Evening star., 1932-09-06
IN THICK Of SCRAP
FOR SECOND PLACE
But Three Games Out After
Beating Red Sox Twice
in Holiday Bill.
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

- HORTLY after 6 o'clock this
evening the Nationals will
~ leave town for a final fling
at the West, which, If sue
cessful. probably will mean a fight
for second place between them
and the Athletics at the fag end
of the American League cam
paign.
Only three games back of the
AS now, Johnson's charges are
scheduled to run into the Clan
McGillicuddy the last three days
of the season. A good swing
through the Western sector for
the Nationals and those last three
tussles would certainly be spirited.
The schedule to the finish favors the
Nationals in their efforts to beat out
the AS. Washington has four games
more to play than Philadelphia the re-
mainder of the way and 1t gets break
In that It will battle the last-place Red
Sox In four games while the AS will
be playing two with the league-leading
Yankees.
In the West the Nationals are to
engage in 13 tilts. The swing will start
with three-game set with the Browns
In st. Louis. Four games with the
White Sox in Chicago will follow, then
the johnson band will visit the Tigers
in Detroit and the Indians in Cleveland
for three-game series. The Nationals
then will return East for the scrapping
with the Red Sox in Boston before en-
countering the AS
Mack's minions have only IL games
TO play out West. They meet the Browns
three times, the White Sox four and
the Tigers and Indians twice each.
Then they bump into the Yankees.
WINDING up 24-game stand in the
wv East, the Nationals yesterday gave
the home fans and the visiting
firemen treat at the expense of the
tail-end Red Sox Johnson's charges
took both ends of the Labor day double
header, winning to 2 and to 8.
In the initial encounter Al Crowder
scored that greatly desired twentieth
hill win. Now AL will get from Presi-
dent Clark Griffith siZable bunch OF
coin in addition to the amount his con-
tract calls for. The Washington prexy
had agreed to pay the hurler something
extra If Al got as many as 20 wins, al
though there Is no bonus clause in the
contract.
Crowder limited the Red Sox to SIX
hits, while in the second set-to they got
but seven off Fred Marberry. 1t was
the fifth victory for Marberry in the
last 18 days.
The Nationals beat Ed Durham in
the first tussle, combing him for nine
safeties and four runs in the first seven
sessions. In the eighth they hoped
on Larry Boerner, Washington boy, for
three more hits and two more runs.
Manager McManus sent three Boston
hurlers to the hill in the second affray.
Bob Weiland, southpaw. was beaten off
before he could finish the fourth frame.
Bob Kline followed, to take a neat lac
ing, and in the sixth he turned over
the mound task to the left-handed
Johnny Michaels, who stopped every
thing. Of this trio of twisters the Ma
tionals collected Is hits.
TN the first tilt scoring was started by
i the Red Sox. A single, triple and
an infield erasure meant two runs
in the first inning Then Crowder
breezed along, while the Nationals got
around to the plate.
The home side got going in the sec
ond inning to tie the game, clustering
three hits for two tallies. In the fifth
they again punched three hits for two
runs and did the same thing again In
the eighth.
Buddy Myer was back in the lineup
for the game, and he celebrated his
return by socking two doubles and as
many singles.
The Nationals chalked up a marker
d., nh of hn fret MR. rounds nf tho
second engagement but in the fourth
inning the Red Sox, with two singles,
q pass and a long fly, scored three
times. Johnson's charges came right
back to score twice, and in the filth and
sixth innings they got six hits and two
passes off Kline to make the game safe
for them.
Carl Reynolds and Sammy West did
some solid humping in the nightcap,
and so did Marberry, surprisingly. 1t
was a double by Fred that sent in the
two runs in the fourth, putting the Ma
tionals ahead to stay, and with single
in the fifth the big pitcher sent In an
other score.
WEST made one of the greatest
w catches ever seen in Griffith Sta
dunn in the eighth inning Of the
second game Big Dale Alexander
hit one toward right center a mile
minute, but Sam, sprinting from center,
crossed over in front of Reynolds for
back-hand grab Of the drive that set
the crowd wild Manush was the
only National unable to hit tine Boston
hurting in the second set-to and he
was lifted from the lineup after six
innings Rice finished in left field
-. The pair of wins clinched the an
v,y1a1 earicg with the Ped Soy The
Nationals have beaten them Is times in
18 starts and have only four more games
with the Boston bunch :. Boss, first
baseman, and Bolton, catcher of the
Chattanooga club may Join the Ma
tionals out West after the Southern As
sociation season ends :. They will not
60 to the Nationals, though, should the