Evening star., 1940-05-20
'PhooIish Pills
Now Swapping
Back al Foes
Prothro's S Changes Put
Fire in Club; FeIIer
Aquin Hot Article
BY SID FEEDER,
Associated Press Sports Writer

Associated Press SpOrtS WIlteI.
Stranger, you'd better smile when
you say they're the "phoolish
Phillies" these days.
The once -collapsible Quaker City
set in the National League refuses
to roll over and play dead any more.
Doc Prothro, the good dentist,
yanked a couple of ailing teeth"
from his inf1eld, put in right nifty
bridge as replacement, and, what
with a fair set of young pitchers,
his boys really are swapping at the
opposition.
Now, this isn't to say the Phils
are going to win the pennant. That's
probably asking a little too much in
one order. Besides, the Cincinnati
Reds, who boosted their league lead
to a game and a half with an 8-4
win over the Boston Bees yesterday.
may have something to say about
that.
Win Four Out of Five.
But the Phils have taken four of
the five starts on their current home
stand, topping it off with 6-5 de-
cision the hard way over the Pitts
burgh Pirates yesterday. Right now
they're way up there in fifth place,
which is as familiar to the Phils
as pate de fois gras to the Bowery.
The folks in the city of brotherly
.love tell you this coming -to-life of
their club dates back to April 30,
when Doc popped up with Bob
Bragan (fresh from Pensacola) at
shortstop, and Art Mahan tout of
Louisville) for first base. Up to that
point, the Phillies had dropped five
OF six outings. But the revamped
inf1eld and same pretty fair fiinging
by Kirby Higbe, Ike Pearson and
Hugh Mulcahy. they turned right
around and, for the merry month of
May, have chalked up seven wins
in 13 starts.
They pulled one out of the hat
yesterday when Bennie Warren, a
bench-warming backstop hopeful,
singled with the bases loaded in the
ninth to whip the bungling BUGS.
Earlier in the game, Chuck Klein
hit his third homer in eight days.
In fact, most of the National
League winners were pulling 'em out
of the hat yesterday. The Chicago
Cubs spotted the Brooklyn Dodgers
five runs in a third-inning rally, and
then came on to win out, 7-6, in
the 10th on Rip Russell's homer
with a mate aboard, thereby climbing
back into third place in the league
standings. This game went from
the sublime to the ridiculous and
wound up with the Cubs using 10
players and Manager Gabby Hart
nett playing first base.
The st. Louis Cardinals, after
blowing 3-run lead, tied it up on
Joe Orengo's 8th-inning homer
against the New York Giants. and
finished on top, 6-5, in the 10th
when the same Mr. Orengo came
through with single to shove the
deciding run home. Johnny Mize
hit his 18th homer of the season.
Sixth in Row for Walters.
Only in Boston was it anything
but close. Bucky Walters went to
work up there in the hub, treated
himself to a 5-hitter for the Reds
and knocked off the Bees for his
sixth straight win.
With all due respect to Bucky's
elbowing, the best tossing of the
afternoon was provided by Cleve-
lands Bobby Feller at the expense
of the New York Yankees. Master
Bobby chalked up his fifth victory
OF the year, pitching 4-hitter for
81 win over the woeful World
Champions.
Old Eden Auker was handed an
8-run edge in the first five innings,
so it was no trick at all for him
to pitch the st. Louis Brownies to
a 1914 victory over the Athletics.