On this day in 1981 the Brewers added a small piece to the puzzle for their back-to-back playoff teams, acquiring pitcher Randy Lerch from the Phillies for outfielder Dick Davis. Lerch was 26 at the time but had already pitched in seven major league seasons, posting a 4.46 ERA in 140 appearances (113 starts) for the Phillies. He was coming off a rough season, having run up a 5.16 ERA in just 150 innings in 1980.
For the Brewers, however, Lerch was pretty serviceable. He was the fifth starter during the strike-shortened 1981 season, working behind all time Brewer greats Pete Vuckovich, Mike Caldwell, Moose Haas and Jim Slaton. Even with all that talent in front of him, though, Lerch earned a playoff start and held the Yankees to a run on three hits over six innings in Game 3 of the 1981 ALDS.
The Brewers let Lerch go to Montreal on waivers during the 1982 season, but he's still one of just eight players in franchise history to pitch six innings or more in a playoff game.
With help from Brewerfan.net and the B-Ref Play Index, happy birthday today to:
- AZL Brewer Renaldo Jenkins, who turns 19.
- 2006 Brewer Chris Barnwell, who turns 34.