The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-07-31
Brooklyn Beats Cardinals First Game Of Important Series

For Dodgers
 In Clutch
 New York, July 31 1-(UP)- Leo Durocher, orating to any one who would volunteer to listen, was dis cussing one of his Dodgers.
 He can't hit, he can't run, he isn't a sure felder-but he's the best darned player on this club" he said.
 That's pesky Eddie Stanky-to- days hero in Flatbush.
 Stanky beat the Cardinals last night, 3 to l, giving Brooklyn a vital opening victory in the big three game series with the Cardi- nals, which boosted the Dodger first place margin to 31a games.
 Made Talked About Play
 The hard-losing little second baseman from Mobile, Ala, who has fancy ball players vocabu- lary but can't even pronounce the word defeat, played exactly accord ing to Durocher's description of him. He got no hits, he didn't run sensationally and he was no whizz af1eld-until the ninth.
 Then came a clutch play he had to make, one of those impossible stops that live long in the memory of the fans who saw it, and he made it. The Dodgers were ahead 3 to 1, but Stan Musial had gotten on via an error and George Kur- oWski had coaXed a walk which sent Starter Rube Melton out of the game
 Harry (Little Dixie Walker greeted Relief Pitcher Hank Behr- man with a scorching bounder that went straight over second. looking like a sure two-base hit until Stanky intercepted it with a des- perate lunge and forced Kurowski at second. That ended the Cardi- nal threat and sent Howie Pollet down to his first defeat of the year against Brooklyn and his fifth loss against 12 victories.
 Melton. who was started on a gamble by Durocher, pitched his best game in years for his first vic tory since returning from military service, giving up four hits com pared with the five Pollet yielded
 Dodgers Overtake Lead
 The Cards took a short-Hved lead in the seventh on Musial's double and Rookie Joe GaragIolas sharp single. The Dodgers went ahead to stay in their half when Pee Wee Reese tripled, Dixie Walker singled and Rookie Carl Furillo doubled.
 The Red SoX took a 1242 game lead their widest to date, as Dave Boo Ferriss pitched the American League runaWays to a three Init. 4 to 0 victory at Cleveland for his sixth aautout and his l7ta decision. Ted Williams scored his Tooth run on hls 28th homer and Rip Russell also homered to give FerrIss the batting support he needed. The Shaw, Miss. youngSter struck out three and didn't walk a batter
 Detroit cut the lead Of the dis pirited second place Yankees to a single game. winning a close to 5 decision despite three New York l homers by Tommy Heinrich. Char ley Keller and Aaron Robinson. Virgil Trucks squelehed d Yankee threat in the ninth a run short of | a tie for his l2th victory He struck 1 out B batters
 Jef Heaths three-rum homer 1 cllmaXed wild 1lth inning at St. Louis ln which the Browns topped | the Senators, 6 to 3. Washington | broke 2-all tie with run in the | Huh and St. Louis tied it at 3-aII i before Heath delivered his game winning smash Vern Stephens | and Chet Laabs also hit Brown ! homerS
 As Mighty at Plate
 The Athletics put on one of thelr . rare hitting displays to top the White Sox, 9 to at Chicago. Sam | Chapman hit a three-run homer | n a big six-run seventh inning r The As made IA hits
 The Giants evened the count in | their hard-fought series With the >~'''(ai 't= -NeFN l Ol " 4I4L44II2 J JO in the ninth when Johnny Mize doubled and Goodwin Rosen punched a single past first base for the deciding run of Bill Chipman. the relief hurler who had beaten them in II innings on Monday.
 Lynn Rowe, one of the great comeback stars of l946, scored his llth victory and his fourth in a row for the Phils by beating Cin- cinnati, 8 to al Philadelphia In order to win he had to stop the six game victory streak of another comeback star, lefty Johnny Van dermeer. Catcher Andy Seminick with three singles and a three-run homer was the Phils batting star.
 Pittsburgh at Boston was rained out.
 YESTERDAYS STAR Tett