Evening star., 1951-07-21
Gil Coan S Fourth Hit
OF Game Plays Part
In White Sox Defeat
By Burton Hawkins
Siar sioff Correspondent

>far starr correspondent
CHICAGO. July 2I.-Gil Coan's
league-leading batting average Is
beginning to have an effect on the
league standings. The Mats out
fielder-now hitting .344-deliv-
cred four straight hits last night
against the White Sox and the
fourth of these, a ninth-inning
double with two out. figured prom
inently in keeping Chicago In
second place.
In the tense I'll. 10-inning duel
before 35.697 fans Washington
snapped its streak Of 10 straight
losses to the White Sox and threw
the American League race into a
virtual tie among the top four
clubs.
Coan enters today's tussle with
the White Sox possessing q string
OF six successive hits. Gil's ninth
inning double to the leftfield cor
Iner scored Eddie Yost all the way
from first base with the tying run.
The Mats surged ahead to stay In
the 10th on singles by Mickey
Vernon and Sam Mele and Cass
Michaels' infield out.
Coan Locks Up Game.
At time when 1t appeared any
White Sox pennant would be won
over the dead bodies" Gf the Mats,
the Washington team came alive
at the proper moment. After
Pinch-Hitters Sherry Robertson
and Clyde Kluttz failed in the
ninth. Yost got a break when his
grounder bounded over Third
Baseman Orestes Minoso's head
into left field for a single. Coan,
who had singled three times and
walked once previously, supplied
the blow to lock the game.
Vernon opened the 10th with
single to center and again the
Mats were lucky when Mele backed
away from an inside pitch and
lofted a single to right. Pete
Runnels famed, but Michaels
trickled a slow roller to Short
stop Chico Carrasquel and
Vernon scored as Cass was being
thrown out.
Thus the Mats ended the spell
Lou Kretlow held over them. He
previously had accounted for both
his victories this season at the
Mats expense with pair of four
hitters and it was Coan who shat
tered q string Of II scoreless
innings he has tossed against
Washington.
Hitting .438 on Trip.
Coan, a .438 hitter on a trip
which has featured six Washing
ton wins in II games, prevented
Sid Hudson from absorbing loss.
Mickey Harris came along to
pitch hitless ball in the last two
innings, but got in trouble with
two out in the 10th when he
walked Minoso and Eddie Robin
son. Don Lenhardt then shot a
Ione-hop grounder to Yost. who
stepped on third to force Minoso.
/ The Sox scored their only run
lin the fifth when Nelson Fox
Itripled and Minoso singled. In
the next three innings Hudson
allowed only one hit, but the Mats
couldn't stir up enough attack to
present him a conquest.
7 In the fourth straight night
overtime game played by the
white Sox. the Mats blew numer-
lous scoring opportunities. They
loaded the bases with one out in
the first inning when Coan and
IIrv Noren singled and Vernon
walked, but Mele slammed into a
double play.
4 Mats Miss Good Chance.
/ Four other times the Mats ad-
vanced runners to second base
but couldn't bring 'em home.
They allowed a good chance to
vanish in the seventh when they
loaded the bases with one out,
but Mickey Grasso overran third
base on Coan's third single and
was erased for the second out.
Noren then fouled out.
/ Hudson and Harris held the
Whiteg Sox to eight hits, with
Minoso contributing three, while
Coan's barrage led the Mats H.
hit attack.
Vernon and Ed Stewart, former
Washington player, made threat
Iening gestures In the fifth inning
when Vernon claimed Ed stepped
on his foot In a close play at first
base. Umpire Bill Summers col
Ilared Stewart, though, and sent
him on his way.
Randy Gumpert, with rs rec
ord, was to face the Mats julio
Moreno in today's. game. The
Mats will send Chico Marrero and
Fred Sanford against the White
Sox in tomorrow's double-header