Evening star., 1943-06-14
Fight Is Carried
To Leaders in 9
Of Next II Ti|ts
Griffs' Attack Still
Is Unreliable, Split
With Bosox Shows
By BURTON HAWKINS.

BY BURTON HAWKINS.
If the Mats are going to represent
a pennant threat to the Yankees.
they'll have an opportunity to prove
it in the next 10 DAYS. Now two
games back of the league-leading
New York team. Washington will be
battling the Yankees in nine of its
next II games and within that short
span the Mats may settle their l943
fate.
New York invaded Griffith Stadi-
um today for the opener of a 4-game
series. The Mats will journey to
Philadelphia for brace of games
following the current series, then
will move into vast Yankee Stadium
for five more tussles with New York.
What to expect Of the Mats in that
stretch is conjectural, for despite
that batting outburst Yesterday at
Boston in blasting the Red Sox. 1875
in the opening game of a double
header, the Mats lapsed into their
habit Of failing to produce runs in
the second game and lost, TO.
Yanks' Main Opposition.
Still, Washington picked up a
game on the Yankees. who were
dropping two games to the Athletics
at Philadelphia. and with two
months of the season evaporated the
Mats have established themselves as
one of the numerous dark horses of
the league.
In recent seasons the Mats at this
stage of the race have been buried,
but this year they've been getting a
steady brand of pitching and have
remained within striking distance of
first place despite sporadic and fire.
quently feeble hitting.
The alleged poWer-producers
among the Nats-Stan Spence, Bob
johnson. Mickey Vernon and Jake
Early-haven' manufactured vital
pokes as often as Manager Ossie
Bluege had reason to suspect they
would.
The Mats. though. have been do
ing all right. At the moment
they're the Yankees main opposi-
ton and within the next 10 Gays
they'll have chance to create
considerable trouble. but they'll
need hitting more than Santa Claus
needs a shave.
Red Sox Pound Carrasquel.
There was hope the Mats finally
had come out of their prolonged
sWatting slump in that first game
at Boston They slammed four
Red SoX pitchers for l8 hits. in
cluding two doubles and two singles
by Spence and three singles by Yer
non. and enjoved themselves tre-
mendouslv until the second game
rolled around
In the nightcap. Tex HughSon
restricted the Mats to four hits, two
of which were authored by George
Case, while Boston hammered Alex
Carrasquel for IA hits to deal him
a second loss against six victories
The Red Soy clipped Carrasquel
for two runs in the first inning as
Dee Miles and Tony Lupien singled
and Bobby Doerr doubled. After
weather interrupted the nightcap
for more than an hour, the Red
SoX came back to spray five runs
across the plate in the seventh as
Hughson. Miles. Jim Tabor and
Skeeter Newsome singled. Pete Fox
tripled and Doerr thumped a home
run over the left field fence
Boston enjoyed brief lead in the
first game when brace of walks
and Lupien's double fetched a run
off jim Mertz. but the Mats sand
Wiched five hits into the second
inning to score three runs. The Mats
picked up three more runs in the
third on a walk and doubles BY
Johnson, Early and Johnny Sullivan.
Ken Chase Walks II.
In the sixth inning, Washington
fashioned five runs on three walks,
an error, singles by Case and Ver-
non, double by Spence and Mertz S
triple The Mats added three more
runs in the seventh inning and
tapered off with two in the eighth.
In that hectic first game, Wash
ington was receiving ample aid from
Ken Chase, former Ma. He
pitched the final four innlngss for
the Red SOX and created some sort
Of record by walking H. He walked
three in the sixth. five in tie sew
enth, two in the eighth and ore in
the ninth.
MertZ, who received credit for the
triumph after absorbing four sue
cessive defeats. retired at the end
of five innings, when the Mats
owned an ILL lead and Mickey
Haefner yielded Boston six Of its
nine hits and four runs.
Against the Yankees, Manager
Bluege is prepared to employ what
he regards as his top four pitchers
He was to use Dutch Leonard today
then will hurl Early Wynn. Milo
Candini and EWald Pyle. The Mats
and Yankees will scrap in successive
night games tomorrow night and
Wednesday night.