Evening star., 1941-09-04
0neWinNeeded
To Make Bronx
Club Champion
Dodgers Split Bill
With PhiIIies, Lose
Ground to Cards
BY JUDSON BAILEY,

Associated Press Sports Writer
The New York Yankees may
clinch their American League pen
| nant today-their fifth champion
ship in six years-and the dawlers
over in the National Leagues must
be trembling at the thought of the
forthcoming World Series
The Yanks are in Boston and
need only one more victory to
figuratively sew the big bunting onto
their fiagpole. They may not get it
today, Of course, baseball being the
mystery it is, but the outcome is
inevitable.
They squeezed the Red Sox
through a 2-l thinning wringer
yesterday to assure themselves of no
worse than a tie. They have won
80 games and lost As. If they lost
every one of their remaining 10
contests they still would have only
81 defeats-the same number that
Boston and the Chicago White Sox,
tied for second place. already have.
The latter clubs are 1872 games
behind the leaders. and the Cleve-
land Indians, who were seven proud
games in front of the Yanks on
May Is, today are 22l2 back and
threatened even with the loss of
their place in the first division.
Starting Lineup Sluggish.
The Yanks made sluggish start,
as every one remembers, with a re-
vamped lineup that had Joe Cor
don on first base and a rookie key
stone combination of Phil Rizzuto
and Gerry Priddy. BY the middle
of May Manager Joe Mccarthy
knew he couldn't win the pennant
with that setup.
He switched Gordon back to sec
ond base, where he is the best in the
game, and from that time on the
bombers started booming. BY June
% they were in first place to stay
and they did stay. Joe Di Maggie
embarked on his record hitting
streak of Sc consecutive games and
the parade was on
Today, if the Yanks nail down
their flag, it will be with both these
Joe's. Mccarthy and Di Maggie.
absent from the scene. The man
ager was left behind in a Washing
ton hospital for treatment of gall
bladder ailment and Di Maggie was
dropped off at home to recover from
an ankle injury.
Wagner Worries Yanks.
Their part In getting the Yanks
to the top won't be overlooked.
however. and both are expected to
rejoin the club in New York this
week end.
The Yanks were nearly given the
works by Broadway Charley Wagner
of the Red Sox yesterday. They
were held to seven hits and it
took Tom Henrich's 9th homer in
the eighth inning to throw the
game into extra innings and give
New York chance to win in the
18th when Red Rolfe hit into a
force play with the bases loaded,
scoring one run.
Big Ernie Bonham pitched score
less ball for six innings in rebuttal
and Boston's only run came on
triple by Pete Fox and a single by
Joe Cronin in the seventh.
Meanwhile the Brooklyn Dodgers
blew bountiful opportunity to take
the National League lead away from
the st. Louis Cardinals, who were
kept idle by rain.
Brooklyn had double header
with the last-place Phillies and won
the first game, Al. with Whit Wyatt
pitching a four-hitter for his 10Th
victory.
Phils Drub Rookie.
Then Manager Leo Durocher
gambled on young righthander
named Ed Albosta, who reported two
days before from Durham of the
Piedmont League. The Phils gave
him a going over to win the night
cap, Al, with Frank Hoerst pitching
four-hit ball and blanking Brooklyn
till the ninth. This put the Dodgers
four percentage points instead of
two behind the Cards.
Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati, 80. in
a night game although Elmer Riddle
held the Pirates to six hits. The
only runs the Reds could get for
their mound ace came on a homer
by Ernie Lombardi in the seventh.
Washington whipped the Phila-
delphia Athletics 9-8.