Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-07-15
Wolff, Nigge|ing
HurI Today as
Browns Visit
Two Games From First
Place, Club sIueging
In Rapid Ascent
BY JOHN b. KELLER.

uU lOl tWO ddyo--otOP tAiC Ndtc
cold. But it lifted the second-place
Washington club to within two
games of Detroit's leading Tigers,
beaten for the third straight time
in Boston.
1t was showering heavily at 8
o'clock yesterday afternoon when
the clubs were scheduled to take
the field, but the umpires did not
give up until $3.50 when the rain
still was coming down.
AS a result of the postponement,
Roger Wolff, who was to have
hurled against the Sox, will take
over one of the games this after
noon as st. Louis champion Browns
come in for a four-game series.
The other part of the double-head-
er, beginning at 1880, viii be
pitched by Johnny Niggeling.
The Browns are expected to rely
on big Sig Jakucki and Tex Shirley,
but Manager Luke Sewell may
! swing to AL Hollingsworth, left
handler, for one of the engagements.
Pilots of the opposition have an
idea that the Mats don't do SO
we'll against southpaws, although
statistics fail to bear out the pilots.
Yesterdays postponement will be
played when the White Sox visit
here in September and adds an
other double-header to already top
heavy slate for the Mats. Ten are
booked, with seven to be played
in Griffith Stadium. There is GER
tainly big season ahead for Wash
ington's twilight-night bugs.
Griffs Heavily Outhit Foes.
There is nothing mysterious about
the Mats jump from sixth place
to second in the course Of "a
games. Over this span, they have
made so more hits than the OPP
position and scored 81 more runs.
That is enough to get 10 wins
against six defeats.
In their ESQ streak, the Mats
have averaged better than five
runs a game and nearly 10 hits
game. They have restricted the
opposition to an average OF little
more than three runs a game
and slightly above seven hits a
game. In the "a games, IA of the
Washington pitchers finished what
they started.
The streak is strikingly similar
to that the Mats enjoyed in 1924
when they rolled on to Washing
tons first major league pennant.
The Mats of 1924, under Bucky
Harris guidance, went West In
June in sixth place and came back
in second. That is exactly what
the current Mats have done.
Whether the Mats now can go
on to a pennant nobody knows. But
they certainly have caught fire and
ball club with such a winning
spirit can have plenty to say about
the disposition of the championship
this year.
Four Whanging Apple.
Currently, the Washington club
boasts a quartet of hitters with
menacing averages and the others
have been picking up steadily.
George Case is close to the top OF
the league with 1874, while the most
amazing progress at bat in the last
few weeks has been made by George
Myatt, the clubs versatile perform
er. Myatt, while playing second
base, moved along at only a fair
clip at the plate, but since his trans
fer to the outfield he has swung
with such vigor his average now Is
.293. George Binks, who slumped
heavily after a fine start, steadily
is coming back and now shows an
average of .280. Then there is Joe
Zardon, who at times does not look
so impressive at the plate, but has
rating of .286.
| Current batting figures, though.
do not reveal the full strength Of
the Mats attack. For instance,
Harlond Cliff has only .234. But
that is nothing like the pace he
has set in the past four weeks. He
has been hitting nearly 300 over
that stretch, and there is Catcher
Al Evans, who was far down in the
early going, but who, since getting
back into the game regularly the
last 80 days has pounded the ball
we'll enough to bring his average
to .291.
Even Pitchers Are Hitting.
Ali down the line, the Mats now
reveal power in attack, even in some
of the pitchers. Mickey Haefner
leads the slabmen with .3l6 and
Dutch Leonard and Marino Pieret-
ii, while not in the 800 class, have
been effective in >pinches.
None of the Mats has a particular
ly high mark for batting runs across.
tBinks is the leader with Al driven
in and Case is next with 81. But
five of the others in the lineup
have been responsible for pushing
over Is to 20 runs apiece. The at
tack is well balanced in every
respect.
/ Pacing the pitchers is Leonard
with 10 wins against three defeats
while Wolff and Pieretti have rec
ords of nine wins and five losses
each. And the Mats soon should
have fourth pitcher in the 500
class. Haefner needs but one more
win to make it,
Where to send Dick Weik has
Clark Griffith worried. The Mats
/ prexy is eager to have the 17-year-
old get some experience under fire
/ this year, but no minor club is as
eager to take him on at the contract
figure of $4,000 believed to be his
/ term with the Washington club.
4 Weik never did any pitching until
this year when he came out with the
Central High School nine at Peoria,
ILL.,, but he proved strong thrower
and quickly became sensation in
Illinois scholastic ranks. The
Browns and Chicago's Cubs angled
for him, but the Mats won through
friend of Griffith's in Peoria. /.
i Howard Mcfarland, star out
fielder of Wichita Kans) national
semipro tournaments, will report to
1.-The Nationals next week. He once
played with Chattanooga In the
Grs.{tn~~. Aesrr4 t{ny1