The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1943-07-12
BRIDGES, TIGER
PITCHING VET,
CLASSY AT 36
BY PAUL SCHEFFELS
nited Press Staff Correspondent

(Un1ted Press stair Correspondent
New York, July IL. - CUP :
Hardly a day passes in the major
leagues without some strong armed
youngster grabbing the spotlight
with a prodigious batting feat or a
brilliant pitching chore, so spare a
thought today for veteran Tommy
Bridges of Detroit, who at 36, rivals
any steel-armed STRIPPING.
The Tigers are in second place,
half a game ahead of the Senators
and 1-2 games behind the YAM
KEGS. And it's the performances of
men like Bridges, long past their
prime, who have put them there,
far above the ranking accorded them
in preseason estimates.
Bridges no longer has the We
locity in his fast ball - a hurri-
cane heave that made him one of
the most effective pitchers in the
game years ago - but the strate-
gical savvy gained in over IL years
of studying American League bat
tiers still makes him a potent force
when he goes to the rubber for the
Tigers.
His value can easily be estimated
after yesterdays go triumph over
the Athletics in the nightcap after
the Philadelphians had taken the
opener ia twin-bill, 4-3. The
third-place Senators had split with
Cleveland and a Detroit loss would
have dumped the Tigers into a tie
for second place with Washington.
Has His "Stuff"
Bridges, however, looked like the
tosser of old who went over the
20-game mark three times and
racked up four world series victories
as he set down the AS with only
three hits and faced only % men.
Only three men reached base off
him, all on singles, and one was
blanked out on double play. He |
famed four and had perfect control
while the Tigers garnered 10 singles,
three doubles and a homer by Paul
Richards off three pitchers.
Washington walloped Cleveland,
ga, in the 10-inning nightcap after
the tribe had blasted Milo Candi-
mis- seven-game winning streak in
the first game, ST.. A four-run
foray in the seventh and two in the
10th pulled the Senators home after
Allie Reynolds had checked them
with one hit for the first six ses
sions. Reynolds had to be relieved |
when he became suddenly i'll. Can
DIM lasted only one-third OF an
inning as the Indians racked up
three runs in the first game.
The Yankees added full game to
their league lead by beating the
White Sox, 90 and So. Spud
Chandler held the Sox to six hits in
the first game while Bud Metheny's
Homer with none on in the ninth
featured a two-run Yankee rally
that won the nightcap.
Chef Laabs' 18th homer with the
bases empty provided the Browns
with a thinning, 81 edge over the
Red Sox In the first game while
Nelson Potter pruned Bostons attack
to five hits for Az success In the
finale.
Nearly 6 Up
The Cardinals continued to move
away from the rest of the field in
the National League, stretching
their margin to IL games by wal
Looping Boston, 80 and 9-6 Oil inn
ings), as the runner-up Dodgers
split with Pittsburg.
Harry Gumbert hurled the Card
inals to their fourth successive
whitewash with six-hit chore in
the opener for his seventh win, fifth
in row and his second shutout.
Whitley Kurowski's two-run two
Dagger and George Fallon's squeeze
bunt pushed across three runs in
the 18th of the nightcap.
The Dodgers dropped the opener
of a twin-bill to the Pirates, 80, as
Max Butcher held them to 10 hits.
Mickey Owens intield safety sent
in the tying and winning runs of a
four-ply rally in the eighth that won
the nightcap for Brooklyn, 5-4.
Cincinnati tripped the Phillies,
IA and 14-2. Bucky Walters won
his first game since May 26 with a
seven hitter in the opener as he
survived one bad inning and made
three hits, including a homer.
The Reds raped three pitchers
for II runs in the first four innings
of the second game, called because
of the curfew at the end of the
eighth. Ray Starr, working in his
third game in six days, allowed seven
hits.
The Giants split with the Cubs to
remain in last place by three games.
Ernie Lombardi's seventh homer
broke up the first game in the 10th
and gave New York the edge, 4-3,
while Bill Nicholson duplicated the
feat with one on in the seventh to
give the Cubs the nightcap by the
same score.
YESTERDAYS STAR - Veteran