On a temperate Midwestern September night, the Milwaukee Brewers` pennant fever took a turn for the tepid.
The Brewers, who have revived postseason dreams among their County Stadium partisans with a seven-game winning streak, appeared as flat as an opened can of week-old beer Wednesday, succumbing to the White Sox 7-2 before a tranquil crowd of 16,407.
The Brewers, who had been hitting a torrid .288 with nine homers over the seven-game spree, were held to only four hits by the Sox`s starting pitcher Jerry Reuss (11-8), who now shares the team lead in victories with Melido Perez. The victory was his fifth in his last six decisions. Bobby Thigpen worked the last two inning to earn his 30th save
The loss kept Milwaukee 4 1/2 games behind Boston in the American League East with 20 games remaining.
The 39-year-old Reuss, who was signed as a free agent during spring training, has been a major surprise for the Sox-and a major pain for the Brewers, whom he has vanquished three times this year without a loss.
His seven-inning outing was marred only by a second-inning homer by catcher B.J. Surhoff, a 390-foot blast into the teeth of a 10-mile-an-hour wind that soared into the bullpen in right-center.
But the Sox quickly overcame that early deficit, scoring three runs in the third inning while knocking out Brewers` starter and loser Mike Birkbeck
(10-7).
Birkbeck was able to induce Ozzie Guillen to bounce out to lead off the third, but then he surrendered four hits and a walk to the following five hitters, adding to his problems with a throwing error that enabled the first run to trot home.
The Sox extended their lead to 5-1 in the fourth off reliever Paul Mirabella.
Daryl Boston began the rally with a bloop double that deflected off the glove of the Brewers` 19-year-old shortstop Gary Sheffield in short left-center.
Guillen then laid down a sacrifice bunt to the third baseman, moving Boston into third.
But Guillen also reached when second baseman Jim Gantner, covering first base on the bunt, neglected to touch the bag.
Fred Manrique drove Boston home with the second of his four consecutive singles, the first four-hit game of his career. And Guillen later scored on Dave Gallagher`s sacrifice fly to right.
The Brewers threatened against Reuss in the fifth, when Joey Meyer lined a leadoff single to left and Surhoff was hit by a Reuss pitch.
But the Sox defense quelled the rally by nearly turning an around-the-horn triple play on Sheffield`s one-hopper to third, on which he barely beat the relay throw to first from Manrique.
The Brewers also wasted an opportunity in the eighth, when reliever Barry Jones walked the first two hitters on nine pitches.
Sox manager Jim Fregosi summoned Thigpen to extinguished the no-out threat with men at first and third. Thigpen got Jeffrey Leonard to fly out to short right.
Robin Yount ended the rally when Guillen turned his hard-hopper toward the hole into a brisk double play.
The Sox added two insurance runs in the ninth, the runs coming home on a double by Steve Lyons and a single by Fisk.
Rob Deer blasted a 420-foot homer his 21st of the year. Thigpen struck out the side to earn his 30th save.
