Evening star., 1938-07-25
NAT BUNS GLOW
AS THEY CO WEST
Simmons, Bonura, Recalled
From Bench, Sparkle in
Split With Browns.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN.


BY FRANCIS E. STAN.
With IL victories in their last IS
games and another fruitful home
stand behind them, Uncle Clark Grif-
fith's baseball boys march into the
badands of the West today to stake,
in a sort of showdown game, their
hold on fourth place, their prospects
Of returning three weeks hence in
third place and even their chances OF
(soft music, maestro, pliz) running
second or winning the pennant.
They will grab late evening train
for Detroit today and move around
! the West for the third time this year
So far they haven't been at all good
on the road and . .)well, there are
some hotter topics today than road
records. There is, f'rinstance, the
story of Aloysius Harry Simmons and
Henry John Bonura.
Y The averages, particularly the runs
! battedin column, will reveal that Mr..
Simmons has been no bum this year.
! Still you couldn't prove it to Wash
ington fans. Al, you see, hasn't been
able to hit in Griffith Stadium all
year, and the fans, forgetting all Of
his heroic deeds on the road, began to
scream bloody murder and why
doesn't -Bucky- y-play-somebody else.
Bucky Remained Loyal.
Mr.. Harris, who was slow to install
Simmons as regular in the early
season. remained steadfastly loyal to
! Aloysius until yesterday. Once he
yanked Al for Pinch-hitter Taft
Wright, but outside of that incident
Bucky played his faith in Simmons
and allowed the brickbats to fall
where they may.
But yesterday when the Nationals
/ trotted out to play the Browns in, the
first game of a double header. Round
Man Wright waddled to left field and
| Mr.. Simmons sat on the bench. 1t
seemed all very significant and the
wolves quieted
Before proceeding with the story,
let us jump back to Mr.. Bonura. The
fans have been throwing the ice on
! Aeke for some time now and when
Rookie Jimmy Wasdell came back to
| play first base there was wild cheer
| ing. zeke had been sitting on the
bench and eating out his heart, but
nobody cared much and. as the fates
cruelty would have it. whenever Zeke
got a pinch-hitting chance he would
prove to be an awful bum In the eyes
Of the customers and there would be
more booing.
They Wound Up As Heroes.
So, as the Mats were beaten, 4-2.
by the Browns in yesterdays opener
Wright and Wasdell were playing left
field and first base, respectively. Dur
ing the course of the afternoon Mr..
| Bonura was called upon to pinch-hit.
He struck out on three pitched balls
and the fans ate him up on the way
back to the bench. But while Zeke
may not be good hitter this year,
nor good fielder even in his dreams,
Momma Bonura's boy doesn't quit
AS for Simmons, he, too, was used
as pinch-hitter. Late in the game,
with two out in the ninth and nobody
on, in fact, AL picked up Jimmy De
Shong's bat and hit a single. The
fans had given AL gentle razz when
he walked up and it didn't set well
with him. either.
So that brings us to the second
game and an 11-to-1 victory for the
Griffmen and the pleasant tidings
that Messrs. Simmons and Bonura
weren't really dead but only sleeping
For they played that second game,
Simmons instead Of Wright and Zeke
instead of Wasdell and here is what
happened:
l. Simmons collected three singles
and walk in five times at bat.
2. AL scored three runs and drove
| across another one.
3. Simmons made the best left-field
catch of the season when he galloped
to the barrier in the farthest corner
in the fifth inning for Gifts foul.
4. Bonura got double. a single, a
walk and was hit by a pitched ball In
| five times at bat.
5. Zeke scored a run and drove
across three more.
6 and 7. Simmons was given the
biggest hand OF the day. Bonura
was given the second biggest.
Mats Split With Browns.
So today the Mats head westward
with Simmons and Bonura wearing
chips on their shoulders and ready to
fight anew for their jobs. AS far as
Manager Harris is concerned it's fine.
Moreover, Bucky hopes it's hard for
him to determine which two men are
better. That is better than playing
the rockies on the theory that they
can't do any worse, and when its
boiled down that's why Simmons and
Bonura were ousted in the beginning.
The Mats fell victims to the ability
Of Public Enemy No. /, Oral Hide
brand, in the opener. Oral held them
to eight scattered hits and one earned
run. The Browns, meanwhile, chased
Ken Chase out Of the box in the
third inning with q two-run on
slaught and then added two more
runs against De Shong
The second game Is one the 20 600