Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-05-08
LEAGUE LEADERSHIP
RECLAIMED BY YANKS
Go to Top by Defeating the
Browns as AS Lose
to White Sox.
BY WILLIAM J. CHAPMAN,
Associated Press Sports Writer.

TINE Yankees are back home again,
but only by the skin of their
teeth. The champions regained
l. their old stamping ground with
just half game to spare late
yesterday as they shaded the Browns
by to 5, at Sportsman's Park, while
the White Sox were tumbling the 1Ath-
letics by to 2 in surprising battle
on the Chicago front. This combination
of events lett the Macks and the
Browns in virtual tie, but for second
place rather than first.
The Rupert Rifles fired dozen vol
leys at young Alvin CroWder. The
hardest was Babe Ruths home run
with two aboard in the fourth, but the
most effective was Bob MeuSePs pinch
double In the ninth, after the Babe had
walked and Gehrig had singled. Both
scored, carrying the runs which drove
Crowder to cover and decided the game.
Ruth's homer was his fifth, which
placed him only one behind his pal,
Gehrig Bill Dickey also combed Mr..
Crowder for all the bases, in the fifth.
The other side of the picture, from
o Yankee point of view, was Herbert
Pennock's third failure in the box this
season. Leading by to g.. after Ruth
and Dickey had hit homerS, the noted
fox farmer cracked up in the sixth,
when four Brownie blows netted three
runs and brought Wiley Moore to the
rescue. Wiley gave way to a pinch
batsman just in time for the veteran
Tom Zachary to get credit for the Gar
rison finish, which won.
No team ever gained anything by
losing left arm like Pennock's, but
the Yankees will remain at or near
the top SO long as they continue the
fierce cannonading which has marked
their last five games. They have
dubbed opposing pitchers for So hits
in their last five starts, all of which
have been won. And after all, they
didn't win last year or the year before
on any excessive amount OF fancy
pitching.
The defeat of the Athletics at Chi
cage was brought. about largely by
Alphonse Thomas, the hard-luck cham
pion of the American League. AL
phonse was some better than Bob Grove
in a pitchers battle which finished
with the Athletics in possession of only
five small hits.
Boston nosed out Cleveland by S to
and Detroit shaded Washington by
3 to in minor raids along the Amer
lean League front.
The Giants once more had to hit
for four bases to score, and as con-
sequence the Pirates rushed off with
the decision by to 2 in their first
engagement of the season at the Polo
Grounds. The BUGS tied in the eighth
and won in the tenth when Lloyd
Waner doubled and Pie Traynor singled.
Larry Benton was the victim. Ray
Schalk, managing the Giants in the
absence of John McGraw, permitted
Benton to bat for himself with two out
and the bases filled in the ninth, with
the result that the sorrel-top raised a
foul to Sheely. Still, some other pitcher
might have given the Pirates half a
dozen runs in the extra inning
Young Larry French, the Portland
Greg, southpaw, made his first big
league start and showed no timidity
whatever in the face of Giant bats. The
Clan McGraw had few chances other
than those furnished by early home
runs from the bats of Andy Cohen and
Chuck FulliS.
The Braves remained at the top by
shellacking the Cardinals, to S, in an
tried to slip past the BoStonese with his
second pitching string, but this was in
sufficient.
The Cubs had no trouble with the
Robins, winning by 8 to and hold
ing on within striking distance of Judge
Fuchs amazing team. Charlie Grimm
backed up Art Nehf's fine pitching with
two home runs and Riggs Stephen
son hit one.
Frank ODoul, the reformed pitcher,
hit his fifth home run at Philadelphia.
enabling the home team to defeat the
Reds by to 4. Two were on base in
the eighth when Frankie's drive against
Rixey scaled the right-fleld wall.