Evening star., 1941-09-18
Brooklyn Saves
Lead as Freak
Hit Nips Bucs
Rally in 9th Capped
By Scrotchy Blow;
Cards Bag Two
BY JUDSON BAILEY,


The favorite flippancy of baseball
players is I'D rather be lucky than
good" and this little crumb of wis
dom explains why the Brooklyn
Dodgers still are in first place in
the National League and seem
distined to win the pennant.
They are fates fair-haired boys,
even though their lead has shrunk
like a dollar shirt in the last couple
of days.
Their daily adventures read like
chapters out of a story book and
yesterday they outdid that fictional
piker, Merriwell, again.
Brooklyn was on the verge OF
dropping its second straight game,
trailing, 81, going into the ninth
inning at Pittsburgh. A loss coupled
with a double victory by st. Louis
over the Boston Braves would have
transferred first place to the Cardl-
nails by a tiny percentage margin.
But what happened? You guessed
it, the Dodgers scored five runs IN
the ninth inning and beat the
Pirates, GA, to retain a one-game
margin over the Cards, who whipped
the Braves, 6-1 and 80.
Galan Starts Dodger Rally.
Brooklyn's ferocious furry was
started by little Augie Galan, whose
batting average at the time was
exactly 200 and who was waived to
the minors last month by the Chi
cago Cubs only to have the Dodgers
toss him a life preserver.
He had delivered a pinch double
in the ninth inning at Cincinnati
Tuesday to send that game into
overtime and he led off with another
pinch double yesterday. Then the
whole team batted around. Reese
singled, Herman singled. Reiser
tripled and eventually Lew Riggs
provided the crowning glory-the
two runs that proved to be the
deciding margin With two out and
the bases loaded he slapped sharp
grounder at Second Baseman Stu
Martin, who was all set to grab 1t
when the ball suddenly bounced
over his head for a single. 49,.
The Pirates recovered a run in
their half of the ninth, but that
rally was the ball game. 1t showed
once more that the Dodgers never
are licked till the final out and
that is the kind of a ball club that
wins pennants.
Cards Have Tough Time.
The Cardinals had an equally
tough time taking their two vic
tories from the Braves and must
have been disheartened at seeing
the Dodgers dance back out Of the
furnace at Pittsburgh.
In the first game Howard Pollet
and Tom Farley waged beautiful
hurting duel till the eighth inning.
The Braves scored first, a run in
the fifth, and old Estel Crabtree,
at 81 the miracle man of the Cards,
tied the score with a homer in the
seventh. Then in the eighth Buddy
Hassett made an error with the
bases loaded and st. Louis grabbed
five runs and victory. In the sec
ond game Max Lanier and Jim
Tobin gave another magnificent
mound shoW-Lanier allowing five
hits and Tobin six and the teams
came up to the last of the ninth in
2-2 deadlock. And Crabtree ham,
mered out another home run.
The Cincinnati Reds bagged a
double-header from the Phils, 10
and 80. John Wander Nicer pitched
three-hitter and famed IL in the
first game and Gene Thompson
pitched six-hitter and made two
doubles and single himself in the
nightcap.
Cubs Trample Giants.
The Chicago Cubs climbed on the
New York Giants, 7-3.
In the American League the New
York Yankees clipped the Chicago
White Sox, So, with a four
fifth-inning rally climaxed by Tom
Henrich's 31st homer with two on.
The Boston Red Sox edged out
Cleveland, 80, with Joe Dobson
pitchin gSix-hit ball and Dom Di
Maggie driving in all Boston's runs
two on a single with the bases
loaded in the ninth. Detroit downed
the Philadelphia Athletics, 30, al
though outhit, IA. and Washington
whipped the st. Louis Browns, 9-8,
in 10 innings.