Evening star., 1933-05-15
2OGAME SOJOURN
WILL Be TITLE TEST
CIl5 Must. Hit Faster Pace
Than in West to Stay
in Race for Title.
BY JOHN B. KELLER.


i ton Clubs pennant pros
poets ought to be drawn
within the next 20 days. Over
that stretch the Nationals will
battle on their home lot all
league rivals and the scheduled
string of 20 games should provide
the severest kind of test for an
outfit with championship aspira-
tions.
Right of the reel the Nationals will
renew the intersectional strife in which
they failed to score signal success the
past two weeks. The first IL of the
tussles booked for the long home stand
in Griffith Stadium will be with the
Western clubs, no easy marks to date.
To keep up in the race, the Nationals
against these clubs will have to move
at pace much faster than that of E
won and lost at which they recently
travelled through the inland sector of
the circuit
Each of the Western clubs will in
wade the Washington park for three
games with Cleveland, seemingly the
toughest of the lot heading the inva-
sion. After the Indians, the White
SoX, Tigers and Browns will visit the
Capital in order Then the AS drop
in for a game, the Yankees for three
two to be played on Memorial day
and the Red Sox for four.
When this home stand of the Ma
tionals ends on June 4, Washington
about their club so far as its chance
for the pennant is concerned-and
also what's what about the champion
ship chase in general.
CTARTING their home stand, the
- Nationals are likely to present
patchy infield. Ossie Bluege is
coming home with sore left leg.
How well Buddy Myer has come back
since he was hit in the head by
pitched ball in Detroit is somewhat
uncertain, according to latest reports,
and Bob Boken, main utility inflelder,
has been crippled by foot bruise.
Bluege's bad leg may keep him from
his third base post several more days.
He wrencned muscle more severely
than at first thought in running cut
an infield tap in the first frame of
the Saturday game at Chicago. The
leg still was paining him greatly to-
day and it is believed rest more than
anything else will be necessary to
bring iG around to good trim once
more .-.-. .--.-
Although Myer suffered only a
slight brain conclusion when struck
by Whitlow Wyatt's pitch and was
kept in a hospital bed for 36 hours
after the ball felled him, he was COM
planning of headaches and dizziness
three days later when he left the West
for Washington. He may resume his
regular berth at second base against the
Indians tomorrow, but those in charge
of the Nationals fear he still may be
somewhat shaky.
IT was not learned by club officials
i until yesterday morning that Boken
had a foot badly bruised when it
was stepped on by Charley Berry, big
White Sox catcher, as the National was
run down between third and home in
the tenth inning of the Saturday tus-
quite sore, Boken started at third base
yesterday, but had to give way to Dave
Harris after the first inning of play.
Bob may hobble back to third base to-
morrow. but that bruised foot still will
be handicapping him. Should he be too
crippled for service Harris probably
will be retained at the far corner. Dave
came up to the big show as third
baseman and while he is no finished in
fielder. he can get around right well
and the Nationals can make use OF his
power at bat, too.
CWINGING through the West for the
- first time this season, the Nationals
found plenty of opposition. In most
Of their IL games they hit freely, but
generally their pitchers wre not so
puzzling to the Western batters. Mama
ger Cronin found it necessary to make
many slab changes.
In all, Is Washington pitching names
got into the line-ups of the games out
West, with pitchers going route in
five of the games. The left-handers
did most of the good hurting the
Nationals got on the trip. yet both
Whitehill and Stewart pitched two
fine games each for only an even
break Crowder was the only one Of the
right-handers to give an impressive
performance, and he waited until his
last time out to do SO.
Although inclement weather jumbled
the schedule in three Of the four cities
visited, the Nationals got in more
games than any other Eastern club
They played but one of three scheduled
for Cleveland, then made up the post
ponements in Detroit and Chicago.
Series were won in Detroit and
Chicago two games to one, and the
four-game set in ST. Louis was split
evenly after the Nationals had coppeo
the first two engagements. Collapsing
pitchers were mainly responsible for
the loss of the lone game to the In
dams and the one defeat by the Tigers
In each of these games the Nationals
had healthy leads brushed aside.
It was at no championship gait the
Nationals moved through the West. ano
they have no alibis. Though they lost
their regular second sacker the seconc
game of the trip, Bob Boken certainly
filled Buddy Myers shoes afield, ano
his batting was the big factor IN what
success the Nationals enjoyed.
The Nationals simply found the Wes'
as full of fight as they were, just as
ready to give, and the West managed
to give until it hurt.