Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-02

!
the languorous weather suited perfect
ly the thousands of shirt-sleeved pa
! irons. who poured into the open bleach
ers from the time the rush seat" sale
| opened early in the morning.
1t suited Gabby Street, manager of
/ the Cards. too for he had wild Bill
Hallahan, left-handed conqueror of the
champions in one Of the 1880 series
games, one of the fastest pitchers in
/ the National League, primed to get back
| the advantage the AS gained yesterday
| trouncing big Paul Derringer in the
| opening game.
Earnshaw Logical Choice.
There was every indication that
| Connie Mack, off to a great start in
quest of his third straight world cham
! pionship. would answer speed with
speed His logical pitcher was Big
large" Earnshaw, second only. and not
always that, TO the speed king, Lefty
| Grove.
, While an apparently indefatigable
band, strengthened by the addition of
a crooner and fortified by an extra
day of practice, entertained the bleacher
| crowd with tricky interpretations OF the
very latest blues, the gossip filtering
about the park concerned this same
Grove.
The lanky conqueror of the Cardi-
nails reported today with blister on
the tip of the middle finger of his
pitching hand and there seemed
Slight chance that the injury might
restrict his efforts to relief hurting, at
least until late in the series. Coupled
with this situation was the report that
Earnshaw, generally accepted as the
Athletics starting pitcher today, de-
spite the stubborn reticence of Manager
suffering
kink in his right elbow. Rube Wal
berg. another fast-ball. fast-curve
southpaw was nominated to take his
place by the grandStand nominators.
Grove, contemptuous of the Cardi-
nails power. despite the fact that he
was hit rather hard in his 6-to-2 vic
tory yesterday, had plenty to say about
the blister, carefully tapped and BAN
daged.
Admits Little Blister"
yeah, got little blister" he
| admitted, but that won't bother me.
| I'll Just bear down harder Nav. /
wasn't bearing down yesterday except
once in a while when I had to. What
| was the use?"
| After the band was dispossessed from
| its station on the grass of the outfield
and gently conveyed to the sidelines
the Cardinals stormed out on the field
| LOT Dating prdCllCe.
| There was nothing In their deter
mined bearings to indicate that Lefty
Grove had fractured any spirits yes
| terday as he poured his fast ball down
I the middle Old Burleigh Grimes, main
stay of the Card pitching staff last
season. but relegated to a secondary
| role this year. tossed them up to the
| batters.
One Cardinal after the other-Chick
| loft TfR,a pAtf Law no a Ia y
young Pepper Martin, chunky Jimmy
Wilson, Frankie Frisch - hammered
Grimes curves to the fences. They
were very serious about it. and as each
man finished his turn at the plate he
joined group practicing bunts.
ROmmeI Pitches to AS.
Despite the perfect base ball weather,
the covered stands in right field, damned
almost to capacity at this time yester-
day. we're little more than half filled
an hour before game time. The re-
! served sections, too. were not filling as
| rapidly as for the first game. but there
was every prospect of another crowd
close to $4,000.
With scarcely a glance toward the
perspiring rival hitters. the Athletics
Sauntered casually from their dugout
| for an hour of practice.
Ed Rommel, the knuckle-ball veteran.
was the first pitcher to face the sluggers
| and Max Bishop promptly saluted him
! with clout that bounced off the roof
| of the covered stands in rightfleld.
Mickey Cochrane parked a smash in
the pavilion seats and trotted around
the bases. carefully touching each sack
| Al Simmons, greatest hitter of the day,
followed that same formula in batting
practice yesterday and he hit a home
run seven innings later.
| AL Trots Around Bases.
Apparently believing that what work
ed yesterday should go just as well to-
| day Simmons blasted a ball into the
last row of bleacher seats in left field.
His mates stood at respectful attention
| as the great one, a wide grin on his
features, trotted around the bases.
Then, in turn. each right-hand hitter
stepped to the plate and hammered one
| of Rommels pitches into the distant
seats.
1t was an amazing display Of straight
away power and was doubly impressive
| following the batting exhibition of the
! Cardinals, who failed to park a single
ball outside the field in over an hour CT
hitting. The rabid rooters in the sun
seats sat in silence as though faScinat-
| ed, and the only break in the solid bank
| of humanity came when each little
| group scrambled for the distance cloutS
that fell in their sectors.
Earnshaw. despite the report Of the
ailing arm, batted in the pitchers posi-
ton as the Athletics ran down the bat
/ ting order against the SlantS of Lew
Krausse, youngest of the AS tosSerS.
The champions of the base ball world,
| insolent in their confidence, rose up in
| their might yesterday to come from be-
hind and administer a typical Athletics
| thraSing in the opener to team keyed
to the point of desperation in its quest
of victory. It was the old, old story OF
Athletic power administered with crush
ing effect, steam-rollering the enemy
into broken subsection just when hope
was beginning to Sprout again.
Odds Jump to 4 to 1.
Last Fall the Athletics leaped upon
these same Cardinals in the world series,
blasting them apart at just exactly the
psychological moments, to win their
second straight world triumph for Con-
ME Mack. They entered the first game
of the 1881 pageant natural favorite
at 8 to 5. And today, facing the second
and last game here, until three matches
have been played in Philadelphia next
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, they
stand out a 4-to-1 choice to gather in
their third straight series conquest,
something nevtr before achieved in the
history Of base ball.
A crowd CT 38,529, jamming flag
draped Sportsman'S Park to within
| few hundred of absolute capacity paid
$165,161 yesterday to see the Athletics,
with absolute ease and nonchalance,
smother a situation that had dramatic
| possibilities as great as any opening
contest in the history of these time
honored duels of the American and
National League champions.
There was Grove, easing his long,
lank frame into the hurting box
to oppose a giant right-handed rookie,