Evening star., 1946-07-13
Holiday Leaders Skid
while Cards Surge;
bosox Boost Lead
By Joe Reiehler
Associated Press Sports Writer

By Joe Reiehler
| Assoeiaisd Press Sport. Writer
Leave 1t to the, unpredictable
Brooklyn Dodgers to upset one Of
major league baseball's most ancient
traditions.
OF the Is National League clubs
that have led the pack on July
only to yield first place to another
team in the past As years, five OF
them represented Brooklyn. And 1t
appeared today that unless the
skidding Dodgers right themselves
pretty quick, they might make it
six Of the last 10.
Their two most recent collapses oc-
CURED in 1912 when the Brooks blew
10-game Independence Day lead
to the st. Louis Cardinals, and last
year when they saw 31a game lead
vanish as the Chicago Cubs over
took them in the second half of
the season.
This year the Dodgers may be
following the same pattern. Last
July 4, Leo Durocher's outfit en-
joyed 7-game edge over the Cards
and looked splendid bet to oppose
the American League entry in the
World Series. Today. exactly six
playing days later, the Redbirds
have narrowed the gap to 31a games,
with an excellent opportunity to
whittle Brooklyn's lead still more
when they engage the Flatbush crew
in 4-game series starting tomor-
row.
Cards Gain IL Games.
The Cardinals gained a game and
half on the league leaders yester-
day by sweeping both ends OF a
double-header from the New York
Giants, 81 and 5-4, while the Chi
cago Cubs handed the Dodgers their
second straight defeat. 1872.
HOWE Pollet gained the distinction
Of ending the Giants mastery over
the Redbirds at Sportsmans Park
which had produced four New York
victories In as many meetings. The
slender New Orleans lefthander not
only limited the Giants to five hits
in outpitching Bill Voiselle in the
opener, but came back to save the
nightcap with brilliant relief chore
in the ninth inning.
Enos Country Slaughter broke
up IL deadlock in the first game
with a run-producing double, and
scored what proved to be the WIN
ming run in the eighth inning of the
nightcap when New York's third
relief pitcher, Bob Joyce, walked
Pinch-hitter Erv Dusak with the
bases loaded to force in Slaughter.
After the first two batters greeted
Red Barrett with singles in the
ninth, Pollet was summoned from
the bullpen and proceeded to hold
the dangerous Johnny Mize to
short outfield fly before pitching an
inning-ending double-play ball to
Ernie Lombardi.
Lowrey Leads Cubs to Win.
Led by little Peanuts Lowrey, who
rammed home seven runners and
scored three on home run and two
singles, the Cubs battered three
Brooklyn hurlers for Is hits and
easily notched their fifth straight
home triumph over the Dodgers.
The Cubs shelled Starter Rex
Barney from the hill in the opening
stanza with a flve-run barrage and
continued their assault on Art
Herring and Hal Gregg. Hank Wyse
weathered a bad first inning when
Brooklyn scored its runs and went
on to register his ninth victory.
Dave (Boo) Ferriss gained his 18th
pitching success and his eighth
straight over Detroit as the Ameri-
can League-leading Boston Red Sox
defeated the Tigers. AZ, to increase
their margin over the idle New York
Yankees to eight games. A crowd
of 26,290 increased the Red Sox at
tendance for 40 home games to 740,-
SIT, 10000 more than their previous
record high set in 1912.
Rudy York, ex-Tiger, provided the
winning runs for the league leaders
when he slammed his 1lth home run
with one man on base in the eighth
inning. The blow came off Virgil
Trucks with 80 count on him.
Sain Hurls One Hitter.
Johnny Sain pitched one-hitter
as the Boston Braves eked out q 10
decision over the Cincinnati Reds.
A double by Grady Hatton in the
first inning prevented the elongated
right-hander from registering per-
feet game as Hatton was the only
Redleg to reach base. The Braves
collected nine hits off Ewell Black
well and pushed over the winning
run in the fifth on successive singles
by Bama Rowell, Billy Herman and
Johnny Hopp.
The .cellar-dwelling Pittsburgh
Pirates quelled ninth-inning Phila-
delphia rally to defeat the Phillies,
4-3, and move to within three games
Of the seventh-place Quakers. The
Phils scored all their runs in the last
two frames and chased Starter Edison
Bahr in the ninth, but Preacher Roe
held them in check. The win snapped
a six-game losing streak for the
Bucs.
With Dick Fowler bagging his
sixth mound win, the Philadelphia
Athletics chased Starter Jack
Kramer with 3-run fourth inning
and went on to defeat the st. Louis
Browns, To.
fsni4,I Na{u,o~on c~o,o