Evening star., 1943-05-03
Pyle Sets Back
Yankees With
Lively Sphere
Wins HondiIy After
Bombers BIust 1912
Ball for Victory

Any day now Manager Ossie Blueee
is expecting an explosion among the
Mats and the noise will be music to
his ears. For dozen games he has
been anticipating violent shatter-
ing of enemy pitching by the
dynamite he suspects is lurking in
Washington bats, but that big blast
is overdue.
An examination Of the Mats hit
ting makes their third-place status
IN the American League astonishing
despite the commendable sort of
pitching they've been receiving. The
Mats boast only one 300 hitter and
three regulars are batting under 200.
The Mats have captured 7 of
II games with very little aid in the
oattlng department. Stan Spence.
1923 hitter last season. is struggling
along at .240 and George Case, who
came up with 32O mark last year,
Is Stroklng sad 222
In Spence, Case and Bob johnson
the Mats own three of the leagues
top II hitters of 1912. but thev
haven't been able to get up a trot
thus Tar this season johnson is
moving along at a .255 clip, which
isn't laudable clipping, and Mickey
Vernon is hitting POL.
CIary Sets Two-Bagger Pace.
Ellis Clary is a $40 hitter, but
Jake Early is batting 1872, johnny
Sullivan ITS and Gerald Priddv
.l64. 1t was Early, incidentally, who
seemed set for big year. after swat
tmg .433 in spring training.
The Mats have hit no home runs
and only two triples. OF their %
doubles, Clary has contributed 9,
all of which might be distressing to
Bluege if the Mats weren't in third
place mere game behind the lead
ing Yankees. The Mats. to sum IL
up. aren't hitting as they should,
and they're calculated to be a bet
ter team when they synchronize
their socking.
Before $4,000 fans-a thousand
were turned aWay-the Mats got A
draw with the Yankees in a double
header yesterday at Griffith Sta
dunn. The Yankees greeted the re-
turn OF the 1912 model baseball in
the opener to capture an 11-3 deci-
sion, but Ewald Pyle unleashed a
slx-hltter in the nightcap to steer
Washington to Al victory.
Yanks Slam 1912 Sphere.
The Mats ran out of the l943 ba-
lata balls and obtained permission
to employ the livelier 1912 edition.
In the first game the Yankees re-
sembled the 1912 Yankees and the
Mats were strikingly similar to the
1912 Mats, but the customers left
the park with better impression
of Bluege's boys following the sec
ond game.
New York hammered Early Wynn,
Lew Carpenter and Rae Scarbo-
rough for 10 hits, including a three
run homer by Charley Keller in the
1ourth inning in the opener. while
Ernie Bonham scattered nine WASH
lngton hits. Bonham owned an
ILL lead entering the eighth, when
doubles by johnson and Vernon and
Early single fetched the Mats two
! runs.
Inc second struggle was more re-
freshing. Pyle gave up an unearned
run in the first inning, then pro-
ceeded to deal the Yankees a string
OF zeros. He now has Travelled "a
successive innings without yielding
an earned run.
Mats Come Back.
Washington nicked Rookie Char
ley Wensloff for two runs in the
first on Clary's double and singles
by Spence and Vernon. The MATS
picked up another run in the third
When Case walked, stole second. took
third on an infield out and scored
after johnson flied deep to center.
Case also walked in the eighth,
moved to third on Spence's single
and scored on Vernon's fly to Keller.
Idle today. the Mats will tanpla
with the Athletics tomorrow at
Philadelphia, with Dutch Leonard
slated to shoot for his third triumph.
B. H.
SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION.