Walter Johnson Leads Senators Past Browns as Washington Eyes Pennant Race

Table of Contents

• Zachary and Ogden Likely to Duel at Ball Park
  • Browns Seeking Even Break in Fourth Game Today
  • Family Freezout
  • Koenig Has Cracked
  • League Standings
• Looking 'Em Over
  • They Now Report Progress
  • Batsmen Waking Up
  • Joe Judge's Vacation

ZACHARY AND OGDEN LIKELY TO DUEL AT BALL PARK

BROWNS SEEKING EVEN BREAK IN FOURTH GAME TODAY

By Louis A. Dougher

The St. Louis Browns close their second series of the season in the Capital today. They are lagging behind the Griffs, but victory today will give them an even break for the season and also for this series. The Griffs have won six out of eleven games from the Browns and two out of three played on the present visit of the Mound City troupe to the Griffith Stadium.

Jezebel Tecumseh Zachary and Curly Ogden are scheduled to perform on the hill in today's conflict. Win Ballou registered a victory in the opening game and Zachary would very much like to follow his example, thus giving the fans a bitter taste whenever they think of that February trade of Ballou and Zachary for Joe Bush and Johnny Tobin.

...well enough until the eighth when a bomb exploded in his pocket.

Oscar Melillo whipped a single to center for a starter in the third, racing around to third on George Sisler's two-bagger to right. Marty McManus walked, filling the bases, and Bing Miller's bounce to Ossie Bluege brought death to Melillo at the plate.

Before Harry Rice could bludgeon a bingle to right the Browns engineered successfully a triple steal, an oddity when Walter Johnson is on the hill. Sisler easily beat Johnson's pitch to the plate and then Rice brought both McManus and Miller over on his single to right. Johnson then fanned Leo Dixon and Heinie Gerber's fly to Goose Goslin ended the Browns' scoring for the entire day.

Durst and Sisler wasted a couple of hits in the fourth and Harry Rice and Wally Schang did likewise in the fifth, Johnson rising to the emergency against Ken Williams and Herschel Bennett, pinch-hitters.

Giard was burned to a crisp in the fourth. With one gone Joe Harris tripled to the wall in right center. Bluege doubled to left. Muddy Ruel walked and Johnson hammered a scorching double down the third-base line. Two runs were in, Ruel was on third and Johnson on second, when McNeely, to keep up the good work, singled to right. Ruel was over with the tying tally and Johnson scored when Dixon dropped Harry Rice's throw. McNeely reached third on that error, scoring when Bucky Harris singled. Five runs were in when Bucky died stealing and Sam Rice fouled to Schang.

In attempting to take the wide throw from the outfield and then fall across Johnson's path, Leo Dixon stabbed awkwardly toward the pitcher's legs and suffered a broken wrist as a result. Wally Schang replaced him and Dixon is probably out for several weeks until the fracture heals.

Wingard opposed the champions in the fifth and held his own until the eighth when he got it on the button. Ken Williams' wretched misjudgment of a fly ball gave Bluege a triple for a starter, Ruel's single scoring him. Bucky Harris doubled to left, scoring Ruel, and Wingard's wild pitch scored the Washington manager with the final run of the day.

Family Freezout

The Thompson brothers of Toronto—William J., Frank and Stanley—finished one-two-three in the qualifying round for the amateur golf championship of Canada against 108 of the best players in the Dominion.

Koenig Has Cracked

History lovers will not fail to note that the cracking of Mark Koenig, the Yank shortstop, took place one hundred and fifty years after the cracking of the Liberty Bell.

League Standings

AMERICAN LEAGUE

STANDING OF CLUBS

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

• WASHINGTON, 8; St. Louis, 3.
• Cleveland, 8; New York, 3.
• (Only games scheduled)

GAMES TODAY

• St. Louis at WASHINGTON.
• Cleveland at New York.
• Chicago at Philadelphia.
• Detroit at Boston.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

STANDING OF CLUBS

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

• New York, 5; Cincinnati, 0.
• Brooklyn, 2; Chicago, 1.
• St. Louis, 7-5; Boston, 2-19.

