Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-04-25

the Nationals change their war
cry from BEAT the Athletics and
get the pennant" to stop Sim
mons and beat the Athletics"
This big boy, who led the Amer
ican League swatsmiths last year,
after more than week OF moan
ing over his failure to sting the
ball this season, stepped out In all
his glory yesterday and with his
trusty bludgeon sent the flag
aspiring Washington club to its
second successive defeat here.
Only day before yesterday, AL said
he thought his failure to hit was be-
cause ne had become too technical at
bat He was striving too much to &C
quire approved batting form. So he
decided to resume the batting. style OF
his rookie days-which was nothing like
any orthodox fashion of batting-and
go after everything that looked good
when he stepped to the plate.
He did-and how. Swinging freely,
with every ounce of himself behind the
swing and with that left foot striding
far away from the plate, Al collected q
homer and two triples yesterday and
ruined for the Nationals a ball game
they thought they had tucked away.
Simmons homer, made on Sad sam
Jones in the first inning. was loft into
the upper left-field stand and there was
q mate on the runway when he hit.
And those two runs. looked mighty good
until the Nationals went berserk in the
seventh to chase over seven tallies.
That Washington uprising failed to
daunt Al, however. He came back in
the seventh to bounce triple on the
right field wall near the foul line that
accounted for two more runs, leaving
the Athletics only two shy Of q tie.
And in the eighth, after the score had
been knotted, he socked another triple,
this time against the lineup board
back Of right center. This second
triple also sent over two runs and put
the game well beyond the reach Of the
Nationals as it turned out.
What man, this Simmons!
T Asst year Simmons with his bat per-
- sonally attended to the beating of
the Nationals in at least five games.
It is sadly recalled he batted over two
victories for the Athletics here on
Memorial day when he clouted homers.
Now. the Nationals finished second in
the nag race, only eight games behind
the AS. Really q difference Of four
games so far as the Washington
Philadelphia struggle was concerned.
Had the Nationals won from the AS
four of the games they lost to them the
clubs would have been deadlocked at
the finish Of the regulation season.
So Simmons with his batting actu-
ally kept pennant from the Nationals
and dubbed the AS into one simply
by what he did to the washington Club
OF course, his swatting had much to
do with the beating of other rivals of
Connie Mack's outfit. but he knocked
the props from under the Nationals
properly.
In that game yesterday he resumed
where he left OF last season. He did
enough to rout the johnson band,
enough to make the Nationals believe
the main business now Is TO stop Sim
mons and beat the Athletics"
No defeat Is relished by club, but
defeat such as that handed the Ma
tionals yesterday is particularly distaste-
full. After falling to do anything to
young Hank Mcdonald for six innings,
they blasted him from the mound
the seventh and continued the assault
upon Nose Grove until 1t seemed they
had the game well in hand. Instead
their starting pitcher, Jones, fell by
the wayside in the Athletics seventh
batting turn and Fred Marberry took
n sound pasting in the eighth.
Up five runs after they had finished
their seventh inning, the Nationals
were licked, 10 to z, at the finish.
OFF Jones the AS collected 10 hits,
~ two Of them in the first inning and
four in the seventh. On Marberry
they got three in the eighth. They got
o.
ure in the scoring. They got three OF
Marberry and all counted.
The Nationals made IL hits nine In
the seventh inning, in which they did
all their tallying Six of these nine
were of the left-handed Grove.
After his clubs seventh-inning splurge
Mack sent Roy Mahaffey to the hill for
an inning and following the taking OF
the lead by the AS in the eighth
George Earnshaw hurled against the
johnson band in the ninth. Each of
these last two Mack slabmen made 1t
one-two-three for Washington.
That one big Washington inning saw
the home hurlerS nicked for six singles,
double and two triples. Sam Rice
and Manush each made two hits in the
round, Sam a double and single and
Heinie a triple and a single.
Sam Rice doubled as a starter; then
Manush tripled. Cronin singled, and
Grove was hurried to McDonald's res
cue. Judge promptly sacrificed; then
Harry Rice got a lucky hit. Pulling
away from. one OF Groves fast ones.
Harry accidentally tapped the ball, and
it rolled down the third-base line. He
barely beat Dykes heave to first. Bluege
tripled, Spencer singled and Jones sac
ri1ced. Successive singles by Myer. Sam
Rice and Manush followed before Grove
tossed out Cronin. Seven big runs, and
the Nationals Sup.
THAT meant nothing to the AS
l. Cramer picked up Groves bat and
bounced single of judges glove
hot one that Judge was lucky to
check. Bishop doubled Cramer TO third
and the latter tailed as Haas rolled TO
Judge. Came a single by Cochrane and
Simmons triple, though and the AS
were just two runs back.
Marberry relieved Jones here and
ended the inning easily. but he got his
In the eighth Fred couldn't find the
plate with Dykes UP, chucking four sue
cessive wide ones. Boley skied out, but
Foxx crashed the lineup for the first
time since injurinR leg in the second
game of the season in Washington. He
'em in, and Foxx looked 'em over care
fully. He fouled of two or three,
finally getting to three-and-two count.
Then Jimmy walked.
It looked as though Marberry might
get out OF trouble when he threw a
third srike by Bishop, for Haas had
done nothing In his previous turns at
bat. But this time Mule cracked Q
double and the score was tied. Fred
Purposely passed Cochrane. then pitched
to Summons. and Al smote his second
triple. The game waS over, but Nall
Ter whacked a double to give his club