Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-09
JOHNSON PRAISES
HURLERS' COURAGE
Improvement Dates From
Loss of Braxton-Homer
by ManuSh Beats Sox.
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

BY JOHN b. KELLER.
nOSTON, July 9.-WaShing.
tons ball ALL club 1i,,. which i, hal
its best streak of the sea-
son, and bagged Is Of its last q
games, has done so because it has
a well poised pitching staff and a
punch in low-Score battles. In
fact, that's the secret of the Ma
tionalS' success this season. No
other pitching staff has equaled
Washington'S for diStance-going
or for general steadineSs. The
Nationals haven't clouted like
some other clubs, but they have
clouted well enough to get runs
for many small-score triumphs.
Manager Walter johnson is very
proud of his pitching staff, over which
he worked so hard during the training
days in the South and the first month
of the campaign. He now has his hurl-
ers believing in their ability to help
themselves when they get into trouble,
where formerly some were inclined to
seek aid in distress. johnson ever has
been a great believer in the mental
angle of pitching and he seems to have
AAdd NOllSA1CAd O4C ShSSCoo Al ACfSAOHAAA6
In his charges a spirit of confidence in
their own prowess.
Never before have seen a pitching
staff improve to such an extent after a
disastrous season as the Washington
pitching staff has," johnson declared
today.
Last season few of them could win
consistently. This season they all are
doing it. In all my years in base ball
I never before saw such remarkable
pitching by so many pitchers as we
have been getting this year.
IN the Nationals last 81 games II
i hulrers finished games they started.
How do you account for this sudden
increase in stick-to-it-ivenesS IN your
pitchers?" johnson was asked.
well, they all are in splendid physi-
cal condition now" he replied, land I
believe mentally they are better equip
ped for their work than they were. I
have long endeavorsd to teach the
younger members of the staff that it is
not essential to pitch under pressure
oil the time and that it may be neces-
sary to bear down with everything a
pitcher has only two or three times in
a game. A good pitcher always has
something in reserve for pinches. He
must have.
Il have tried to have them not worry
about the number of hits the other club
makes, but they must bother about hits
when there are men on bases and runs
may mean the loss of the ball game.
1t is all right for them TO go along at
an ordinary pace and take chances with
their support when thsy are not in a
hole, but they should be ready to cut
lCose when trouble threatens. It looks
as though our pitchers are able to do
that now"
e. a MOTHER thing, perhaps, had
"A something to do with the sudden
squirt of distance pitching by the
Washington staff. I think the release
of Garland Braxton put the staff on
its mettle," johnson remarked. "You
know, Braxton was used much as a re-
lief pitcher for two months. When he
was in the bull pen the other fingers
were inclined to look for help if they
got in hole in late inning.
when he went to the White Sox
explained to the hurlers that l had
confidence In their ability to get out
of trouble should they fall into it and
that expected them to go through to
che finish of every game they started.
Since that time I haven't had to
pull them out very often. They are
all nine-inning hurlers, and those are
the only kind to have. No club can
hope to get anywhere that uses three
or four pitchers a day"
S.TITHILE we were training down
Wv South many of the critics re-
marked we would make little
Roadway in the race because we had
too light punch" Walter said. We'll,
We aren't the longest hitting club and
We aren't the slam-bang hitting club
that some others are. But we manage
10 get more runs than the other bunch
more often than not. We don't need
the extra strong offensive because of
the small number OF runs opponents
have been scoring. Our pitchers have
seen to that. But we have enough of
a punch to win behind our pitching,
and that's about all q ball club needs"
IN the second game of the series with
i the Red Sox the Nationals yesterday
did not display much punch, but
enough to get a 6-to-5 victory Fred
Marberry had a rocky time Of it on
the pitching hill, too. Several times it
looked as though he would be blasted
from the slab. In fact, Fred staggered
in after the third inning. Yet he stuck
to his task gamely and so confident was
johnson in Freds ability to control the
several serious situations that no relief
pitcher was ordered to warm up.
It was a battle of home runs, with
two of the nine Red Sox safeties of the
four-baSe variety and one of the nine
hits cleaned of Horace Lisenbee in the
seven innings he toiled good for the
round trip.
Phil Todt and Earl Webb hit the
Boston homers. Todt lifted his into
the right-field bleachers very close to
the foul line after one was out in the
fifth inning to break 3-3 tie the Ma
tionalS had Just created. Webb's was
a powerful wallop. He lifted the bal
into the center-fleld bleacherS with one
out in the ninth inning. 1t was the
third hit of the game for the south.
side swinger.
These Boston homers meant only two
runs. but the homer Heinie Manusf
drove high into the right field bleacheri
in the seventh inning meant just a.
many runs and the ball game. Rict
had just slammed a double to scor'
Myer who had walked with one on
when Manush made the telling blow
That homer was Washington's las
score.
IN the first inning the Nationals go
Ian unearned run and two single
with as many sacrifices Melted an
other tally in the third, but in tn
fourth the Red Sox stepped to the front
They jumped on Marberry solidly ant
4 looked as though he never coul
Veather the attack. Scarritt triplec
Webb singled. Regain doubled and Mile
singled. Three runs and nobody ou
But Fred braced to fan Rhyme and n
next two batters were easy for him.
W-bb lost Ricc's hoist in the sun i
to fifth so Sam was credited with
t~ip'~ and Mcr"~h's single put over tn
TIM IT, Tt ou.cklY broke Tn