W L Pct GB
Tacoma ...... 44 31 .587 --
Yakima ...... 43 33 .556 1½
Wenatchee ... 44 34 .564 1½
Tri-City .... 43 35 .551 2½
Spokane ..... 36 41 .468 9
Salem ....... 32 42 .432 11½
Victoria .... 33 45 .423 12½
Vancouver ... 30 44 .405 13½
TACOMA, July 5 — You won't find it shown on city maps, but one of the most popular pieces of real estate in Tacoma is named "Greco's Garden."It's a fenced-off enclosure that cuts the otherwise spacious Western International league centerfield down to 390 feet. There's little question after events the past two days that the Tiger management was thinking more of the ball-clouting proclivities of outfielder Dick Greco than it was of saving steps for rival outfielders.
For the second time in as many days, Greco planted a ball in the area Wednesday night. The eighth inning clout flowered into three runs and a 4-3 victory for the league leaders over Victoria.
The triumph kept Tacoma 1½ games out in front of both Yakima and Wenatchee.
Greco's long ball was the tide-turner in a tight pitching duel.
Three Tacoma hurlers gave up a total of seven blows, the same number the Tigers accumulated off Victoria's Ron Smith.
Until Greco turned the tide, Smith had bested Tom Kipp and Mel Knezovich in a brilliant mound duel. Kipp held the A's hitless until the fifth when John Hack singled but they started to reach him in the late innings.
Tacoma took a 1-0 lead in the fifth, but the A's pushed over the tying run in the sixth on Bob McGuire's double, an infiled out and Jimmy Moore's single. Victoria added a singleton in the seventh and boosted it to 3-1 against Knezovich in the eighth. Then came Greco's blow which gave Knezovich the victory.
The A's threatened in the ninth when Al Ronning singled with one out. He was caught stealing, and McGuire followed with a walk. Tiger manager Jim Brillheart immediately counted with his ace, Bob Kerrigan, who threw one pitch to Marty Krug, forcing him to hround out for the final out.
Victoria ....... 000 001 110—3-7-0
Tacoma ...... 000 010 03x—4-7-0
Smith and Ronning; Kipp, Knezovich (8), Kerrigan (9) and Sheets.
WENATCHEE, July 5—Wenatchee scored its third straight over Vancouver's cellar occupants 10-7 on Wednesday night.
Wenatchee took an early lead over Vancouver but had to beat off a last inning surge that saw the Caps tally three times on a bloop single by Charlie Mead with the bases loaded and nobody out. Manager Bill Brenner then put in righthanded batter George Nicholas to pinch hit and Wenatchee countered with righthanded pitcher Joe Blankenship for southpaw Dave Dahle. Brenner continued the strategy by substituting lefthanded Bud Beasley, but Blankenship struck him out to end the game.
Vancouver ........ 021 000 103— 7-10-3
Wenatchee ....... 120 000 34x—10-10-2
Alvari and Heisner; Dahle, Blankenship (9) and Spurgeon, Len Neal (9).
KENNEWICK, July 6 — [Don Becker, Herald] There's an old baseball saying to the effect you've got to have hits to win games. Last night a pair of Yakima hurlers added the other half, "if they don't hit, you win." Lloyd Dickey and Dewey "Papa" Soriano teamed up to quench the Braves bats with a solitary single and a looping off-field double. The net result was a 4-1 victory for the Bears, and a sad story for the 1,376 Brave fans.
The Braves hold a 2-1 edge going into tonight's series finale. A win in either the abbreviated four-inning playoff, or the regulation nine-inning affair would give Tri-City the decision. Should the Braves win, it would be the first time this season they have been able to stop the rampaging Bears.
ON THE MOUND TONIGHT
Bob Felizzatto and Larry Powell were due to face each other tonight in the four-inning curfew called game of May 6. But with Felizzatto currently on the "sick" list a change in plans by Charlie Peterson, Brave manager, may be in the making. Dick Stone (9-4) and Dick Larner (7-6) are the respective choices of Peterson and Bear manager Joe Orengo for the full game. Both are righthanders.
One of the largest crowds in Sanders Field history is expected to attend tonight's double-bill which has been officially labelled "Kennewick Night". Businessmen and sports leaders of the city are cooperating in a drive to offer top prizes between games as an extra lure to bring out the fans. The present record 2,524 for a "night" is held by Connell.
