Evening star., 1940-04-29
Walkers Squirt
Justifies Taft
Swap by Mats
Hit Beating Yankees
Second in Pinch as
Gee Climbs at Bot

When Manager Bucky Harris
long quest for Outfielder Gerry
Walker came to an end last Decem-
ber in q Cincinnati hotel lobby he
gave, in exchange, Taft Wright. At
the top of American League hitters
is Wright, nov of the White Sox,
but the Washington ball club has no
regrets so far.
Twice the erratic left fielder has
saved the Nationals winning streak,
which today had grown to the
robust proportions of five straight.
Twice Walker has come up in the
last innings and broken up ball
games with his driving base hits.
AS the Griffmen prepared to face
the Yankees again today the talk
of $4,000 fans still was on yester-
days 3-to-2 thriller, which went 10
innings before Walker won for a
highly deserving Dutch Leonard the
knuckle-ball aces first victory Of
the year.
Boosts Average to .306.
The. picture was not unlike last
weeks epic struggle with the Ath-
letics, when the Mats went into the
final inning trailing by 6-1 and
pulled the game out of the fire,
7-6, when Walker smashed a base
clearing double with the bases
loaded.
Gerry came up in the last of the
10th yesterday. The Yanks and
Mats were tied, %. With George
Case on second base after his Sec
,ond steal of the afternoon, Relief
Pitcher Johnny Murphy was in
structed to walk Buddy Lewis, Gre
ating double-play setup. Walker
was unsympathetic. He slammed
sizzling single to left and it was
all over.
That base hit, incidentally, did
more than break up a ball game.
It marked Walkers breaking into
the 300 hitting class. The new
fychaser. who opened the CAM
paign in batting slump, origin of
which was in Florida during spring
training, now has hit safely in the
last seven games to boost his mark
to .306
Tigers Invade Tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the Nationals are
doing all right. The club which was
in last place Tuesday, with no wins
and four defeats, today was tied
for third with the Detroit Tigers,
who follow on the heels of the
Yankees into Griffith Stadium. The
Detroits invade tomorrow for a
three-game series.
In every way the Mats improved
during their winning streak. In the
beginning, even while winning, they
didn't look impressive. In starting
it in Boston with a 9-6 victory, Joe
Haynes, Sid Hudson and Walter
Masterson simply outstaggered four
Red Sox pitchers. The next day
came that weird 7-6 game with the
AS and then an 8-6 affair.
Even in the Yankee opener Satur-
day the Griffs didn't look so hot,
what with Ken Chase passing out
10 bases on oalls, hitting a batsman
and heaving a two-base wild pitch.
Ken pitched flve-hit ball and famed
nine, Of course, but he can't 60 on
winning 80 games that way.
Leonard Never Better.
Yesterday, though, the Griffs were
100 per cent right down the line.
Leonard, in turning back the cham
pions with six hits, never was better.
Behind him the club fielded su-
perbly, with Cece Travis and Case
standing out.
On the base paths they took liber-
ties with the mighty Bill Dickey's
throwing arm tthey really stole on
the pitchers, Steve Sundra and
Murphy. Case twice stole second
for his first thefts of the season and
Walker stole once. Two of these
steals were turned into runs.
Joe Krakauskas, the blond left
handler who was batted out of the
box by the Athletics in his first start,
was to try again today in the New
York finale. He was to be opposed
by Spud Chandler.
Harris is undecided about his
pitcher tomorrow. If Hudson isn't
used as relief worker today he may
face the Tigers. Haynes also is a
possibility. E.S.