Friday 31 August 2007

Thursday, August 24, 1950






              W  L  PCT GB
Tacoma ..... 80 48 .625 —
Yakima ..... 81 50 .618 ½
Tri-City ... 69 60 .535 11½
Wenatchee .. 69 61 .531 12
Victoria ... 58 73 .443 23½
Vancouver .. 53 73 .421 26
Salem ...... 54 75 .419 26½
Spokane .... 52 76 .406 28


TACOMA, Aug. 24—With the Western International league's winningest pitcher and swattingest outfielder, Tacoma is going to be a might hard to head off in the remaining two-plus weeks of the season. The combine of hurler Bob Kerrigan and slugger Dick Greco worked to perfection Thursday night as the Tigers knocked off Victoria twice 2-1 and 5-3, stretching their percentage point lead over Yakima to a half game.
Kerrigan gave the Athletics only five hits in the seven-inning opener to mark up his 22nd victory against six defeats.
MARRIED AT PLATE
Married in front of “Greco Gardens” before the first game, Greco, who leads the league in home runs, hits, total bases and runs batted in, celebrated by batting in the winning run in the first game and scoring the untying run in the nightcap. The new Mrs. Greco is the former Evelyn Moore of Victoria, who must have watched the proceedings with mixed feelings.
Ron Smith was once more a tough-luck loser in the opener, dropping his seventh decision by one run when Greco singled in the clincher in the last inning. It was his 32nd one-run defeat handed the A’s, four of them by the Tigers.
John Marshall lost his tenth game trying for his 15th triumph in the nine-inning finale. The big righthander can blame himself for the setback, walking three men who later scored and starting Tacoma’s winning eight-inning rally by passing the first two Tiger hitters.
The A’s scored single runs in the first and second innings with Lou Novikoff and Marshall driving in Bob McGuire and Bill Dunn. A walk, a double by Mike Catron and a triple by Sol Israel made it 2.2 in the third.
A’s TAKE LEAD
Jim Moore’s triple and an outfield fly by Dunn put the A’s ahead in the fourth and they held their margin until the eighth. After Marshall had opened by walking Ron Gifford and Greco, Junior Krug messed up Wimpy Quinn’s ground ball and the Tigers had the sacks loaded with no one out. Orrin Snyder plated one run with a single and Jose Bache drove in Greco and Quinn with another one-base shot.
The A’s just missed tying it up in the ninth when Krug and Novikoff failed to reach “Greco Gardens” with long pokes with two runners on the bags.
The setbacks mathematically eliminated Victoria from the pennant race and moved the Tigers a half-game ahead of the Yakima Bears.
First Game
Victoria ............. 010 000 0—1-5-1
Tacoma ............ 010 000 1—2-7 0
Smith and Ronning; Kerrigan and Sheets.
Second Game
Victoria .......... 110 100 000—3-7-1
Tacoma .......... 002 000 03x—5-6-1
Marshall and Danielson; Knezovich, Anderson (5), Carter (8) and Fischer.

YAKIMA, Aug. 24—The Yakima Bears slugged Wenatchee 9-1 Thursday night.
Yakima was virtually handed its tilt as the Chiefs making five infield miscues good for as many unearned runs. The victor's Dick Larner gave up only six hits and shortstop Pete Coscarart singled four times in five trips to pace the win. Yakima swept the three game series.
Yakima ............... 200 103 021—9-11-1
Wenatchee ......... 000 000 100—1- 6-5
Larner and Tiesiera; Ragni and Neal.

SPOKANE, Aug. 25 (Herald)—The Tri-City Braves were pretty much in the same position as an empty guest house today. There was hardly a pitcher left to go. Last night the Braves sent four hurlers to the mound to stop the thunder of the Spokane bats. The night before they had used three in losing, and last night, it was the same song, second chorus to the tune of 15.
Ward Rockey went all the way for the Indians. It was Cy Greenlaw on the hill for the Braves when the game opened, Dick Stone came on in the fourth, and was followed by Jim Olsen in the sixth. Ken Michelson came on in the seventh to finish out the game. Stone was charged with the loss, his sixth of the year against nine victories.
The losers had their best inning in the third when they counted four times 10 move out in front, the only time they led in the game. A three-run error by Leon Mohr, Spokane second baseman. after two were out started the Braves scoring spree. Mohr bobbled an infield roller hit by Clint Cameron. Neil Bryant then hit a sharp single through Mohr to score Cameron. But Spokane retaliated by pulling the same stunt of scoring four runs in the bottom of the third after two were out.
Ken Michelson gave up a pair of triples when he took over the hill job in the seventh. But the young right hander settled down after that and silenced the Indians.
The Braves open a four-game stand against Wenatchee tonight. The series could easily decide which team is going to
wind up in third place in the 1950 race.
Tri-City .......... 004 201 001— 8-10-1
Spokane .......... 104 304 30x—15-18-4
Greenlaw, Stone (3), Olsen (6), Michelson (7) and Pesut; Rockey and Weatherwax.

