Evening star., 1912-06-04
BY j. ED GRILLo.

BY j. ED GRILLO.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
ST LOUIS. June 4.-Let the pitching
keep up to the present standard, and this
ball teams of ours is going to be heard
from in the present race. A first division
berth is by no means out of the question,
and, in fact, had the twirlng been up to
the standard in the games in New York
and Boston last week the Nationals
would now be safely intrenched among
the first four teams in the battle.
Griffith's team is hitting as no team
wearing a Washington uniform ever has,
the inside work Of the team is OF the
highest caliber, and all that is needed to
continue the present winning streak is to
have the pitchers do their share. There
was a time when it was no easy matter
to figure whether the Browns or the Ma
tionals were the weakest team in the
race, but that time has passed. There
lis no comparison between st. Louis and
Washington now. Griffith has 100 per
cent better ball team than Stovall can
boast of. The Browns are not strong IN
a single department, and in the three
games played here this has been demon
strated, while the work of the Nationals
has been revelation to the few loyal
fans who have attended the games
1t used to be that the teams falling was
its failure to score runs. Days that three
men crossed the plate were decidedly
rare, and as a result it required alright
pitching to make victory possible. 1t Is
different now There is no team in the
league scoring more runs than the Ma
tionalS. The bunch of tallies added to
the grand total yesterday bring the aver
f~I~ how, tha
fact is taken into consideration that
twelve games have been played would
indicate that the batting streak is not
fash in the pan.
It's a good ball team, much better in
fact than any one has given Griffith
credit for having, and it is a safe guess
that 1T will improve as it goes along.
Notwithstanding the fact that Joe Engel
had to be taken out of yesterdays game
probably to save it. his performance
merely showed that his brilliant debut in
Boston last Thursday was not fuke.
Engel was taken out because he suddenly
lost control of the ball. Up to that time
he should have been scored on only in
the first inning. when he was hit safely
three times. The two runs in the fourth.
which gave the Browns temporary lead,
were the result of poor fielding. Will
liams dropped foul fly, which started
trouble, and then Morgan fell down on an
easy grounder. The side should have
been retired without a run in this inning
instead of two being scored
In the face of miserable support Engel
never weakened. The tighter the pinch
the harder he worked. and to the ex-
perienced eye he establishd himself there
and then as a youngster who Is sure to
be heard of before this season is over
1t was in the eighth that he faltered
There has never been an explanation why
pitcher should suddenly lose control.
and that is what happened to Engel In
this round. OF the four men who faced
him in this inning he walked three, ana
after having filled the bags Griffith lost
no time in pulling him out and sending
Hughes to the rubber. There Is no bet
ter pitcher under such conditions than
Long Tom, and as usual he made good.
retiring the side with but one run being
scored.
Hughes value as a pinch pitcher was
demonstrated in that game OF yesterday,
and even IL he was unable TO go the
route the team could we'll afford to carry
him for just such emergencies as the
one Of yesterday 1t is pretty trying
position to place a pitcher in to send him
to the rubber with the bases full when
he has little or no chance to warm up.
Yesterday Hughes pitched about five
balls when he had to get into the game.
The collapse of Engel came rather un-
expectedly and there was no time to pre-
pare Hughes for the emergency. But that
did not make the slightest difference to
him. When he got on the rubber he was
ready to work. and he did 1t like an
artist. First he disposed Of Hogan on
grounder to Gandil on which the one
run was scored. and then when the fans
We're yelling themselves hoarSe to have
George Stovall distinguish himself Hughes
put on full steam and struck out the
Browns new manager with the bases
still full. incidentally, he hit safely in
the ninth and thereby materially helped
in the rally which put the game on ice
for the Nationals, and he only had to
game.
This combination of Moeller and Fos-
ter is nothing. short of wonderful the
gets on, Foster is usually there with
something TO help him along. And it is
not bull luck. either, which makes this
possible. but mighty fine base ball. 1t
is really hard to believe that Washington
could have been lucky enough to pick up
pair Of players so brilliant as Moeller
and Foster. Just why some other teams
overlooked them Is one of the mysteries
of base ball. Their value to the team
is hard to estimate. but not in weeks
has there been a rally OF any kind that
one or the other or both have not fig
ured in
The two youngsters seem to understand
each other perfectly, and there is never
not help but enthuse over the team as it
is now going.
To any one who has watched Washing
ton teams in the past the present aggre-
cation is a revelation, and when Griffith
gathers about him bit stronger pitching
STAFF there will be no occasion for any
one to smile when the Nationals are re-
ferred to as possible pennant contenders.
OF course, the present team still lacks
in some respects. but il the club has the
same luck this year that ii had last in
picking up material il will be high time
for some of the others to sit up and take
notice.
While Ray Morgan is far from a fin
ished second baseman. the fact that he
is a hitter over the ordinary gives him a
good chance to develop in that position.
The little fellow is q dangerous man at
the bat.
Griffith has coming star in Shanks.
Stick a pin in that. There is no fielder
In either major league who can go farther
for fly ball than Shanks, and. while he
is not a speed marvel he is fast on his
feet. But 1t is at the bat where he shines
most. He is not yet finished in this re-
spect and will make mistakes. but he
has the natural ability. and there is no
way to keep him from hitting. The boy
has an ideal disposition for a ball player,
for he knows nothing but hustle, which
is more than half OF the battle. In an
other year Shanks will be entitled to con-
.