Evening star., 1944-06-24
Torres and Guerra
Hammer Apple in
New Positions
Nv JOHN b. KELLER,
Star Staff CORRESPONDENT

Nv JOHN b. KELLER,
Star Staff CORRESPONDENT
BOSTON. June 24.--After expert
menting with various batting orders
for nearly two weeks. Os Bluege has
an idea he may have something
worth while In the lineup OF Mats
he sent against Boston's Red Sox
yesterday in the opener OF four
game series.
For the first time in some while,
his ball club showed Z productive
attack. The Mats snapped back into
the win column after losing two in
q row with q I'll victory. They
rolled up their biggest score In Is
games.
Skipper Bluege's changes in the
batting order were not many, but
they certainly had 4 wholesome ef-
feet. Gil Torres, who generally has
been fifth In the order, was hoisted
to the third spot and Joe Kuhel,
who mostly had been going to the
plate third or fifth, was dropped to
seventh position.
Guerra In Sixth Spot.
That meant moving the catcher,
who. in this instance, happened to
be Mike Guerra, to sixth place.
Here's what happened. Torres, in
his new position, collected three hits
and drove over two runs in addi-
ton to scoring one. Guerra got on
base three Of the tive times he went
to bat, once with corking double
that drove across two tallies.
So far as the statistics are con-
cerned, the change didn't benefit
Kuhel. Yet, in going hitless, he hit
the ball as hard Is any one on the
club. Before fouling out in the Sec
ond inning. Joe sent q liner into the
right-fleld stands that was foul only
by inches. In the fifth frame, he
sent powerful drive to the depths
OF right field. 1t escaped being .
hit only through . desperate one
hand catch by Petey Fox after q
hard run.
Instead Of the Red Sox doing the
long hitting, as Manager Bluege had
feared might happen before the
series got under way. 1t was the
Mats who had the 0utfielders going
to the far reaches Of Fenway Park.
The new batting order really clicked
and 1t will be continued through the
stay here at least unless the Mats
suddenly fall back into the slump
that engulfed them for some while.
Sixth Triumph fer wynn.
BY his success, Early Wynn swept
to the head OF the Mats pitchers in
the matter Of total wins. It was
his sixth triumph OF the season,
putting him in front Of Johnny
Niggeling, Dutch Leonard and
Mickey Haefner.
Wynn looked just as strong on the
hill as he did In washington last
Sunday, when he restricted the Red
Sox to four hits to shut them OUT
This time he yielded Just flve safe
ties and two passes and after the
first frame let just two Of the Red
Sox get as far rs second base.
Joe Cronin and Hal Wagner drew
the passes In the nth inning. With
two out in the eighth. Pitcher Eddie
Lake doubled. Each of the two
other hits after the first round came
with one out and each time the
Mats followed the hits with double
plays.
Triple and One -Baser.
The score OF Wynn came at the
outset from Fox's triple and Tom
McBride's one-baser. This offset =
tally the Mats had made with much
effort In the opening round.
George Case walked and had set
out to steal when George Myatt
laid down q bunt toward third.
Case, evidently believing Jim Tabor
would make throw to first, swept
around second and headed for third.
But Tabor, seeing no chance to get
Myatt, trapped Case, who was rum
down as Myatt took second. A
double by Torres scored Myatt, but
Torres was caught trying to score
on Stan Spence's hit to rather short
left. i
So there the Mats had a pass, two
singles and a double with only one
run.
After that 1t was different: The
Mats finished the left-handed Vic
Johnson in the third when three
singles and double, mixed with an
error, produced four runs. Yank
Terry pitched the next two innings
and an error. pass and a double
accounted for a run of him in the
fifth. Lake rounded out the game
and gave up pass and two hits in
the eighth for the last score.
All told. the Mats helped them
selves to II hits with Torres and
Spence heading the field with three
each. No wonder Bluege likes his
new batting order.