Evening star., 1945-07-18
Bargain Show tonight
Finds HurIers Ready
For Loop Leaders

Best cnance Tor the second -place
Mats to prove their mettle comes in
the series with Detroit's leading
Tigers, opening with double header
in Griffith Stadium this evening.
First place in the league could be
the Mats at the finish.
The twilight-night twin bill will
usher in set of five games to be
played in three days-there will be
another double-header with the
Tigers Friday highland If the
Washington club manages to take a
majority of the games, the re-
mainder of the league will have to
watch its step.
Gaining first place would necessi-
tate a sweep Of the series by the
Mats, now three games behind the
p a e-setters. A four-out-of five
edge would get them only a tie for
the top.
With rain knocking out yester-
days scheduled game with the st.
Louis Browns, Manager Os Bluege
has practically his full pitching staff
ready for service against the Tigers.
Tonight he will call on Mickey Haef-
ner and Marino Pieretti. Dutch
Leonard, his injured finger about
healed, will be in trim for service
tomorrow night and Roger Wolff
and Al Carrasquel are scheduled for
Friday.
Pieretti-Benton Duel Likely.
Could be that one of the games
tonight will bring on a renewal of
the duel Pieretti staged with AL
Benton when the Mats were in De-
troit in May. Then the rookie from
Portland pitched a three-hitter to
beat the sensational ex-sailor, / to
O. 1t was the first defeat for the
Tiger hurler, who had won five
straight.
The other likely Tiger slabman
tonight is Hal Newhouser, left
handler who paced the American
League last year with a Brands
record. Newhouser is one of the
leagues best this year and so far
as the Mats are concerned is cham
pion. He has started against them
three times and beaten them three
times, twice in Detroit and once
here.
In his 27 innings against the
Washington club, Newhouser has
yielded 81 hits, but only three runs.
In one of his games, he shut out
the Washington club.
The Detroit series will give Wash
ington fans their first look at Hank
Greenberg in five years. The big
fellow, who rose to a captaincy and
served with distinction in the Army
Air Corps, has looked impressive in
baseball since his discharge from
service in the spring and has been
hitting a long ball for the Tigers.
Greenberg, at $4,000 a year the
highest salaried player in the game, !,
was the longest hitter in the majors
before entering the Army and in one
year came within two home runs
of tying Babe Ruth's mark for four
baSerS clouted in a season.
Kuhel's Return Imminent.
There is a chance that Joe Kuhel,
veteran f1rst-sacker who for days
has been on the sidelines nursing a
cracked rib, will be back in the
lineup before the series ends. If
so, George Binks, who has been
subbing at the initial sack in Kuhel's
absence, will return to center field
where Joe zardon has been putting
up a capable job. But Bluege says
Fred Vaughn will continue at second
base.
Bluege wants to retain George
Myatt, regularly a second-sacker, in
right field. The manager likes My
ats work in the position and feels
the club might be weakened by
returning George to the inf1eld.
Bluege also admires Howard Nc
Farland, outfielder who reported to
the Mats only last Monday. Nc
Farland, a 6-footer who weighs
around 100, is no green pea in base
ball. He was in the minors several
years and played with Chattanooga,
the Washington farm, before volun-
tarily retiring.
For the past two years, Mcfarland
has been with the Wichita (Kans.)
Aircraft Corporation club in an in
dustrial semipro league in which he
built an imposing record. He appears
to have a strong throwing arm and
is a keen f1yf1awk in addition to-
having power at bat, according to
Bluege.
The Mats front office still awaits
further word from Buddy Lewis,
Army Air Force captain expected
to be discharged from service any
day. The slugger, who went into
the armed forces after the 1941
season, will return to duty with the
Mats as an outfielder. Bluege be-
lieves Lewis will be quite fit for play
after few days of intensive batting
practice, as Buddy has been func-
tioning effectively with the Stout
Field nine in indianapolis recently.