The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-05-22
Cronins Club DriDes to Big Six Come Lead ODer
Johnson Most Valuable 10 Boston Sox

New York, ay 22-CUPl-1n the midst of early season prosperity and 6 pennant boom, Earl Johnson of the Red Sox is on relief and Manager Joe Cronin isn't the least bit interested in doing anything about it.
 That may be no way to treat returned war-hero who was com- missioned lieutenant on the field of battle in France for extraordin- ary valor, but his is no hardship case. Instead, it is the hitters who swing against the nerveless 27- year-old left handler from Red- mond, Wash, who are about deSti- ute. There is virtual bankruptcy in the hitting department whenever Johnson takes the mound.
 Because top-dight relief pitcher is one of the main assets of con- tending club, Johnson is beginning to rank as one of the most valuable players in the Red Sox pennant picture. He has established himself as the only first class relief pitcher in the American League in the campaign thus far and the only reason that he hasn't been buster is because the Boston starters have gotten by without much help.
 Won Three Relief Jobs
 He has made three relief appear ances to date and in each case he has emerged the winning pitcher. Moreover, during his chores as fireman" he has given up only one run and just four hits in IS 1-2 in- nings
 The lanky curve and fast.I ball finger figures that his war experi- enceS in 'fhot theater" gave him the perfect temperament for his job of saving other fellows games. After being under gunfire, the rat tie of base hits isn't likely to be up- setting he reasons-particularly when the enemy batters don't get any.
 Johnson ran his string of score less innings to 10 yesterday when he came in and pitched five hitless frames to beat the Tigers at De- troit, 6 to 4. He was behind when he entered the game as a successor to Jim Bagby, but he made up for that at the plate with two timely doubles. His first in the seventh enabled him to score the tying run and in the eighth he drove in the deciding tallies. The Tigers took a 4 to 0 lead in the first two innings when the Red Sox made four er- TOTS. George Metkovich got one of the tallieS back with homer in the third off Virgil Trucks, who was driven to cover when Boston made four straight singles in a two-run fifth.
 The Red Sox increased their lead to six full games when Bob Teller of Cleveland topped the Yankees, ' to 3 on five-hit job. It was his first appearance against New York since he pitched no-hit, no-run game at Yankee Stadium, April 30. He pitched Q hitless game for four and two-thirds innings until Bill Dickey tagged him for a clean single in the fifth.
 Hayes Hits Grand Slam
 That ran his string against the Yankees to 13 2-3 innings. After Dickey's hit, he eased up slightly and Tom Henrich hit homer in the sixth. A walk to Charley Keller followed by singles by Joe Gordon and Joe DiMaggio gave New York it's other run. The Indians made four runs in the first inning off Floyd Bevens, three of them on Frankie Hayes grard-slann double.
 The PhilS handed the Cardinals their first one-run defeat of the season at Philadelphia, to with a three-run rally in the sixth that overcame an early St. Louis lead. George Kurowski hit a. two-run St. Louis homer and Ron Northey started the Phils' rally with hom- CT. Al Jurisich, Cardinal caStoff, beat his ex-mates for his third win. The defeat dropped St. Louis into 8 first place tie with Brooklyn. The Cards previously had won five games by a one-run margin.
 Jack Kramer won his third straight game for the Browns, top ping Philadelphia, 4 to 3 in a night game at St. Louis. A three-run rally in which Walt Judnichs sim gle with the bases full was the key blow, gave the Browns the margin they needed in the sixth.
 Pittsburgh at New York and Cin- cinnati at Brooklyn were postponed because of rain in the National and there were no other American League games scheduled.
 YESTERDAYS STAR Re-
 lief Pitcher Earl Johnson of the
 Red SOx, who held Detroit hit