Editor’s note: Washington C.H. native Travis Shaw hit his 20th home run of the season on Saturday, July 15 to lift the Milwaukee Brewers to a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The following is a report on that game.
MILWAUKEE (AP) — With the 1982 AL champion Milwaukee Brewers watching, the surprising NL Central-leading Brew Crew put on their own show.
Travis Shaw hit his 20th home run of the season leading off the bottom of the eighth inning and the Brewers edged the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 on Saturday night.
Shaw hit the center-field scoreboard when he crushed a 1-1 pitch right down the middle from Joaquin Benoit (1-4). The victory put the Brewers (52-41) a season-high 11 games over .500.
The Brewers honored more than 20 members of the 1982 AL championship team in a 30-minute pregame ceremony. Hall of Famer Robin Yount, Cecil Cooper, Charlie Moore, Gorman Thomas, among others, were cheered with arguably the loudest for the original team owner, former MLB commissioner and 2017 Hall of Fame inductee, Bud Selig.
“Tonight’s about them,” Shaw said after extending his career high in home runs. “A lot of good players on that team. For them to all come back and for us to get a win is kind of a perfect night.”
The St. Louis Cardinals won their ninth championship by edging the Brewers 4-3 in the 1982 World Series. It was the Cardinals’ 13th trip to the Series and the Brewers’ first.
Both clubs are wearing 1982-style throwback jerseys during the three-game series.
“They were great teammates together,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “That’s something this group has created, for sure. It is an honor for us to be compared to that team. That was a heck of a baseball team.”
Jacob Barnes (2-1) picked up the win when got out of jam in the top of the eighth thanks to a slick double play after walking two batters.
Corey Knebel pitched the ninth for his 16th save in 20 chances. He struck out Tommy Joseph for his 45th consecutive appearance with a strikeout to start the season, a major league record. Odubel Herrera squeezed a double down the third-base line with two outs, but Cameron Rupp went down swinging to end the game.
