Evening star., 1920-05-27

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The mauling tactics of the Griffmen
yesterday were in line with their work
of several weeks past. At the rate
they are pounding the ball the team
will make a bid to top all the other
entrants in stickwork at the close
of the campaign, but 1t will profit
little unless there is a radical change
for the better on the hill. Right nov
the Griffs are out in front of the
procession in sticking. They stood
third up to and including Thursday,
May 90, and since then by connecting
lin their four games for so hits in 143
times at bat-a $50 pace-they have
boosted their team average to .293, an
unheard of figure for a Washington
club.
Judge Again Gets Five Hits.
Joe Judge was the leader in the as
sault on the Indians sharpshooters
yesterday. getting five hits in as
many times at bat for a second time
this season, his afternoons bludgeon
work jumping his average from 1926
to .351. Three of his bingles were
manufactured at the expense of Slim
Caldwell, while Guy Morton was the
victim on the other two occasions. One
Of the features of the first sacker'S bat
ting orgy was that his safeties were
planted in all directions. Two Of them
were thumped to right. two to left
and one to center. Every regular in
the array of the Griffs got at least
one blow and Ellerbe topped his
mates in the matter Of effectiveness
by driving in four runs.
~, .I~-NeV
fine lead in the opening session. when
five safeties and walk netted them
quartet of tallies. Three of the bfnsies
were obtained in manner none too
impressive, but they all count In the
book, and they did enough straight
away. hard ciouting later on to demon
strate they were not to be denied. X
pass, two safeties and an error gave
them another pair of runs in the fourth
and finished Caldwell. NiehauS. the
southpaw, who succeeded him, had to
be withdrawn in the following frame
when he showed evidences of unsteadi-
ness that netted another tally. Morton
then took up the going and did fine
work for three frames, but in the eighth
the Nationals got his number and ham
mered him of the hill. five good, solid
jolts, with a pair of passes, netting half
q dozen tallfeS.
The most disappointing feature of
the work OF Zachary, who started for
the Nationals, was his inability to
field his position, two of the four
hits the Indians made in conjunction
with a pair Of walks to register a
trio of runs in the third inning being
due to his slowness in covering first
on grounders hit to Judge. After
Zach had yielded another brace of
counters in the fifth. which reduced
Washington's lead to one run, he was
lifted in favor of johnson. Steve
Walter. belted the ball to the left-field
wall beyond the bleachers for home
run and it appeared the same old
story was to be retold. but johnson
was effective thereafter until the
ninth, when he eased up under a
three runs on a walk, a single and
triples by Speaker and Gardner.
Next Game Here Sunday.
The Nationals play here next Sum-
day with the Mackmen in the only
game on the local lot before the Red
Sox arrive June 8, for four games. To-
day the GriHs are in Richmond for an
exhibition with the Virginia League
team. tomorrow and Saturday they are
deiphia. and next Monday, Tuesday and
Wednesday they will hold forth at the
Polo Grounds in New York.
Judges five-hit stunt yesterday
eQualed the mark he established at the
local grounds May z. when he assaulted
the shoots of Shore. Thormahlen and
Quinn of the Yankees for quintet of
bingles. Every one Of Joe's bingles
yesterday was a clean. hard-hit ball.
Doc Johnston, leading batsman of
the league, had as an Improbable
q sojourn in the capital as his team.
Doc went hitless in four trips to the
platter and the Indians were knocked
out of the league leadership as a re-
suit of dropping the only one OF the
three scheduled games they played
here.
Sam Rice further boosted his fig
Ures as the pace-setting base stealer
of the circuit when he annexed one
to make his total fourteen. He now
has margin Of four over his team
mate, Bobby Roth, his closest rival.
Shannon continues his good work
with the stick. He connected for two
solid whacks yesterday and was rob-
bed of an extra base hit by Speaker,
who made a fine running catch of his
line drive in the fourth.
Shanks' weak throwing arm made 1t
possible for O'Neill to register a home
run on his wicked wallop in the sixth
Hank. unable to peg. tossed the ball
to Rice to start 1t on its way to the
plate, and the time lost in this pro-
cedure was just enough to permit
O'Neill, one OF the slowest runners in
the league, to complete the circuit