Evening star., 1942-07-17
Raps 4 Honners,
Hits in is Runs
In Last 6 Days
Chef Again Sets Pace
As Browns Drub As;
Brooklyn Divides
BY JUDSON BAILEY,


The biggest batting spree of the
season now is being staged by little
Chet I,aabs of the st. Louis Browns
and, brother, when he hits people
forget all about the complaint that
the ball is deader this year.
In the last six days he has hit four
home runs and driven in Is tallies
with amazing raids at New York,
Boston and Philadelphia. His total
production all last year for the
Browns was Is homers and SO runs
batted in. but with his recent surge
he already has brought his mark for
this season to Is circuit clouts and
So runs driven in.
Laabs started his chain Of fire
crackers against the Yanks last Sat-
urday with a two-run homer OF
Ernie Bonham in the ninth.
The next day in Boston he socked
the Red Sox into submission. He
made a double and a single in the
first game and in the second game OF
the double header he batted in five
runs, three of them on homer in
the ninth. Monday was an open date
and Tuesday the Red Sox side
tracked trouble by walking him
twice.
Shows As No Mercy.
Wednesday night again he drove
in five runs at Philadelphia. He
homered with the bases loaded In
the first inning and tripled with one
on in the second, barely being
thrown out at the plate trying for
an inside -the-park home run.
Yesterday he drove in four runs to
beat the Athletics again, hitting two
homers, each with mate aboard, to
help Al Hollingsworth win, 5-1,
Laabs' impetus has boosted the
Browns to an even 500 percentage
and tie with the Detroit Tigers for
fourth place.
The New York Yankees boosted
their f1rst-place margin to tx games
by betting the Cleveland Indians
8-5 while the Chicago White Sox
nosed out Boston 80 Ernie Bon
ham pitched seven-hit ball for the
Yanks' fifth straight triumph, but
served up homers to Les Fleming
and Oris Hockett. Red Rolfe hit
his second homer in four days and
two singles to lead the New York
attack and Joe Di Maggie hit In his
18th game in row.
Cubs, Dodgers Divide.
At Chicago the wrought-up Chi
cago Cubs and Brooklyn Dodgers
divided double header in approxi-
mately five hours of paying strict
attention to- baseball. The Cubs
amakies14 hits and took the first cons
test, 10, with Lon Warneke helping
Lefty John Schmitz in the ninth.
Then Brooklyn battled back in
the nightcap to- win, Ri, when Arky
Vaughan pinch singled, Pete Reisef
doubled and Joe Medwick singled
to account for two runs in the sew
enth after Lou Stringer had hon.
cred for Chicago in the fifth. John
Allen and Hugh Casey combined
to hold the. Cubs to seven hits.
Mel OFT shook up his New York
Giants at Pittsburgh, sending Re-
serve First Baseman Babe Young
to centerf1eld for the first time in
his life, and old Carl Hubbell con-
jured up four-hit pitching master
piece that stopped the Pirates, 81
1t was Hubs third win and he had
a two-hit shutout till the ninth.
The Phils, led by Danny Lith-
whiler, who batted in three runs
and scored twice, topped the ST
Louis Cardinals 4-3 in 10 innings
Cincinnati took rs decision from
the Boston Braves, even though
Ernie lombard hit his second
homer in two days and made three
other safeties against his old team
mates.