GAMES TODAY

• Boston at St. Louis.
• Brooklyn at Chicago.
• New York at Pittsburgh.
• Philadelphia at Cincinnati.

LOOKING 'EM OVER

With Louis A. Dougher

THEY NOW REPORT PROGRESS

A MONTH ago the champions were very much in the doldrums. They were staggering around, taking one blow after another right on the chops, too weak to defend themselves. Here and there were whisperings of impending execution for some of the boys. It seemed the general conclusion that the race for them, with the Yankees running away to a hollow triumph. Huh, that was a month ago.

Step into the Griffs' clubhouse today and note the difference. No longer do the boys consider dismally together in the corner. No more does one hear of the coming Yankee victory. No more do the Griffs figure themselves out of the 1926 pennant race. They are enthusiastically figuring out ways and means for overtaking the weakening Yankees and striding across the finish line in first place and then falling upon the National League winners and rend them limb from limb in the world series of October.

Since splitting even with the Yankees in New York on July 1 the champions have won five out of their seven games played at home, not mentioning a tied score with the Yankees. In other words, the Griffs are maintaining a winning stride of .714 during the past week or so.

As the Griffs had won ten of the previous fifteen games, averaging .667, their new pace is seen to be faster. They may be said to be fairly under way to higher and better things.

And what will they do to the opposition when Goose Goslin begins driving in runs? Throughout this onward rush of the champions Goslin has steadily failed in the pinches. He is keeping a high average, but he has fallen far below his average for timeliness in his clouts.

Goslin is anxious to hit when hits are needed. He is so anxious that he is "pressing," to use a phrase stolen from golf. The slugging gardner is apparently worrying too much and, until he settles down in his mind, he will hardly do much better than he has been doing.

But, even without the murderous slams of the Wild Goose of the Potomac, the champions now report progress. They are going somewhere—and that is not backward.

Today the champions, riding in fourth place, are ten and a half games behind the Yankees and but three and a half behind the second-place Mackmen. They are so close on the heels of the White Sox that victory today will bounce them into third place, provided the Mackmen wallop th' Westerners again.

Yes, the champions now report progress—and can prove it.

Batsmen Waking Up

THE Griffs won three of their four games played last week. They scored 36 runs on 52 safe hits.

The Mackmen won six out of seven games played, scoring 45 runs on 72 safe hits.

The Griffs averaged nine runs and 13 hits to a game, with the Mackmen averaging 6.42 runs and 10.28 hits to a game.

The Yankees won two and lost three games, scoring 21 runs on 50 hits, an average of 4.2 runs and 10 hits to a game.

The champions, judging from these figures, were playing a much faster brand of baseball than either Eastern contender, the Yankees or Mackmen.

Washington's batsmen are waking up and, with their veteran hurlers delivering the goods, there is trouble ahead for everybody.

Joe Judge's Vacation

Joe Judge has been benched indefinitely—which is generally from three to five days—for offending Umpire Ormsby. Joe, disgusted at being called out when he thought himself safe, tossed a handful of dirt into the air as he knelt on the ground near second base. Then, on being banished, he waved his arms, further enraging the arbitrator.

This writer is not an umpire. Second base is too far from the press box, though not too far away from many loud-voiced bugs up in the back row. They must have gimlet eyes.

If Ormsby, standing within eight feet of second base, called Judge out, he very likely was, no matter what he himself thought about it.

But it was a GOOD THING for the Griffs that Judge made his kick and got the air. Judge evidently was fighting for everything, serving as an example to the others. Only fighting players are banished by the umpires. The milk-and-water players go right along, doing nothing. If their team wins—well, all right. And if it doesn't—well, all right.

No pennants are won by milk-and-water players. Pennants are won by PLAYERS WHO FIGHT FOR THEM.

Bucky Harris drove his players into their 1924 world series. If they have the proper spirit, he may yet drive them into the 1926 world series. Joe Judge evidently won't need much driving.