Evening star., 1946-08-15
Batting Skid Menace,
MATS 4th-Spot Grip;
Yanks Win Easily
By Burton Howkins
Stor Stoff CORRESPONDENT

NEW YORK, Aug. 15.-Dutch
Leonard and his knuckle ball no
longer are battling the leagues hit
tiers. The Mats pudgy right-hander
has dropped five successive games
and six of his last seven starts, but
more annoying to Manager Ossie
Bluege than Leonard's lapse is the
rapid vanishing of Washington's at
tack.
Leonard has been no ball of fire
in recent weeks, but stumbling along
with him have been Washington s
batters. Only twice in their last 16
games have the Mats amassed as
many as five runs in a game, and
this has pl" ced a tremendous bur-
den on the pitching staff.
In six of Washington's last eight
games the Mats have failed to mus
ter more than seven hits. They
suddenly have become the soft
touch batting order of the league
and while the pitching has soured
bit, the Mats lack of power is
making their mound misery seem
slight by comparison.
Mats Slip Badly Afield.
Coupled with the Mats skidding
swatting has been a dismal display
of fielding. The Mats, leading the
league in misplays, have committed
10 errors In their last games and
over the span of their last 16 games
their fielding has been as shoddy as
their hitting. AS a result, the Mats
show only five victories over that
stretch.
Thus they find their first-divi-
sion status jeopardized by the Cleve-
land Indians, who are threatening
from two games back and are Ger
tain to nudge the Mats into fifth
place unless Washington's batting
department suddenly snaps out
of it.
Confronted with seven games In
four days, the Mats are faced with
the prospect of emerging from their
hitting shortage or returning tc
Washington a second-division club
on Sunday night. They were to
meet the Yankees in a double
header here today, will battle the
Athletics at Philadelphia tomorrow
night, then face the AS in double
headers on Saturday and Sunday
Mickey Haefner and Early Wynn
were Bluege's choice to take the
mound against New York today
with the Yankees shooting Randy
Gumpert and Bill Wight at the
Mats. Both Yankee pitchers re-
Gently spanked the Mats at Wash
ington.
Yankees Get to Leonard.
Slammed for six hits and three
runs in the first three innings last
night before 1856 customers
Leonard braced to permit only one
hit in the last four innings he
labored, but meanwhile the Mats
weren't disturbing Floyd Bevens
who won his 18th game, Al.
The Yankees picked up a run In
the first inning when Bill johnson
singled to left and continued to
second on Gil Coan's muff, to score
on Tommy Henrich's single.
Washington obtained its only run
in the second. With one out, Cecil
Travis beat out an infield tap and
took second on Billy Hitchcock S
single to left. Jake Early drilled
an easy grounder to Snuffy Stirn-
weiss, whose toss to Shortstop Phil
Rizzuto forced Hitchcock. Billy up
set Phil as the latter attempted to
complete a double-play. Phils
throw sailed into the Yankee dugout
and Travis counted.
Aaron Robinson Immediately
lifted the Yankees to a 81 lead
by lifting Leonard pitch into the
right-field stands leading off in the
second inning. The Yankees scored
again in the third when Joe Di
Maggio's triple brought johnson
across and they scored again in
the ninth off Sid Hudson.
SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION.
Nashville 5-R. Rirninrham LA