Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-07-27
Improvement in Pitching
May Move Senators Up
CIevenger Gets
Chance toMutch
Ramos Victory
BY BURTON HAWKINS

Truman Clevenger will at
tempt to match the Senator'S
longest winning streak of the
season-a modest compilation
Of four--today when he takes
the mound at Griffith Stadium
against Kansas City's Ned
Carver.
1t would be a propitious time
for Clevenger to notch his first
win in six weeks, following the
Senators 80 triumph over the
Athletics last night before 4,097,
for Washington now is within
whispering distance of seventh
place.
Pete Ramos route-going
eight-hitter last night moved
the Senators within a game
and a half of Kansas City. and
Washington is hopeful of end
ing its three-month tenancy of
the cellar by taking today'S
tussle and a pair tomorrow.
A pitching perk-up has
helped Cookie Lavagetto'S dun
geon jewellers appear more re-
since the All-Star
game. Since that vacation
they've won nine of Is games.
and while the improvement is
belated it nevertheless is well
come.
Winning Close Ones
Ramos Joined Chuck Stobbs.
Russ Kemmerer and Camilo
Pascual as a rebounding hurler
in chucking his seventh victory.
He owned a three-hitter until
the eighth. giving up two runs
in a nervous ninth inning, to
which Senators fans are be-
coming accustomed.
For the sixth straight time
the Senators figured in a game
decided by one run and for
the fourth time they won.
They did it despite accumulat-
ing only four hits against
Arnold Portocarrero, Tom
Morgan and Jack Urban in
dealing Kansas City a fourth
loss in a row.
In their last eight games the
Senator's pitchers have allowed
only Is runs.
Portocarrero pitched four
hitlesS innings last night before
Art Schult broke an 0 for %
string by Slashing a liner which
Third Baseman Hector Lopez
dropped after leaping to grab
it. Bob Usher followed with a
triple to the rightfield corner.
Portocarrero complained of
shoulder misery and departed
in the sixth inning. Morgan
came along to walk Pete Run
nels and with one out Roy
Sievers brought him around
with a double to center. Walks
to Lou Berberet and Schult
loaded the bases and Sievers
scored after Usher flied to
center.
Threatened In Ninth
That was it for the Senators,
but not for the AS. Reaching
for his first shutout since he
BANKED the White Sox July 80.
1855. Ramos yielded a single to
Billy Martin with one out in
the ninth. He famed Bob Cerv,
but Woody Held cracked a dou-
BILE to right. scoring Martin.
Held took third unmolested
and scored on Gus Zernial's
pinch single. Struggling for a
shutout only a moment previ-
ously. Ramos now was in jeop-
ar6y of losing the decision. but
he got pinch-hitter Vic Powers
to lift a game-ending pop fly
to Shortstop Rocky Bridges.
NOTES: Stobbs and Pascual
will face the AS Alex Kellner
and Ralph Terry in tomorrow's
double-header starting at l
o'clock. Manager Lou
Boudreau Of the AS was elected
in the sixth inning when he
beloved loud and long to Um-
pire Jim Honochick about a
ball call on Schult.
Ramos was forced TO get an
other glove in the second in
ming when Boudreau COM
planned about the one he was
using Foreign substance
on 1t. and Honochick tossed it
out.
PITCHERS