Evening star., 1941-05-09
Mats Home, SET
To Make Goinq
Tough for As
Good Finish in West,
Trovis' .SIugging Has
Club Fit for Fight
BY BURTON HAWKINS.

Back to the more inspiring atmos-
phere of Griffith Stadium will trudge
the Nationals tomorrow, with Short
stop Cecil Travis as much of topic
as the team which mustered meas
ure of prestige in the West after a
chaotic start which threatened to
sap its spirit.
II will be transformed Travis on
display as the Mats inaugurate a
three-game series with Philadelphia.
It will be a rare sight for local cit
liens. viewing Travis in the role OF
slugger but the teams most
sizzling specimen suddenly has be-
come a drawing card.
Travis is fulfilling the widest
dreams of President Clark Griffith
and Manager Bucky Harris, who had
hoped Cecil's altered, down. -on-the-
bat swing would produce power on
a club notoriously lacking in punch.
Travis is pulling his hits and romp-
ing for extra bases. Some idea OF
his effectiveness is illustrated in the
five home runs he already has COLI
lected this season, which equals his
greatest output in that department.
in any previous season.
Win Five in Last Eight.
Cecil last year belted only two
home runs. In 1889 and 1888 he ham,
mered five, his peak to this point.
Griffith instructed Travis to swing
for distance and forget his aver
fol it7S
and his average has scared to .457.
OF his "a hits this season. 18 have
travelled for extra bases. He has no
challenger for driving mates home.
having batted in q runs.
Washington dropped five OF its
first six games on the road, but
battled back to capture five deci-
sions in its last eight games. VIM
ming six games and losing eight IN
foreign parks is no great feat, but
the Mats have reaped much encour-
agement from their fine finish. IL
will be a three game winning streak
Washington will carry into the
opener with the Athletics, since
Steve Sundra stopped the Tigers,
II. yesterday at Detroit.
Also instrumental in the recent
rosy showing of the Mats has been
slender Jim Vernon. who has sue
ceeded the ight-hitting George
Archie as Washington's first base
man. Vernon, batting a comfortable
.35l, also has been hitting for
distance.
The real reason for Harris being
heartened, though. is nestled in the
fact that his pitching staff finally
seems squared away. Ken Chase
dropped a seven-hitter to Cleveland.
but on the next day Dutch Leonard
scattered 10 hits nicely to deal the
Indians a 81 trimming Then Sid
Hudson trounced the Tigers on six
hits and yesterday Sundra also al
lowed only six hits.
Sundra Tightens Up.
In its last four games that quartet
has yielded an average of only two
runs a game. each remaining the
route. The last Washington pitcher
to be shelIed from the mound, WAL
ter Masterson. will attempt to keep
the string intact tomorrow. with
Chase and Leonard slated to hurl on
Sunday and Monday, respectively.
Sundra. slammed for five doubles
in the first four innings yesterday,
never was threatened thereafter as
the Mats teed off on burly Buck
Newsom to deal him fourth defeat.
Sundra gave up only one hit in the
final five innings to register his
third triumph in four starts.
The Mats were presented run in
the first frame, when George Cases
pop fly dropped safely between
Shortstop Frank Croucher and Left
Fielder Ned Harris. Case took third
on Doc Cramers infield out and
scored as Vernon grounded out.
Detroit matched that when
Croucher and Rudy York doubled
in the first. but the Mats manufac-
| tured two more runs in the second
and boosted their lead to Al in the
third when Buddy Lewis tripled and
scored on Travis infleld tap.
1t was no infield tap Travis pro-
duced in the fifth. however. after
Archie McKain had replaced New
som. He drilled home run into
/ the upper tier of the right-field
stands and later delivered a triple
which led to another brace OF runs
in the seventh.