Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-05-12
FIRST BASE WAS
WEAKEST PLACE
Had Gandi| Been in Game Ma
tionaIs Would Have Won
From st. Louis.
GROOM LIKELY TO
WORK TODAY'S GAME
Lanky HurIer Hopes to Pitch
in Better Luck So0n-Br0WnS
Will Not Be Easy.

VIII NOT BE Easy.
BY. ED GRILLo.
/ Special Dispatch te me Star
I ST. LOUIS. May l2-The absence from
i first base of Chick C;andil cost the Ma
( tionals the first game of the series here
| YESTERDAY S.x of the seven runs with
| which the Browns were credited resulted
/ from misplays at this stat on and though
| three Of these are chalked to Tom
! Hughes the fact of the matter IS tina
! he would PROBABLY nave had a clean field
| ing record if Gandil had been covering the
/ bag. Hughes seemed una Bile 10 gauge
/ the ba TO the rather short Schaefer and
a. a result three of his throws there went
a errors and every one of them figured in
! the scoT ne.
! In the very first inning hughes made
/ such peg and run resulted. and the
| Browns got two more in the third. when
| Schaefer made muff of Hughes throw
! of Johnston's Grounder. which was fol-
i lowed b. home run drive that gave
| the Browns comfortable lead But it
was in the eighth that the real blow off
came. The Nationals had tied the score
and. apparently. We're working well to-
scther. when the game was thrown away.
Hughes started trouble for himself when
he walked Johnston. Williams hunted
and Hughes threw poorly 10 iirst con-
sideriHS who was playing the ba.. Pratt
also hunted and this tine Morgan covered.
but he, like Schaefer, failed 10 handle The
throw. Then came q double and couple
of put-outs. and four runs were over
the plate and the game was zone
Hughes pitched Well enough to win. and
his heldinS would not have marred his
pitching had he had GandiI to throw TO
a W he was hi .l, 70
retire the side had been offered
nat the players are growing discour-
aged because of the weakness which the
absence of Gandil and Foster has inflict-
ed on the team is becoming very evident.
They realize thai they no longer have a
license ~ win. and it affects their work
Take two ball players of the ability of
and II is sure to be greatly weakened.
There is now nothing for Griffith 20 do
but TO wait until Gandl and Foster re-
cover He has no substitutes who would
be an Improvement over the players he is
now using, so there is nothing to do but
to keep on waiting and trying
incidentally the absence of the two
players mentioned has greatly weakened
the teams batting department. in which
IT is never any too strong. Laporte. for
instance. is showing a remarkable re-
versal OF form. The one thing that he
vas expected to do was hit. but tnis lie
than ever in his previous career But
the teams offensive strength is lament
ably weak. and this puts extra handi-
cap on the pitchers. who are forced to
hold the opposition 10 minimum score
II they are 10 have any chance of victory
Little is to be expected Of the team in its
present predicament. 1t may win an oc-
casional game. but it has license to
beat any team il meets now unless it is
on days when Johnson shuts out the op-
position.
Baumsardner. who during the winter
was touted as real rival for Walter
johnson, did not pitch the kind OF ball
that made him look impressive yesterday.
Had he been up against a team which
could take advantage of opportunities
he would probably have been knocked off
the slab. AS it was, he was in lots Of
trouble. but finally got away with the
game. Seven hits and three walks, how
ever. melted only three runs. but there
probably would have been more doing
later but for the disastrous exhibition Of
The Nationals in the eighth.
Groom will likely be the pitcher today.
Bob has not been going any too well OF
late. though he appears to have every
thing. But he hopes to have a change
of luck The Browns are not going to
be easy picking however. for the very
good reason tina. Stovall has about as
well balanced pitching STAFF as any in
ers in Hamilton and Weiman and a raft
Of very valuable right-handers. who can
give almost any team trouble. In their
present crippled state the Nationals are
apt to lose ground while here, though. of
course. there is a chance for Johnson to
continue mis- winning streak when he
faces the locals Wednesday. that being
the day picked for him to make his an
nuai debut mere.
In ri m hat he Maj lS
nave played on this trip Howard Shanks
has successfully performed the delayed
steal. and Yesterday was not an eXceD-
iion. Shanks has this trick down well.
tempts ii. In the second inning yester
! day he caught both Agnew. likely
young catcher. and the Browns infield
,, mapping. making the base easily. much to
the amusement of the crowd.
Oi.ough!in and Ferguson have been Of
ficiating in three series here and. as
result. are decidedly unpopular with the
crowds Every decision they make is
| booted and the work is not at all plea SAINT
10 them IL seems a bit strange that the
American League does not change its
umpires more often. 1t would seem that
I 10 work in a city. and the chances are
/ that their work would be much more sat-
isfactory il ,hey We're shifted more often.
| Hughes Was taken ont of the game after
/ il was lost in the eighth. and Gallia fin
! ished He was not hit safely, but the
| damage had been done before he broke in.
| Hughes left the slab before Il man had
| been retired. Three runs had been scored
/ and there was runner third. who
subsequently, scored when Galia was
/ working. on an nfield play.
| Gus Williams home run was p terrific
! drive into the right Held bleachers. II
/ Hughes had been properly supported in
/ this inning but one run would have been
| scored. nor should any of the other runs
| have been made by the Browns, they
/ being pure gifts.
| Just how much Foster is missed is
shown by the fact that Moeller. who is
/ getting on the bases more than ever is
scoring but few runs. The players who
/ follow him seem unable to hit at the
right time and thus much of the team S
| offensive strength is missing. Word
| reached Manager Griffith today that Fos-
ter would be out of bed in about ten
| days but that of course. does not mean
/ that he will be able to get into the game
Immediately. and il is believed that Ii
will ,e at least q month before he will
be able to play.
| Chick Gandii underwent an N-ray ex-
| animation of his left foot last night and
II was definitely determined that there
are no bones broken. but several liga-
ncnts seem TO be torn loose which, with
proper care, should he healed in two or