Evening star., 1952-07-30
Mats Still Losinq
|ButThey' reno. |
In Luck Division
Only 6h Comes Bock
Despite J Defects
In 9 Games on Trip
By Burton Howkins
Sfor SfoH Correspondent

| Sfor Sfotf @ofreSpon0enS
4 ST. LOUIS, July 30-The Mats,
who can't seem to beat anybody
at the moment, are the luckiest
team in baseball. They've lost
seven of nine games on this trip
and normally would have faded
from the pennant picture. but
they're still a first division club
and aren't losing much ground
to the Yankees.
When the Mats launched their
road trip with a defeat by Detroit
while New York was polishing off
Cleveland in a doubleheader,
Washington dropped 61a games
off the pace. The Mats have been
walloped in six of their last eight
games, yet still are only 61a games
back.
But if the Yankees have been
having a tough time, so have the
Mats. They're not hitting and last
night their slump-shaker, Spec
Shea, was well-pounGed as the
Browns won. 7-s. before 1906
fans.
Porterfield Pitches Tonight.
Tonight the Mats will rely on
Bob Porterfield, who has won only
one game in five weeks, to break
their four-game losing streak.
Bob, who has whipped st. Louis
for three of his seven wins, will
be opposed by Tommy Byrne, a
three time loser to the Mats.
While the Mats may take an
optimistic viewpoint of their
slump and reason they're still in
the thick Of things. they may have
missed an opportunity to become
the sensations of the season. With
only reasonable success on this
trip they could have been press
ing the Yankees for the lead.
The Mats are approaching a
flve-game series with the Yankees,
starting August 4 at Washington.
They'd prefer to be breathing on
New York's neck entering that
set. but it would require q sudden
form reversal on their part,
coupled with a Yankees slump, to
achieve their objective.
YOst Denoted.
Bucky Harris has given his line
up a slight shaking up. demoting
Eddie Yost from the leadoff spot
to No. z in the batting order and
leading off with Gil Coan. But
Bucky realizes he can't substitute
q .226 hitter like Coan for a
1872 one and hope for great i'm
provement.
The Mats need a general batting
uplift. Yost's feeble hitting has
been costly to the club. but he
has company.
Shea's string of victories was
stopped at six last night. with the
Browns humping him for five runs
in the first three innings. st.
Louis took advantage of his Wild
ness in the first inning to score
three runs after AL Zarilla was hit
by a pitched ball and Bob Nieman
beat out an inf1eld single.
They advanced on a wild pitch
and Clint Courtney walked to f1ll
the bases. Jim Dyck's fly to Coan
scored Zarilla and enabled the
other runners to move up on the
throw to the plate. Jim Desling|
got them across with a single to|
center. Courtney blasted a two
run homer in the third to lift the
Browns into a SO lead.
Vernon Triples.
Mickey Vernon's triple, followed
by a Ned Carver wild pitch, pro-
duced a run for the Mats in the
fifth and they made it So in the
sixth on singles by Coan and
Jackie Jensen, plus walks to Pete
Runnels and Vernon. The Mats
had the bases filled with two out
in that session. but Floyd Baker
popped to Joe DeMaestri at short
stop.
The Browns added two more
runs off Joe Haynes in the seventh
to seal the game before the Mats
nicked Earl Harrist for a run in
the eighth on Jim BuSby's double
and Runnels' single.
The Mats and Browns will clash
again tomorrow night. Washing
ton then will shift to Chicago for
a four-game series starting Friday
night.