Evening star., 1945-09-04
Benga|s Facing Tough
Shedding With Most
OF TiIts on Road
BY JACK HAND,


Opportunity is laundering on
the Yankees front door today as
Detroit drags its two-game lead
into the Bronx for a seven-tilt set
with Joe McCarthys revived con-
tenders.
With the third baseball milestone,
Labor Day, now a matter of record,
the Tigers face the discouraging
prospect of carrying their pennant
drive into somebody else's back
yard. Be it New York, Washing
ton, st. Louis, Cleveland or some
other enemy park, the Bengals'
schedule calls for % more games
and only four at home.
While Detroit tours the country,
New York will be playing 26 of its
remaining % contests in the
friendly stadium where they have
been able to look the part of a
contending club. And Washington
plays 10 of its "a tilts at Grifith
Stadium. Both st. Louis and Cleve-
land must play major portion of
their final games in the East dur
ing the next two weeks.
Ever since Charley Keller re-
Joined the Yanks they have found
the old spark, recovering from a
dizzy nine-game losing slump to
cop Is Of their last 20 and move
within Az lengths of the top.
They're still fourth behind Wash
ington and st. Louis, but they
figure to be plenty tough at home
with the fragrant scent of a World
Series slice drifting through the
September air.
Bridges Is Winner.
The Tigers picked up full length
yesterday by squeezing past Chicago
twice by an identical 6-5 score.
Tommy Bridges, making his first
appearance since 1943 after his dis
charge from the Army, received
credit for the first game with the
relief help of George Caster. Jim
Tobin clinched the second with a
two-run homer and an effective job
of pitching after the Sox had chased
AL Benton with four runs in the
opening inning.
Largest crowd of the year at
Briggs Stadium, 1888, paced the
holiday major league total of 265 1886
paying customers
Washington lost ground by split
ting with Boston.
| Charley Keller, Nick Etten and
George Stirnweiss unloaded a bar
rage of extra base hits on Philadel-
phia as the Yanks swept two, Al
and 7-6, in II innings. Ettens
double with the bases loaded broke
1-all tie to give Floyd Bevens his
18th victory in the first. Keller con-
tributed a double, triple and homer
and Stirnweiss two doubles and two
three -baggers in the finale.
Browns Twice Beat Tribe.
st. Louis whipped Cleveland twice,
6-3 and Sd, in 10 frames to further
complicate the Tribes difficult up
hill struggle. Heading East for 10
games, they trail by 7. Bob Mum
Grief, leading pitcher, earned his
18th in the first and Rookie AL La
macchia of Toledo took the night
cap on relief. The Brownies are
only 3la lengths back of Detroit.
Chicago beat the Cincinnati Reds,
for the 10Th time in 20 starts, To
and ii, before 43,161. Paul Der
ringer coasted home in the opener
after Andy Pafko unloaded a grand
slam homer and Hy Vandenberg
saved the second when he came to
the rescue of Hank Wyse who was
tagged for three straight singles
with nobody out in the opening ses-
sion.
Pittsburgh dropped ST. Louis four
full games behind the leading Cubs
by handing the Cardinals a double
dose of disappointment, 6-5 and So.
Both Ted Wilks and Blk DonneiIy
failed to last two innings as the
Buccos unloaded a total of five round
trippers.
The New York Giants hit the mil
lion mark in home attendance for
the first time Il ,008,7 paid when
they knocked off the Phillies, 80
and 80, on a pair of neat pitching
jobs by Harry Feldman and Sal
Maglie.
A fist fight between Ed Stanky of
the Dodgers and Dick Cutler OF the
Braves enlivened proceedings at Eb-
bets Field, where the Brooklyn
Dodgers took two from Boston, 40
and 4-3. Lefty Tom Seats went all
the way in the first tilt and received
credit for the final on a 10th in
ming relief chore.