Evening star., 1958-07-12
FitzGeraId Fast Gaining
Status as Top Al SpoiIer
Beats Tigers
With Another
Lust-Ditch Hit
BY BURTON HAWKINS
star stan writer

star STAN writer
Ed Fitz0erald Is distributing
grief around the league with
his last-ditch pinch hits. Two
weeks ago only the Senator's
part-time catcher stood be-
tween a perfect game for Billy
Pierce but the White Sox left
handler didn't get 1t as Ed sliced
q double to right, and last night
he came through against the
Tigers with two out in the
ninth to stake Washington to
q 6-5 victory.
Again it was a ball down the
rightfield line, smacked OF left
handler Hank Aguirre, which
Fitz employed to lift the SEN
ators to q third straight VIC
tory before q smattering Of
1904 customers.
Sievers TrOtted Over
Ed normally would have been
able to run the hit into at least
a double, since 1t landed near
the fence in the corner, but Roy
Sievers merely had to trot
across from third with the
winning run.
Thus the Senators are in q
position today to manufacture
their first four-game winning
streak of the month. They'll
rely on Hal Griggs to give it
to them. He'll be opposed by
Herman Wehmeier.
The Senators were battling
uphill all the way last night
after the Tigers erupted for
four runs, three of them un-
earned, in the first inning
against Russ Kemmerer.
They kept pecking away. at
Jim Bunning, finally chased
him in the seventh while re-
ducing their deficit to 5-4, then
got to Bill Fischer and Aguirre
in the ninth.
Albie Pearson-a All hitter
in his last is games-opened
the last of the ninth with q
single to left and Sievers fol-
lowed with his third straight
single, Pearson hating at
second. Clint Courtney plopped
down a sacrifice bunt and Jim
Lemon was purposely passed,
filling the bases.
! That left it up to Herb Plews,
who shot a grounder to Short
stop Billy Martin, who delayed
a split second in handling the
ball as Sievers screened 1t, and
the split second was valuable.
Plews barely beat second base
man Frank Bolling's relay to
first in an attempt to get q
double play as Pearson scored
the tying run.
Aguirre supplanted Fischer
at that point and Manager
Cookie Lavagetto summoned
itzGerald from the bullpen to
bat for Neil Chrisley. Ed re-
sponded nobly with his scoring
sock for the Senator'S 18th hit.
Hyde Flies High
Dick Hyde, who pitched the
ninth, registered his fifth win
and in the process reduced his
earned-run average to q flossy
I1.75.
Kemmerer was in trouble at
the outset as Ed Yost bobbled
Harvey Kuenn's grounder and
Martin beat out a bunt. AL
Kaline doubled, scoring Kuenn.
and Gail Harris sacrifice f1y
got Martin across. Plews'
tumble of Tito Francona's
grounder, Bolling's single and
Ossie Virgil's double netted the
Tigers two more runs. Fran
cona's double and Bolling's
single gave them another run
in the third.
The Senators picked UP q
run in the first when Yost
walked and Pearson and Court
ney singled. They added two
more in the seventh when Faye
Throneberry beat out a drag
bunt, YoSt and Sievers singled,
ball and Lemon hit a sacrifice
Courtney was hit by a pitched
fly.
NOTES: The Tigers accumu-
lated 13 hits, IL of Kemmerer
and one each of Truman Clev-
enger and Hyde the Sena-
tors now have q Us record
against Detroit and are 7-4
against Boston The game
got under way Is minutes late
because rain had seeped
through the tarpaulin. The
ground crew had to spread dry
dirt around the infleld.
The Senators sent sore
See SENATOR'S, Page ALI