August Gets Victory and a Reprieve : Milwaukee Pitcher Strengthens His Spot in the Rotation

There’s a perfectly good reason why the Milwaukee Brewers haven’t announced their starting rotation for the team’s next series: they don’t have one, at least, not the kind written in stone.

Instead, they have a collection of question marks and dilemmas, including the one involving the fall from grace of Don August, the Mission Viejo resident who made a name for himself by virtue of a 13-7 rookie season in 1988. August, a member of the 1984 Olympic team, was summoned from the minors last June and hasn’t looked back . . . until now.

With success came expectations--and August had plenty of them, the least of which included a slow, almost glacial-speed start in 1989. Given the opening day honors, August lost, 2-1, to the Cleveland Indians, but only gave up one earned run in the process.

Since then, August has struggled and the Brewers have struggled with him. He entered Saturday evening’s game against the Angels with a 2-5 record and a bloated 4.88 earned-run average. Word was that Saturday’s performance would help shape the look of the Brewer rotation for days to come. In essence: if August pitched well, he’d remain a member of the five starters; if not . . . welcome to the bullpen, Don.

He stays.

August pitched augustly. He allowed eight hits, but only in the first and seventh inning did they come in bunches. Devon White cranked one of the balls into the upper reaches of the right field seats early on, followed later by Lance Parrish’s homer to left. The White homer was disturbing--the ball just sat there in the strike zone--but it was the pitch to Parrish that almost ruined the night for August.

Ahead by a run at the time, August only had to get through the seventh and help would be on the way, mainly in the form of standout reliever Dan Plesac. But on the first pitch, Parrish reached out and lofted the ball deep to left. The ball clanged against the seats seconds later.

August turned to watch a one-run lead become a tie game. He kicked at the dirt on the pitcher’s mound and then waited abjectly as home plate umpire Al Clark tossed him another ball.

Jack Howell flied to left for the first out, but then light-hitting Kent Anderson singled, as did Claudell Washington. All of the sudden, a game, to say nothing of a place in the rotation, was in jeopardy.

Help arrived. Johnny Ray grounded into a double play, ending the inning and, for the moment, ending August’s worries.

The Brewers went on to score four runs in the eighth, enough of a cushion to stave off a mild rally by the Angels in the bottom half of the inning. Plesac eventually arrived, dashing Angel hopes with his eighth save.

“He’s been struggling also,” Plesac said. “But he threw much better tonight. Sure, in the back of your mind you’re trying to pick Augie up.”

Said August: “We won, that’s the main thing.”

Almost everyone noticed the difference in August’s performance, including the man who matters most, Manager Tom Trebelhorn. For a nice change, Trebelhorn said, August challenged hitters rather than the other way around. It showed, as he gave up only one walk. As for the eight hits, five of them were singles.

“He’s pitched about three times good, about three times fair and about three times poor,” Trebelhorn said. “But tonight he went out and did a good job. And he didn’t walk anybody ahead of those guys (who hit homers). Solo home runs will rarely beat a starting pitcher.

“It’s good to see him throw the way he’s capable of throwing.”

So August may be safe after all after gaining the victory. He lasted those seven innings. He allowed only those two runs. And he provided the Brewers with a rare road win.

“Hopefully, this will give us something to build on,” Plesac said.

For the Brewers and August.