Game 73: Two straight 3-0 losses for the Riders as Boston's Al Fitzmorris picks up his second win of the season (his five scoreless innings lower his ERA to 7.09). Something had to give.. Bill Zepp falls to 0-9.

Game 74: Milwaukee takes part in their third straight shutout, but this time they're on the winning side. Danny Coombs throws eight shutout innings and contributes two hits, including his third double, to a 6-0 win.

Game 75: Yet another shutout! Milwaukee is back on the losing end in this one, 4-0 as Larry Dierker throws a complete game for Boston. The Stranglers get all their runs in the third inning, two of them unearned. Brandon Rometti takes the loss.

With the All Star break approaching, we head up the coast to New York to face the Mammoths, currently one game behind Boston.

Game 79: Brandon Rometti's string of good starts comes to an end, and Detroit romps to an 11-3 win in the opener. Nate Colbert has two more hits, raising his average to .241, and hits his 17th homer.

Game 80: Tommy John gets his 10th win, throwing 7.2 innings of four-hit ball in a 3-1 win. Nate Colbert hits and RBI triple to give him 55 RBI while John has three hits, leaving him at .333 for the season.

Game 81: Milwaukee goes into the All Star break on a winning note despite a breakdown by the bullpen. Detroit scores two in the ninth to tie the score (off John Strohmayer), then three more in the top of the 10th (off Gary Waslewski). Larry Hisle leads off the bottom half with a home run off Jerry Reuss, followed by an Eddie Leon double, a walk to Al Ferrara, and a single by Richie Hebner to load the bases. Reuss stays in the game to face Nate Colbert and walks him to force home another run. Thurman Munson comes to the plate and bloops a double to center, driving home Ferrara and Hebner to win the game.

36-45 at the break. Not great but certainly better than could have been, given this team's offensive woes.

Game 82: The second half starts at Washington. With Zepp gone, Bill Lee is forced into the rotation. His first start is inauspicious; he allows five runs in three innings. Gary Wagner later faces four batters, all of whom score. An unusual 13-hit outburst by the offense is not enough to save the Riders in this one and the Commandos win 11-6.

Game 83: The Commandos are hot coming out of the break; they put 11 more runs on the board (eight off Ron Reed in three innings) while Milwaukee manages only a solo home run by Al Ferrara.

Game 84: Brandon Rometti is no match for the Commandos; they pound him for 14 hits in four innings of work and sweep the series with a 7-3 victory.

We have three quick home-and-home interleague series up next, starting with Chicago.

Game 97: Milwaukee opens a series with a victory for the first time since the All Star Break, scoring six runs in the fourth inning on the way to an 11-7 win. Ron Reed survives the fifth inning to record his 10th victory. Al Ferrara and Jack Heidemann hit home runs.

Game 98: The Riders return to their anemic ways at the plate, generating only eight hits against nine strikeouts in a 7-2 loss. Tommy John falls to 10-9 after allowing seven runs in six innings.

Game 99: Cleveland takes the series with a 6-4, 10-inning win in the finale. Milwaukee scores three in the ninth to tie the score, but Gary Wagner allows a two-run homer by Reggie Jackson in the 10th. Nate Colbert hits his 20th homer for Milwaukee.

We return to Milwaukee to await the first place Chicago White Sox (69-30)

Game 100: Chicago scores five runs on the hapless Bill Lee in the first three innings. Milwaukee plays catch up, but never makes it all the way back. They put the first two batters on base in the ninth but strand both, losing 5-4.

Game 101: Chicago's Tom Seaver collects his 18th win with a complete game while Brandon Rometti falls to 2-12 in a 12-1 blowout. Nate Colbert's 21st homer accounts for the Riders' only score. Richie Hebner commits his 24th error.

Game 102: The White Sox complete a convincing sweep with a 14-3 win in the finale, scoring eight off Tommy John in 3.2 innings.

We travel to Boston next to face the Stranglers, but apparently not Bill Zepp.

Game 103: This is a close one. Each team scores once in the eighth, and the game is tied at 3 after nine. Milwaukee scores in the 11th on Richie Hebner's single, but Fred Norman allows a big triple in the bottom half and the Stranglers put two on the board for a 5-4 win.

Game 104: Boston's Tony Cloninger not only pitches well, but drives in two runs, and the Stranglers beat the Riders again, 6-2.

Game 105: Swept again, we outhit Boston 11-5 but are outscored 4-2. Moved to the cleanup spot, Thurman Munson leaves six men on base in an 0-4 performance.

We move on to face the New York Mammoths.

Game 106: The latest skid (seven games) ends as Gary Waslewski throws four scoreless innings in his first start of the season. Mike Lum hits a three-run homer and Nate Colbert a solo shot in the 4-1 win.

Game 107: Milwaukee gets 11 hits, including a solo homer from Nate Colbert, but the Mammoths shell Brandon Rometti for nine runs before the fifth frame closes and the Riders lose 11-3.

Game 108: Milwaukee drops another series, losing the finale 6-4. Munson and Colbert are 0-7 between them.

After 2/3 of the season, we have 40 wins. Not very heartening. We had 36 wins at the break, so we are 4-23 since.

We travel to Detroit next.

Game 109: Despite our recent struggles, it had been a while since we were shut out. Detroit's Joe Moeller and Wade Blasingame reminded us how it feels, beating the Riders 4-0.

Game 110: Two errors hurt Tommy John; he allows three unearned runs, the Riders fall 8-5.

Game 111: Milwaukee falls just short, losing the finale 3-2 when Detroit scores twice in the eighth off Gary Wagner. Joe Gibbs' pinch hit homer had given the Riders a lead in the sixth.

We head home to face Washington.

Game 112: Home cooking say well with the Riders, and they bash their way to a 14-9 win over the Commandos. Brandon Rometti allows nine runs before exiting with none out in the fourth, but the bullpen throws six scoreless frames and the Riders score eight runs in the sixth. Nate Colbert and Al Ferrara hit long balls (Ferrara's is a pinch hit grand slam) while Richie Hebner has three doubles.

Game 113: In a very odd performance, the Riders collect 14 hits, and strike out only once, but strand a slew of runners as the Commandos win 5-3. Tommy John falls to 10-13.

Game 114: Stranding baserunners is not a problem in the finale; for the second time in three games the Riders put double digits on the board, getting homers from Nate Colbert, Mike Lum and Jack Heidemann in a 19-2 win. Lum drives home five runs and Colbert four. Thurman Munson has four hits and Danny Coombs even contributes a single as he wins his sixth game.

We head to Baltimore to face the IronBirds.

Game 118: The Rider offense has started to click for some reason; Nate Colbert blasts a three-run homer and the Riders jump on Blue Sox starter Don Wilson for four in the first, then manage to hold on for a 10-7 win. Thurman Munson and Ted Sizemore have two RBI each; Danny Coombs wins his second straight start.

Game 119: Brandon Rometti throws 5.1 scoreless innings and Nate Colbert blasts a two-run homer in the eighth to break a 1-1 tie as the Riders win, 3-1.

Game 120: It's the Blue Sox with the offense in this one, scoring four in the first and piling on from there to score a 10-4 win over Ron Reed. Milwaukee commits two key errors that lead to four unearned runs. The first four men in the Rider lineup have two hits each, but they don't group them closely enough.