VANCOUVER, Aug. 24—Salem nipped Vancouver twice by 3-2 scores on Thursday.
Salem got its twin win the hard way, bunching three of its four hits off Bud Beasley in the third inning of the opener for two runs and combining five of its nine blows in the nightcap's sixth frame for three tallies. Two walks and and an error gave the Oregon runs their other run in the opener. John Tierney was credited with the nightcap triumph his first victory in nearly two months.
First Game
Vancouver ........... 100 100 0—2-10-1
Salem ................. 102 000 x—3-4-1
Beasley and Heisner; Costello and Beard.
Second Game
Vancouver ...... 000 002 000—2-8-0
Salem ............ 000 003 00x—3-9-0
Nicholas and Heisner, Brenner (3); Tierney, Osborn (8) and Martin.

INSIDE STUFF
Ty Cobb, Reno State Journal Sports Editor [from Aug. 25/50]
YAKIMA has been sending S.O.S. signs for Reno's star southpaw pitcher. Pat Monahan. He has been with the Silver Sox on option from the Western International League (Class B) team, and had a 12-7 record with Reno at this writing. Yakima, only a game out of first place in the WIL, lost its only southpaw [Ted Savarese] when the S. F. Seals decided to recall a lefty optionee. Reno doesn't want to part with Irish Patrick, naturally, and the contract does not stipulate any immediate recall term. On the other hand, Yakima and the Seals seem a fine source of future talent for the local independent club and it would behoove the Renos to stay on good terms with them. A recall means a little chunk of dough to the local club, too.
Two other Silver Sox players are optionees from other clubs, but will not be recalled before the season's end. One is Marv Diercks, tall outfielder with a magnificent throwing arm and a .300 batting average. He belongs to Salem of the Western International League, which is connected with Portland of the PCL.

First baseman Ed Whitney is owned by Bakersfield of the California League, of the Cleveland Indians' system. The latter have quite a bit of faith in Whitney's future and felt that he'd start rolling if he played steadily where he could develop.
Bud Beasley had a heart-breaker last night in what is probably his season's last start for Vancouver in the WIL, since he has to return to Reno High teaching chores in a few days. Threw a seven-inning four-hitter at Salem, but lost 3-2, although his teammates picked up 10 blows.

ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald News Editor [from Aug. 25/50]
The Tri-City Braves already have their eyes on a catcher for the 1968 baseball teams. It's the young son born to Mr. and Mrs. Nick Pesut yesterday. The Braves big catcher had been eagerly anticipating this event and particularly so the past few days. In fact he practically wore a path between where ever he was sitting and the nearest telephone booth. It's their first child.
Greco Gardens in Tacoma was the scene of a wedding last night. On the bridegrooms side was the slugging outfielder of the Tacoma Tigers for which the Garden was named. His bride was Miss Evelyn Moore, Victoria, B. C. and a sister of Jim Moore, infielder of the Athletics. Judge Hugh Rosellini of the Pierce County Superior Court, performed the ceremony. Local fans and merchants solved the newlyweds' furnishing problem. They supplied the couple with a complete houseful of furniture and appliances.

HERE'S A NIFTY
Mentioning better than average quotes brings to mind one we were told the other day. It happened when Edo Vanni, now with Spokane, was still playing ball for Victoria. If you've seen Vanni in action you'll recall that he can come up with quite a beef when he thinks he ump has called a bad one on him.
Well that was the situation this night out at Sanders Field. Vanni was jawing away and suddenly this fan cut loose. “That's right Vanni, you tell him. They can't do that to you. Tell him off Edo, don't let him get away with that. Besides the cherry crop is coming in pretty soon.”

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