Game 40: The Mammoths get two home runs from Dale Murphy and a brilliant performance by Frank Tanana as they take down the Riders 7-1.

Game 41: Tom Herr hits his first home run of the season, a grand slam that caps a six-run 8th inning, and the Mammoths rally for an 8-6 win over Milwaukee. Tim Raines is caught stealing twice, negating two of his three hits.

Game 42: John Russell's bases-loaded double snaps a 2-2 tie, and the Rider bullpen makes it stand up as they salvage the series finale 5-2, with Rich Gossage earning his 11th save.

Next up is a home series against first place Minnesota.

Game 43: Rick Sutcliffe continues to serve batting practice (10 hits allowed in 5.2 innings) and the Lame Ducks extend their lead to four games with an 8-5 win.

Game 44: Mike Smithson throws eight shutout innings and Jim Gott finishes the shutout as the Riders take the second game of the series, 8-0.

Game 45: The Riders keep Minnesota in the park, but that's not enough to win the series as the Lame Ducks score a 6-4 victory to extend their division lead back to four games.

Milwaukee will host the Goats next.

Game 46: Tim Raines and Bill Madlock drive in four runs each, and the Riders survive a horrible outing by Frank Viola to defeat Chicago 11-7. Mike Davis joins Raines and Madlock in hitting his third home run of the season.

Game 47: Rick Sutcliffe produces a quality start, Mike Marshall hits his 10th home run, and Rich Gossage earns his 12th save with a scoreless ninth as the Riders win 7-5.

Game 48: Rich Gedman hits two home runs and a triple, driving in five, and the Riders finish a sweep of the Goats with a 10-5 win.

Milwaukee heads west to face San Diego next.

Game 49: John Montefusco's first start of the season is shaky, and the Riders strike out nine times while stranding a majority of their nine hits. San Diego takes the series opener, 5-3.

Game 50: 14 hits isn't enough for the Riders as Mark Gubicza allows 12 baserunners in four innings of work; the Mariners win 8-5.

Game 51: Lance Parrish's eighth-inning grand slam helps the Mariners sweep the Riders, winning the final 6-5, as Milwaukee falls six games behind Minnesota in the division race.

We host Cleveland (22-29) next.

Game 52: Don Baylor hits a three-run homer in the first off Rick Sutcliffe and helps chase Sutcliffe with an RBI single in the third. The Riders get a ton of hits (outhitting Cleveland 14-8) but a ninth-inning rally falls short with men at the corners and the Riders lose 6-5.

Game 53: The losing streak reaches five as Mike Smithson allows three 2nd inning runs and three more 3rd inning runs; 10 hits for Milwaukee produce only two runs and the Saltdogs win 6-2.

Game 54: Mark Gubicza throws six scoreless innings and the bullpen adds three more as the Riders snap their skid with a no-doubt 10-0 whipping of the Saltdogs.

Off to Atlanta.

Game 55: The winning "streak" is short-lived. Frank Viola allows 15 hits in six innings and the Georgia Force roll to an 8-4 victory to open the series.

Game 56: Rick Sutcliffe pitches well for the first time in weeks and the Riders beat Atlanta 6-1.

Game 57: Mike Smithson suffers another early meltdown, leaving during a five-run second, and the Georgia Force take the series with a 7-5 win.

Washington is in town next.

Game 58: The Riders engineer a three-run rally in the ninth that sends the game to extras, then win it 7-6 in the 11th on Mike Davis' one-out home run.

Game 59: Dwight Gooden strikes out 12 Riders in seven shutout innings and a late rally off Washington's bullpen isn't enough as the Commandos win 7-4.

Game 60: Rick Sutcliffe has another solid outing and Bill Campbell throws 2.1 scoreless innings in relief as the Riders win a series, beating Washington 7-2 in the finale.

We head to New York to face the Mammoths.

Game 61: The Mammoths roll, 9-2, in the opener, scoring six runs off reliever Ron Reed in a mere 1/3 of an inning. Pascual Perez disposes of the Riders in sort order.

Game 62: The Riders bounce back to even the series with a 7-4 win. Rich Gossage comes in to strike out Julio Franco with the bases loaded to end it, getting his 13th save.

Game 63: Mike Marshall homers twice, and Tim Raines steals three bases, but they are no match for the Mammoths' Dale Murphy, who drives in six runs to lead New York to a 10-9 victory.

We travel to Minnesota next, now trailing them by six games.

Game 64: The Lame Ducks win the opener 8-6 in 10 as Mike Schmidt hits a two-run walkoff homer against Steve Farr.

Game 65: Minnesota gets a quality start from Mike Mason, who drops his ERA to 6.20 in beating the Riders 5-2.

Game 66: Milwaukee avoids a sweep, scoring four runs in the eighth (three on consecutive triples by Tim Raines and Damaso Garcia) to beat the Lame Ducks 7-4. Rich Gossage pitches the ninth for his 14th save.

We return home to face the Goats.

Game 70: San Diego's Miguel Dilone drive in five runs with two doubles and the Mariners top Milwaukee 5-1.

Game 71: Frank Viola can't even get out of the first inning, allowing six runs, and the Riders take another loss despite shutting out the Mariners the rest of the way. Final score: 6-3, San Diego.

Game 72: Milwaukee finally beats the last place Mariners, taking the lead in the seventh and getting two scoreless innings from the bullpen to hold on for a 4-3 win.

We head to Cleveland next.

Game 73: The Riders manage only one run against the Saltdogs' Ed Whitson, who throws a complete game 6-hitter to beat Milwaukee 7-1.

Game 74: The Riders start fast but shut down the offense for the day after three innings; Cleveland wins it , 6-5, scoring a run in the bottom of the 10th with three consecutive one-out singles off Bill Campbell.

Game 75: The Riders once again manage to avoid a sweep, scratching out just enough runs to beat the Saltdogs 5-3. Rich Gossage pitches the ninth to earn his 17th save.

We host Georgia Force (36-39) next.

Game 76: Milwaukee scores seven times in the fifth to erase an 8-1 deficit, but Reggie Jackson hits a two-run double in the 10th that gives Atlanta a 10-8 victory.

Game 77: Atlanta keeps blistering the ball; Milwaukee not so much. Georgia Force wins 9-3.

Game 78: Georgia Force has another banner day at the plate, battering four Rider pitchers for 17 hits in a 9-7 sweep-clinching win. Weak-hitting Jim Gantner drives in two more runs, giving him eight RBI for the series.

The first half ends at Washington.

Game 79: The Riders are 4-hit by rookie sensation Dwight Gooden and a pair of Commando relievers, dropping the series opener 4-1. Tony Armas hits his 27th home run for the victors.

Game 80: Rick Sutcliffe goes eight innings, striking out seven and walking none, as the Riders beat the Commandos 6-3.

Game 81: Rich Gedman has five hits, five runs, and four RBI as the Riders end the first half of the season on a winning note, beating Washington 13-8. Tom Foley adds two triples and three RBI.

The Riders place no players on the AL All Star roster.