Evening star., 1945-07-30
Pieretti's Flop Hurts;
Occupy Third Spot
By Half Point
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

4lllS ID tllc Wcck Us blucSS hopes
his reserve pitchers give-and
plenty. They had better, for this
also is the week the Mats are To
play 10 games in six days and it
certainly does not appear that their
regular starters can carry all the
burden.
Although the five first stringers
collectively show winning per-
centage of 500 for July, they cooled
of, considerably during the recent
home stand and several staggered
no little. The string of four double
headers against the Western clubs
told on the Washington slabmen
and this time they will run into a
similar batch of twin bills.
OF the five starters, Dutch Leon
ard shows the best July record with
five wins and one loss, but Dutch
finished only one game he started
and over the span was touched for
49 hits and 16 runs. Mickey Haef-
ner and Roger Wolff each won three
and lost two with one of Haefner's
losses coming when he filled a re-
lief roll. Each of this pair tossed
three complete games, which indi-
Gates they still are fairly durable
Cases Are Different.
Johnny Niggeling has had an in
different time this month, winning
one and losing three. Wildness has
hurt him, but nothing like it has
hurt Marino Pieretti. The rookie
from the West Coast has won but
once in five starts and that in his
first outing. Since pitching a r.
inning win over the White Sox at
Chicago on July /, Pieretti has not
finished anything he started
In dropping four straight. Pieretti
in 2l2s innings has given up 27 hits
and IA passes for "a runs. That is
something like II hits. six passes
and 10 runs per nine innings. For
some unknown reason, Pieretti in
his last four games has not been
Jogging" his fast one by the batters
as he did when running his victory
string to nine. Now, after such a
fine beginning, he is almost down
to the 500 mark for the season.
So it is small wonder the Wash
ington manager is hoping his re-
serve pitchers have something The
tussling with the AS and Red Sox
does not promise to be any tea
party.
The Mats had no pitching to
speak of yesterday as they took their
second successive licking from the
Red Sox at Boston in an 8-4 game,
but held third place by half point
over Boston. .5232 to .5227, as the
Yanks went second by winning
twice.
Lasts Until Fifth Inning.
Niggeling started and lasted into
the fifth inning. -Four of the six
runs off him were unearned, but the
Red Sox combed him for 10 hits
and four passes and two of the
passes were converted into runs.
Haefner relieved in the fifth to stop
the Red Sox, but they hoped on
him for three hits, two of those
doubles, and couple Of walks in
the sixth for two scores. Al Carras-
quel then took over for two in
nings to allow just one hit.
In sharp contrast was the pitch
ing done by Emmett O'Neill as he
scored his fourth win over the Mats
this year. He yielded IL hits and
five passes, but spread the hits over
seven rounds and the Mats waited
until the ninth inning for two of
their tallies. ONeill also pitched
five strike-outs. three to Harlond
Cliff, who twice left a runner
stranded on third.
With George Binks' dragged bunt
and Mike Guerra's first homer of
the year, a loft over the left-field
fence, the Mats went ahead in the
second inning. But the Red Sox
Immediately came back to tie and
score again in the third when
Niggeling's first pass became a run.
Bosox Helped to Runs.
They sealed the game in the fifth
when they got three unearned runs,
due to wild throw by Guerra when
he had Bob johnson trapped off
third base, The ball hit johnson
and rolled to left field. This let
Johnson count, Dolph Camilli, who
had walked, gain third, and
Skeeter Newsome, who had singled,
reach second. After Bill Holm
walked, Eddie Lake singled two
more markers across.
The Mats did not find the plate
again until the ninth. Then Hills
Layne drew pass and George Case
got his fourth hit, a double, for
a perfect day at bat Buddy Lewis
also doubled before Cliff famed.
Before his ninth-inning hit Case
had singled twice, hit a two-bagger
and walked, but his hitting was
not so effective as that done by
Johnson, the slugger the Mats prac-
tically gave to the Red Sox in
a sale after the 1943 season. john
son got two doubles, two singles
and a pass, scored three runs and
drove over another. His second
hit was the 2,000th of his major
league career. Of Haefner and
Carrasquel, he ran the total to
2,002.
Wash ABB HOA, Boston. AB.H. O. A.