Evening star., 1914-04-15

] of the Youngsters will have to be used
for Joe Wood is far from ready to take
his turn the slab. II would not be
at all surprising if Griffith used Shaw
t:ngei and perhaps Bentley in the final
/ Two contests.
Walter johnson made a much better
start in the present than he did
/ in the last. II viii be remembered that
{ last year in the initial contest he hit
i Daniels. then Of the Yankees, the first
I man to face him. and Daniels eventually
scored with the distinction Of being the
i only one to do so in tftN-siN innings.
\ IL marred Walters record last season.
This year Johnson starts the campaign
with shutout. and. if his present form
I continues. he is going to add several
more before he is scored upon johnson
! not only displayed all his brilliancy yes
terdaN. nut ne created the impression
/ that his general work has improved This
may not be a pleasant prediction for the
members Of rival teams. for they had
their troubles in former campaign trying
to solve him. But it is matter of fact
that Walter worked even more smoothly
than ever before. He had a world Of
stuff. perfect control and so graceful
and easy a motion that the pitching of
nine hard innings did not seem to have
the slightest effect on him. 1t is ina I'd
to believe that johnson has entered upon
q campaign which viii show him to even
greater advantage than the last one,
and vet that is the impression his per-
formaace in the first game of the flag
struggle created.
/ Experience has done wonders for John
| son. His arm, of course. is as marvellous
! today rs IL was the first day he reported
I in the summer of 1907. but in those DAYS
| ne did not have the wisdom of the art
! that he possesses today. There is no
/ pitcher who knows better how to use
what he has at his command than John
! son does. hence the prediction that. bar
(! ring accident, this ought to be the banner
! year Of his career.
| Had johnson been member Of the
local team his reception when ii. stepped
4 to the plate for the first time in yester-
/ days game could not have beer more yo-
/ ciferous. of the crowd OF $1,000, every
4 one arose to applaud him. and this was
! repeated on several occasions during the
! game when he retired the Red SoX in or
der and walked modestly to the bench
/ johnson is the idol Of local patrons Of the
!, game They recognize his ability and
! appreciate his gentle manly conduct and
4 modcsty.
Any time Johnson is announced to pitch
| N Boston good crowd is assured.
/ Tie attendance at Yesterdays game
/ does not indicate that there is lack OF
! interest III the sport. There more
/ than ea,hoo in the iuclosure and II "7l Of
these paid their way.
h That Walter had exceptional stun on
his delivery yesterday vas indicated by
+, remarks of an eN planatory nature which
Umpire Connolly. who umpred behind the
plate. made to Johnson. Walter was not
/ exactly satisfied With some of Connolly S
| decisions OH balls and strikes. and after
one inning he remarked to Connolly as
he was going to the bench that he vas
tGST,T HI Il.
/ stances, and Connolly replied: Well
4 maybe / am, Walter. but | never saw
Your balls perform u this manner. They
are taking al sorts Of jumps ana waves
/; when they come toy, i3rd the plate. and
they are awfulS hard 10 Judge. Let alone
10 hit
F, Walter. no has never been known to
make a Kick umpires decision,
made reply. but walked smilinsly to
the bench.
! Speaker played marvellous game in
the center field. He was everywhere for
flies and line drives, and it is safe to
say that if a less competent man had
been in his position the Nationals would
+, have scored many more runs. In the
second inning he robbed Gandl of GER
tain three-baSSer by a remarkable catch
Of a line drive to left center and a few
i innings later he went into right center
and pulled down one from Howard
Shanks' bat. All his other chances We're
dficult, but at the bat he failed to
shine.
RAY Morgan made one Of the most
sensational stops iii the third inning
that has ever been witnessed a ball
tield. Moeller had given CarriSan life,
with out. when he muffed his fly
ii right Collins caught one of Walter $
4 fast one.; and sent sharp grounder to-
ward right field. There did not seem. to
he n possible chance for Morgan to
reach the ball. Vet just when il seemed
to be a safe journey to right field
ilc reached out and. while on a dead run,
! picked it up with his gloved hand, and
threw Collins out at first. The crowd
went wild over this feat. and Morgan
| was applauded to the echo. The play
| came at a time when. if Collins hit
had gone through. il might have made a
| lot OF trouble. for Carrigan would have
| reached third with ease, and there would
have been men on third and first with
but out.
| Despite the fact that Milan was up
against Collins a left-hander. the handi-
cap il such II was. failed to put an end
| to his remarkable batting streak. lie hit
the ball hard every time up, got two clean
hits and virtually made il possible for
his team to win when. after Collins got
1.-TWO strikes ON him in the third inning.
he came through with a hit which sent
johnson home with the first run oe the
game and paved the way for the three
lruns the Nationals obtained in this round
Milan is sure to hit much better this
Il Il loo oy1I a g moi