Evening star., 1950-03-20

Scarborough Alone
Effective on Slab;
No Help in Sight
By Burton Howkins
Stor Stoff Correspondent

SARASOTA, Fla, Mar. 90
The Mats are running true to
form and there's no indication the
pattern will be altered this week,
at least against major league op-
position.
Here to tangle with the Boston
Red Sox today after dropping
Al decision to Detroit yesterday
at Oralando, the Mats will battle
the New York Yankees on We'd
nesday, obtain a breather against
their Chattanooga farmhands on
Thursday, then clash with the
Philadelphia Phillies on Friday
and the Red Sox again on Satur-
day.
Already the Mats have demon
strated two glaring defcie, cies-
they won't belt good pitching and
their own pitching is inadequate.
Both of those shortcomings
were evident as the Mats lost their
fifth game in six starts to Detroit.
Washington fashioned only four
hits against the combined pitch
ing of Virgil Trucks and Art
Houtteman.
Scarborough Is Effective.
Ray Scarborough, the Mats lone
dependable pitcher last season
stymied the Tigers with a one
hi4 norf forr,onoo for fo,,r i,,rivrc
but after he left the premises it
was the same old story. Detroit
cuffed Dick Welteroth for three
runs in the sixth and added an
other off Connie Marrero in the
eighth.
Meanwhile the Mats weren't
knocking down fenses. They pro-
PEELED only six balls beyond the
infleld and against Houtteman in
the last four innings they didn't
get hit and they didn't knock a
ball out of the infield.
Bucky Harris is desperate for
pitching help and he was hoping
to gain some encouragement from
the work of Mickey Harris ard
Dick Weik today. Weik thus far
has been wild and ineffective, fail
ing to recapture the form of late
last season when he finished the
year with 26 consecutive scoreless
innings.
1t is unlikely, though. that
Harris will get enough aid from
his current pitching staff. He
must rely on picking up castoffs
from other clubs and seldom are
bargains obtained on the waiver
list.
/. Weak in Trading Material.
Washington is handicapped. too,
in trade talks. Their only pur-
sued specimens are Scarborough
and First Baseman Eddie Robin
son and the Mats rapidly are los
ing whatever advantage. they
might have held in trade discus
SionS.
The Mats now are frantic, or
should be, and other clubs will be
quick to realize it. The value Of
Scarborough and Robinson thus
is slipping with each additional
defeat absorbed by Washington.
Washington's spring training
behavior is dwindling their num-
Der of fans. The Mats have
whipped only a Phillies club
which employed one regular and
have been walloped twice by the
Philadelphia Athletics and once
each by the Yankees, st. Louis
Cardinals and Detroit.
, The Mats only run yesterday
was in the nature of a gift. In
the fourth inning, Sam Dente
walked and was forced by Iry
Noren. When Robinson ground
ed to Shortstop Johnny Lipon he
threw wild past second trying to
force Noren and Irv scooted to
third on the error. Ed Stewards
fly to Johnny Groth fetched
Noren across.
AOAASS Oh VvCAtCIO OtHs
That 10 lead existed until the
sixth. when Welteroth walked
George Kell with one out. Vic
Wertz doubled and Pat Mullin
walked to fill the bases and
Groth's single scored two runs.
Mullin later scored from third on
Dick Kryhoski's grounder.
Wertzs single, a walk to Mullin
and Robinsons bobble of Myron
Ginsberg's grounder cost the Mats
another run in the eighth.
MATS NOTES Charley Keller
started in left field for the Tigers
but retired in the third inning
after pulling a muscle in his side.
I. The play of the game was
made by Eddie Yost, who con-
tributed diving stab of Groth's
liner in the second inning.
/. Pitcher Joe Haynes presented
his son, Brucie, with a catcher's
mask and the 3-year-old slept
with it on Saturday night. i.
Ever since he has been eight
months old Brucie has slept with
a miniature bat and ball in his
bed.