Evening star., 1941-07-05
Recall Champs
OF 40 Were in
Similar Spot
Indions' Two Victories
Cut Yankees Margin;
Rain Blow to Cote
By JUDSON BAILEY,
Associated Press Sports Writer


You might think being in first
place at the close of business on
July 4 didn't mean a thing to the
St. Louis Cardinals-and you might
be right.
They blew a double-header to the
Chicago Cubs yesterday and turned
the National League lead over ex-
clusively to the Brooklyn Dodgers.
who we're kept in their locker room
by an all-day rain which drenched
the New York area.
Tradition has it that the teams
in first place on Independence Day
go on to win the pennants, but last
year the Dodgers and Cleveland In
dians came away from the fireworks
in front of the parade-and every
body knows they finished second.
Consoling to Cards.
This knowledge must have been
some consolation to the Cardinals
in losing all three games of their
series with the Cubs, who thrilled
a crowd of 80, ,423 fans at Chicago
by rallying to take both of yester-
days contests, 6-5 and So. This
left the Redbirds a game out of the
lead.
St. Louis, outhitting the Cubs 1873
in the opener had 2-run lead in
the eighth Then Babe Dahlgren,
cast off by both the New York
Yankees and Boston Braves, came
through with his 18th home run of
the season to tie the score. Chicago
pushed across another marker to
win.
In the nightcap Clyde Shoun was
steaming along with 20 advantage
when the Cubs suddenly sprang
foIr-run rally. Bill Nicholson
contributed a double to this up
rising and later hit his 18th home
run of the season.
The rain that washed out the
Dodgers and New York Giants also
prevented the New York Yankees
Washington Senators and Boston
Red SoX Philadelphia Athletics
clashes in the American League and
held total attendance for the holi-
day baseball program down to 1884,
ia.
Cleveland Wins Two.
The Yankees has expected a crowd
of between $4,000 and 10000 for their
double header, which was to have
been preceded by the unveiling of
a monument to Lou Gehrig. This
phase of the program was put over
till Sunday. but the Yanks not only
lost their big crowd. but also a full
game of their American League
lead.
The Cleveland Indians whipped
the st. Louis Browns twice, 9-8 and
80, to reduce the margin between
first and second place to two games.
The Browns routed Bob Feller in
the first tilt. They tapped him for
nine hits in 6ls innings and came
up to the last half of the ninth
leading, "a Then the Indians went
on the warpath with a 5-run rally
that included 3-run homer by Ken
Keltner and was climaxed by JEFF
Heath stealing home with the win
ming run. The Browns made five
errors.
The second game. limited to seven
innings by agreement, was won on
Lou Boudreau's two-run double In
the seventh.
Sox and Tigers Divide.
The Chicago White Sox and De-
troit Tigers divided the other Amer
ican League games. Lefty Thorn
ton Lee outpitched Tommy Bridges
at Detroit to win the first for the
Sox. 80. Lee allowed five hits to
Bridges six. one of the latter
homer by Bill Knickerbocker. De-
troit captured the second, 1915, with
Rip Radcliff batting in five runs on
homer and triple, before the
largest crowd of the day, 40,068.
In the other National League ac-
ton Boston spanked the Phillies
twice and Cincinnati divided with
Pittsburgh. Bucky Walters pitched
the Reds to 60 shutout in the
opener and Vince Di Maggie set
tied the nightcap GA in favor Of
the Pirates with a three-run homer
off Monte Pearson in the fourth.
Nanny Slavo pitched six-hit ball
for the Braves in breaking his 10
game losing streak with a 4-3 YER
dict. Jim Tobin did even better
with a two-hit masterpiece In cop