Ted Martinez hits a three-run homer, his first longball of the season, and the Angels hold off the Riders 7-6 to even the series. Bruce Kison falls to 13-10.

Game 153: This one is an exciting affair as the two teams trade leads on and off throughout. Both teams score once in the eighth, leaving a tie game knotted at seven, and neither team scores in the ninth, sending it to extras. Ron Cey and Sixto Lezcano hit consecutive homers in the top of the 10th but the Riders get those runs back in the bottom half, with RBI singles from Richie Hebner and Jerry Mumphrey. Neither team threatens in the 11th. Little-used Ramon Kramer pitches the 12th for Milwaukee and escapes unscathed after allowing a one-out triple to George Scott. Hebner leads off the bottom half with a towering home run off Kristian Roenker and the Riders win, 10-9.

Game 154: Jim Rice has five hits and four RBI to pace an 18-hit Angel attack while Mike Torrez pitches a complete-game three-hit shutout against the Riders. Anaheim earns a split of the series with the 11-0 victory. Bill Lee takes the loss, his 10th.

Minnesota will be in town next.

Game 155: Lary Sorensen pitches five scoreless innings and earns his 14th victory as the Riders shut out the Mooseheads 6-0. Richie Hebner and Thurman Munson homer for Milwaukee.

Game 156: Tommy John's last few starts haven't been very encouraging as the playoffs approach; he allows two more homers and eight runs in this one as the Mooseheads even the series with a convincing 10-5 win. Paul Splitorff gets his 14th win for Minnesota.

Game 157: Minnesota pounds four more homers off the Rider pitching staff and clobbers Milwaukee 9-5. Bruce Kison takes the brunt of the punishment, though Skip Lockwood does nothing to encourage Milwaukee fandom.

Game 158: Milwaukee explodes for six runs in the second, adds two 4-run innings later, and earns a split with Minnesota, taking the series finale by a 15-4 score. Jon Matlack gets his 15th win in his final start of the season.

Milwaukee will close the season with a road trip to Los Angeles to face the Sunsets.

Game 159: Hal McRae drives in five runs and Bill Lee scatters eight hits over five innings to win his eighth game as the Riders beat the Sunsets 10-1 in the series opener. McRae and Richie Hebner hit home runs for Milwaukee.

Game 160: Ted Sizemore and Bob Randall have three hits each and Ron Reed pitches three solid innings of relief as the Riders beat LA 6-3. Reed takes over for Lary Sorensen in the fifth and gets his 10th win of the season, the sixth Rider pitcher to do so.

Game 161: Tommy John gets back on track and Hal McRae's three-run homer is all the scoring Milwaukee needs as they beat the Sunsets 3-2. Rich Gossage pitches the ninth for his 53rd save.

Game 162: Bruce Kison pitches seven shutout innings and the Riders close the regular season with a 9-0 shutout of the Sunsets.

Milwaukee finishes 110-52 and will face the wild card New York Mammoths in the first round of the playoffs.

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