Evening star., 1945-07-16
Face Brownies Twice
Tonight as Crucial
Period Is Opened
By JOHN B. KELLER.

Tonight Washington's fast-mov-
ing Mats leap into the furious Amer
ican League pennant fight again in
double-header with their toughest
opposition from the West, st. Louis
champion Browns. And with the
Mats now pennant-conscious, the
tussling promises to be more than
mildly warm.
In 10 tits this year, the Browns
have licked the Mats five times and
tied them once And it was the st.
Louis club that held the Mats to a
$3.50 split in four-game set after
the Washington band had swept
three series in succession on its re-
cent Western swing.
Rain that washed out yesterdays
scheduled twin bill between these
clubs also moved the runnerup Mats
to within III games of Detroit's
leading Tigers, but that detail was
subject to change this afternoon
with the Tigers and Yanks meeting
in the big Bronx ball yard.
The rain also curtailed the cur
rent series to three games, for only
one game will be played in Griffith
Stadium tomorrow-and that in the
afternoon, starting at 3 o'clock
with the postponement going over
to the Browns last series here in
September.
JakucH Gets Slab Call.
1t did not affect Manager Os
Bluege's pitching plans. Roger Wolff
and Johnny Niggeling, originally
picked to toll yesterday, will get the
assignments in this evenings pro-
gram, opening at $50.
But the Sunday washout brought
big Sig Jakucki into the st. Louis
pitching plans. Sig, who is one of
the American Leagues better pitch
ers in number of wins as well as
ability, is expected to share the
chucking chore with lefthanded AL
Hollingsworth.
Wolff has found the Browns trou-
blesome this season None of his
nine victories was scored at their
expense, but they handed him one
of his five defeats. He pitched a
good game against them in st.
Louis under the lights on May IL,
but had nothing more than a IL
tie when the struggle was stopped
with the home side at bat in the
11th inning. But little more than a
week ago, the Browns gave him a
7-to-3 thrashing in six innings.
Niggeling's record for performance
against the Browns is one win and
one loss. He lasted only three in
nings against them in May, but in
st. Louis Friday week ago Johnny
knocked them off, to 3.
Both Jakucki and Hollingsworth
have drubbed the Mats. Big Sig
hurled a six-hitter to score over
Wolff and snap the Mats six-game
winning streak, their best. Hollings-
worth got 5-to-2 victory here May
81, although he faded in the eighth
inning and had to give way to Jack
Kramer.
Gray Likely to Play.
The Browns have found the going
more than trifie rough since COM
ing East, so there is a chance one
armed Pete Gray will be returned
to their lineup during their stay
here. Washington fans have seen
Pete in action only once, and then
in a pinch-hitting role. But Gray
figured prominently in the Mats last
series in st. Louis. 1t was his sixth
inning triple that accounted for two
runs and chased Wolff from the
hill.
The Mats front Office has had no
further word from Capt. Buddy"
Lewis, but he is expected to receive
his discharge from the Army Air
Corps any day now and will lose no
time in reporting here Bluege be-
lieves week of daily two-hour
batting drills will put in trim the
player who starred in offense before
he entered the armed forces after
the 1941 baseball season.
Joe Kuhel, first baseman, idling
to allow cracked rib to mend, may
not be ready to return to duty be-
fore the highly important five-game
series with the Tigers, opening
Wednesday. Kuhels side panied him
severely after test in batting drill
Saturday and a few more days of
rest was ordered.