Evening star., 1947-04-07
Vets Comebacks Seer
Big Boost by Pilot;
Rally nips Phils
By Burton Hawkins
ster stoff Correspondent

Uy UuItOs tI0WNHhS
| stor Stuff Correspondent
| ATLANTA, Ca, April THE
Mats are creeping out of the South
| with q club which will finish no
worse than third in the American
League pennant scrap. according TO
Manager ossie Bluege. who rates
the comebacks OF Third Baseman
Cecil Travis, Outfielder George Case
and Pitcher Sid Hudson as the most
pleasant events OF Washington's
spring training campaign.
Barring injuries" says ossie, I'VE
ought to be one-two-three In the
pennarlt race. II Mickey Vernon or
any of our key men is hurt, we'll be
in bad shape because our replace
ments aren't good IT we can survive
the season with our regular lineup,
though. we'll do all right.
II believe this club has better
spirit than any team I've managed.
We've gotten rid of the trouble
makers and the boys now on the
club are hustling-tlney want to win.
Well be tough to beat and with a
few breaks we may be In the battle
for the pennant. I'm not just talk
ing, I mean it when I say we'll be
in contention.
ReplacementS Lacking.
1--WE can't afford to have anybody
hurt and I'm crossing my fingers
against that possibility. II Johnny
Sullivan is hurt, for instance, we
haven't a legitimate shortstop on
the club to replace him. We're try
ing to get Mark Christman from the
st. Louis Browns to protect us
against that eventuality.
This ball club will hit and our
defense should be adequate. Bobo
Newsom, Earl Wynn, Sid Hudson
and Mickey Haefner give us the
nucleus of an exceptional pitching
staff. If we can come up with an
other steady starting pitcher. we'll
make it rocky road for Boston,
New York and Detroit. uH
Travis improvement has been
remarkable. Fans who saw him as
a dead-legged infelder last season
will be amazed at his ability. He's
giving us protection We lacked at
third base last year and he's hit
ting like the Travis of 1912.
Hudson is pitching better than
ever and Case seems to be sound
physically. I'd say the comebacks
of Hudson. Travis and Case have
made contending ball club of US
Mats Win Hard Way.
When Bluege chats of the Mats
hitting he beams, and understand
ably. In their last three games the
Mats have pounded Pittsburgh and
Philadelphia Phillies pitchers for
43 hits and % runs. Washington
got its fifth straight exhibition vic
tory yesterday, outlasting the Phil
lies, lilo, in a getaway game at
Orlando.
The Mats tralled, 10-4, as late as
the sixth inning. The Phillies
caught Newsom on an off day and
pounded him for seven runs in the
five innings he labored, with Johnny
Wyrostek blasting home run with
the bases loaded in the second
inning and Schoolboy Rowe ham,
mering a 400-foot home run over
the trees fringing left field with
none on in the fourth inning.
Washington, which had clustered
three runs off Rowe in the first
inning. picked up another in the
fourth. but the Pllillies grasped a
1914 advantage in the sixth when
Ron Northey shelled Walter Mas
terson for a two-run homer after
Johnny Sullivan's error had per-
mitted a previous run.
Wooten's Wallop Tells.
The Mats ushered Ken Raffens-
berger into the game with two
run outburst in the seventh, then
nicked him for three more runs in
the eighth as Stan Spence singled,
Earl Wooten doubled and Sherry
Robertson and Frank Mancuso
tripled.
With two out in the ninth, the
Phillies seemingly were headed for
a 1919 triumph. Eddie Yost opened
the Mats ninth with a single to
left, but George Case famed and
Joe Grace flied out. At that juno
ture, Spence inserted a lusty double
to center, scoring Yost with the
tying run, and Wooten followed
with a looping single to center.
fetching Spence home with the win
ming run.
Spences two doubles and a single
sparked the Mats 19-hit attack,
while Northey's home run, double
and single led the Phillies' 10-hit
production.
Masterson struck out six and al
lowed only three hits in his four
innings on the mound, but with two
out in the sixth inning, Sullivan
sabotaged him by throwing wild
past first base after fielding Del
Ennis grounder with two out. The
Phillies then mauled Masterson for
three runs.
Sid Hudson was slated to pitch
here today as the Mats sought
sixth successive win and their third
straight over the Phillies. Wash
ington has won 13 and lost g.
exhibition games, while the Phils
have won only 8 of their II tiffs
with major league clubs.