Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-07-24
MUST down WEST
TO HALT YANKEES
New York Thrust Threatens
Position-Second Loss to
Browns Hurts.
BY JOHN B. KELLER.


Y bages and kings. The
time has come when the
looking glass shows that the best
the Nationals can do is to protect
their second position in the Amer
lean League race. It's fine to be
optimistic, but the figures are
against them.
The AS now are 10 games ahead of
us and going strong. The Nationals are
not going so well. They have played
splurge That's nothing like champion
ship gait. They still have great
chance. however. to keep in front of
those Yankees, who have ideas of grab
bling the runner-up position. But they
must battle to their utmost to do so.
1t is apparent that Manager Walter
johnson has made every endeavor to
keep his club up in the race. Only yes
terday he made a remarkable shift in
his lineup. He sent Buddy Myer and
Heinie Manush. who has been hitting
but lightly, back to their respective
positions at second base and lett field
end withdrew Joe Cronin from Short
step and substituted in that place Jack
Hayes.
Regardless of this stratagem, however,
the Nationals took their third licking
in a row. The end of the second game
of the series of four with the Browns
found them on the wrong end OF
6-to-4 score.
It appears that the Nationals are in
an unfortunate slump and have no idea
Of getting their heads above water. A
three-game defeat is nothing ordinarily
to harass a club, but when one con-
siders that since June II the Nationals
have played merely 500 base ball and
at the time their slump started we're
playing nearly 700 base ball, it is some
thing for the club to worry about
In the meantime the Yankees, in
third place, have picked up ground to
a great extent At the start of the
Washington slump the New York club
seemed well removed from possibility
OF carrying on and overcoming the Ma
tionals to gain second place. Today
they are in a seriously threatening
position. From now on the great fight
Johnson's charges must make is TO
thrust the Yankees back.
There might have been a chance for
the Nationals to evade this proximity
of the Yankees had not Heinie Manush
MADE that tumble in the third inning
of yesterdays game. There we're Two
out and two on base and the Nationals
had scored one run in the first inning
when ManuSh let that drive of Kress'
go by him. Kress' drive accounted but
for one run, that being the score of
Schultz from third base. But when the
left fielder let that ball 60 by Goslin
also scored from first and Kress, who
had singled made the route. After that
q single by Storti and triple by Burns
accounted for fourth run.
From then on the Washington club
was down.
Each club picked up a run in the
to gain another run in the seventh from
two hits. The last bid was made by
the Nationals in the seventh when
Judge, batting for Eadley, cracked
single and after two were out scored
when Bluege hit for a base.
Starting pitchers were the sensational
young left-hander, Wallace Hebert, and
the veteran Samuel Pond Jones' Jones
was relieved after six innings when the
Nationals had two on and two out. Joe
Cronin, batting for Jones, walked to fill
the bases. which was the Nationals one
chance to do things, but Myer Slung at
the first pitch and flied to left. Hebert,
out at that time, had allowed only six
hits for only three runs and Kimsey,
who came on, walked Cronin. batting
for Jones. to fill the bases, but with
Vests loft got out of trouble. After
that Kimsey allowed but three hits. two
OF them accounting for a Washington
run in the ninth.
Irving Hadley pitched the last three
innings for the Nationals and allowed
two hits to swell the Browns total for
the game to a dozen. Those two hits
were hunts in the seventh inning and
meant run for the st. Louis club after
two were out.
II was just fitting example of how
the Nationals are hitting these days
and how the Browns. seemingly without
power, considering their fifth place in
the league, can get ahead with almost
anything against a good ball club.
Two of the boys got back in the game
yesterday . Myer went back to Sec
ond base and Manush to left field .
light hitting dragged them out for
while Myer helped himself to two
hits Cronin was held out at the
start, the first time since early in 1929
he batted for Jones in the sixth
and walked . Judge raised his pinch
batting average TO 500 when he picked
UP Hadley's bat in the ninth ard crack-
ed a single to center he raised
that average to 500, but onlv Bluege
could help three straight losses
=. which brings the Nationals win
ming averages down to 500 since they
wound lip their 12-game winning streak
or June II here.