Evening star., 1949-07-02
| Nat Morale Hard Hif
AS Yanks Grab Game
when Harris Blows
By Burton Hawkins

1t was a game that might have
wrenched the heart from a coura-
geous champion-the Mats tre-
mendous losing struggle with New
York last highland there's q
suspicion the Washington base
ball club died in the course of
their latest contact with the
Yankees.
1t was a game that had every
thing-fielding SO superb as to be
almost unbelievable. pitching both
spotty and brilliant. the election
of Nat Manager Joe Kuhel by
Umpire Joe Paparella and Eddie
Robinson's 10th homer which pro-
jected WASHINGTON int9 a Al lead
entering the ninth.
1t was a pulsating battle which
the sixth-place Mats might have
employed as stepping stone to
a comeback. but 1t was game
which the Mats lost, 50. Therein
lies a tale of sadness. for it was
a blow from which the detected
Mats may not recover.
The game blew up in the Mats
faces with startling suddenness.
Mickey Harris, who had permitted
only six hits and walked two-one
intentionally-in the first eight
innings, walked Joe Di Maggie,
Bill johnson and Johnny Lindell
to open the ninth.
Keller's Triple Topples Mats.
Pinchhitter Gene Woodling
greeted Dick Welteroth with a
single that scored Di Maggie. but
johnson was out on Ed Stewart's
throw to the plate. Pinchhitter
Yogi Berra's single scored Lindell
and into that situation stepped
a third successive pinchhitter.
Charley Keller, to face Lloyd
Hittle.
Charley delivered q booming
triple just beyond the grasp of
Rightfielder Sam Mele. scoring
Woodling and Berra, before Jerry
Coleman popped out and George
Stirnweiss flied to Clyde Vollmer
in center.
With one out in the Mats ninth.
Mele walked, but Joe Page famed
Vollmer. Gil Coan then was
rushed into the game to run for
Mele and promptly stole second.
There the potential tying run ex-
pired, for Page also struck out
Robinson.
That was it. The score read
Sd, but it fails to portray the
Mats heartbreak. 1t fails to show
the terrific stab and throw made
by Shortstop Sam Dente on Jack
Phillips smash back of second
in the seventh. It probably was
the finest pay of Sans career
and choked off two runs at
time when the Mats were nursing
a 81 lead.
Heinrich Has Narrow Escape
The Mats gave it everything and
lost to a club which also was going
the limit. The run that sent the
Mats into q 81 lead, in fact.
stemmed from a foul ball which
First Baseman Tommy Heinrich
plunged into the Washington dug
out to snare.
It could have been costly, for
Heinrich impaled himself atop the
Mats upended bats in the rack.
1t whammed the breath out of
him and when he collapsed in
front of the dugout steps Vollmer
scampered across from third.
Heinrich recovered and resumed
play, only to be the victim Of a
collision with Vollmer at first two
innings later.
The Yankees had scored on
three singles in the fourth, bat the
Mats bounced back with two out
in their fourth to lock the score.
They poured five singles into that
inning, yet produced their lone
run when Catcher Charley Silvera
dropped Shortstop Jerry Cole
mans throw to the plate.
1t was that sort Of game-the
type that yanks the heart from a
skidding club holding ideas Of a
comeback.
| Di Maggio's home-run streak is
over-or at least interrupted for a
while. Harris held the Yankee
Clipper to one hit-a looping sin
gle to right in the fourth inning
but that hit figured in New York's
| first run.
Sid Hudson was to face the
Ileague-leaders' Tommy Byrne to-
day, with Paul Calvert due to
oppose the Yankees Allie Reyn-
olds tomorrow.