The Washington herald., 1913-06-13
BATTING slump
Thing OF PAST
Griffith Believes that the Ma
tionals Will Now Run
True to Form.
HIT THE BALL YESTERDAY
Milan and Moeller Come to Life.
Climbers Now in Third Place.
Other Gossip.
HIT THE BALL YESTERDAY
Dy WILLIAM PEET.

Manager Griffith believes that
the Nationals have emerged from
their recent batting slump, and
that from now on Capital fans will
see a vastly different brand of
baseball than has been in evidence
the past four days.
Milan, Morgan. and Shahks
came to life yesterday, and if this
trio can only run true to form the
present series with the White Sox
will show something different from
the games played against Detroit.
Danny Moeller also has been in
the throes of a slump the past
week, and yesterday came through
with two hits. his single in the
ninth inning paving the way for
the winning run.
II makes a lot Of difference when Milan
and Moeller get on the bases. and until
yesterday this precious pair did little ex-
cept lift up feeble flies or easy infield
grounders.
Yes. it looks very much as If the Griff-
men had at last come into their own.
BY trimming the White Sox. the Ma
tionals returned 10 third place and are
now leading Chicago by l. points.
As predicted by the writer and others
the Maps at home and on the road are
a different proposition. The Athletics
had little difficulty taking Cleveland's s
measure in the opening clash. while Bir-
minghams club did manage TO get an
even break in Boston.
The Maps have closely traiIed the
Athletics during the season to date.
have won consistently at home and
abroad under Manager Joe BIrmingham's
leadership. Comparing pitching stan to
pitching staff, the Maps have an advan-
tage over the Athletics. Cleveland has
some mighty hard hitters, men extremely
dangerous at any time
But Cleveland has been winning its
games in a fashion different from the
Athletics. Following the pace cut out by
the Athletics would kill of almost any
other club in the league. but. day after
day, the Maps have been returned win
ners. The series in New York. however.
showed that the strain was telling Sc
verely on Birmingham's men. They won.
II is true. but their victories were costly.
Experts predicted that when Cleveland
struck Boston the Maps would crack"
Cleveland won many OF its victories
this year because of aggressiveness.
While the Red SoN played in Cleveland
the Maps treated Stahl's men roughly.
the trouble eliminating with fight out
side the dressing-rooms.
According TO dispatches from Boston.
the Maps struck Boston feeling particu-
Ia II rNlaa ad yR-Gfh They
soon found. however. that being aggres-
sive at home Yith fifteen or twenty thou
sand fans praising. their "gameness." was
entirely different from the same quality
on the road with grand stands and
bleachers already prejudiced against
them.
The Athletics would rather take four
games from the Maps than from any
other team in the league. says a Phila-
delphia scribe. This is not solely on ac-
count of Cleveland's position in the race.
but because the Mackmen did not par
ticularly relish the attitude of the Ma
poleons upon the formers recent visit
to Cleveland. Quite frankly. the Ath-
letics found Birmingham's men to be in
that mental condition, known baseballis-
tically as cookery" There was a GER
tain indefinable swagger about the Maps
that amused the Philadelphians.
Cleveland seemed certain that II would
take the series then. but Mack sur
prised the Maps by taking two of the
games. Considering the Athletics pitch
ing staff, which was decidedly worse
then than it is now. this was n feat
of no small proportions. The Maps in
one game attempted TO run wild on the
bases and the Athletics perpetrated the
only triple play made so far this season.
Mack's team is in much better Condi-
ton now, than then. The men are hit
ting much harder and the pitchers are
working out better.
For today's game at National Park
Long Tom Hughes is slated to pitch
for the Nationals and will most likely
be opposed by Ed Walsh.
Accompanying the White Sox Is the
following retinue OF newspaper men: 81
Sanborn, the Tribune; Harold Johnston,
the Record Herald: George Robbins, the
News: Lawrence woltz, the Examiner.
and Bill Week, the American. Some
bunch!
According TO the wIndy CITY scripes,
the New York Yankees are % per cent
stronger at present than when the sea-
son opened. The Soffi came here from
New York, where the Yanks beat theIa
two games out of four.