THERE IT GOES
A triple to the fence by Pete Coscarart in the ninth with the bags loaded spelled doom for starter Gene Roenspie last night. It was his second loss against seven victories. It was a 1-1 contest until the slim, young, right-hander faded, and then wilted in the final stanza. He walked Jim Westlake, his second free pass of the game to open the final frame. Then with one out Jerry Zuvela singled. A free pass to Bill McCawley loaded the bags. The stage was set and the veteran Coscarart came through with a triple to right field that caught outfielder Merle Frick off balance. The ball got by him and went to the fence. That was all she wrote.
The Braves had their chances though. In the recond with Dick Faber on second as a result of his double, Buddy Peterson and Nick Pesut skied out. Neil Bryant drew a pass but Frick fanned to end the effort .
Tri-City's one run scored in the seventh almost didn't. Bryant was batting and Will Tiesiera dropped a third strike tip foul. But Bryant apparently thinking there had been no foul, started for the dugout. Umpire Art Jacobs called the Brave hitter back and he messaged his thanks with a rifle-shot single into centerfield to score Peterson. Soriano choked off potential Brave rallies in the seventh, eighth, and ninth. The first one in the seventh was the result of starter Dickey's pitching, but the Brave attempts in the final two innings were because of trouble Soriano had in finding the plate. He got Al Spaeter to ground out with the bases loaded in the seventh to wipe out that attempt. In the eighth with two out and Jim Warner on second he whiffed Pesut. But Papa did it the hard way in the ninth. After walking two, he got pinch-hitter Jim Olsen on a fly ball and then had Spaeter and Vic Buccola ground out.
- - - - -
KENNEWICK, July 5(AP)—Pete Coscarart socked a triple with the bases loaded in the ninth inning Wednesday night to break a tie and give Yakima a 4 to 1 Western International league victory over the Tri-City Braves.
The blow came with one out and broke up a tight pitching duel.
Lloyd Dickey and Dewey Soriano combined to hold the Braves to two hits while Roenspie was able to limit the Bears to a single run on seven hits until the ninth.
Roenspie walked Jim Westlake to open the last inning but fanned Lou Novikoff. Then Jerry Zuvella singled and Bill McCauley walked to load the bases and set things up
for Coscarart.
Dickey gave up both Tri-City hits but fanned 10 men in the 6 2/3 innings he worked. In the seventh, he walked three men and gave up a single to Neil Bryant. With the bases loaded and two out, Soriano came in to relieve him and ended the threat by forcing Al Spaeter to ground out.
For Roenspie, the erstwhile No. 1 pitcher in the league, it was his second defeat after winning seven in a row.
Yakima ....... 001 000 003—4-11-1
Tri-City ...... 000 000 100—1- 2-2
Dickey, Soriano (7) and Tiesiera; Roenspie and Pesut.
SPOKANE, July 5—The Spokane Indians won their sixth straight Western International League game Wednesday, an 8 to 0 victory over Salem on eight-hit pitching by the veteran Johnny Conant.
While Conant silenced the Senators, the Indians clubbed Ad Liska for 18 hits, collecting ten off him in the first two innings.
Spokane's Glen Stetter, the league's leading hitter, collected four hits in four trips Wednesday and batted in the first Indian run.
Salem ........ 000 000 000—0- 8-1
Spokane ..... 230 010 11x—8-18-2
Liska and Beard; Conant and Rossi.
Chiefs Sign New Catcher
WENATCHEE, July 5 — Catcher Frank McMillan, released by the Salem Senators, has signed on with the Wenatchee Chiefs.
In effect, the two Western International league clubs completed an even-up swap Salem last week signed outfielder Al Drew who had been let go by the Chiefs.
McMillan becomes the third Wenatchee catcher. The Chiefs' first-string catcher, Len Neal, has been carried on the disabled list since breaking a finger June 15.
General Manager George Clark said a choice will be made between McMillan and Ray Spurgeon, who has been filling in for Neal, on the first stringer's return to action.
Spurgeon, with the Vancouver Capilanos in 1946, was drafted for emergency duty from the Tacoma semi-pro ranks. He batted a scorching .481 this past week to become the Chiefs' second best hitter with a .314 mark for two weeks' work.
ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor
[July 6/50]
"Bullet" Joe Orrell who says he never hit a home run in his professional baseball career has got an added reason now to poke one over the fence. As soon as Joe does collect a four-bagger he'll also pick up $25. But in view of the big odds against his hitting one, the money will also be forthcoming as soon as Joe turns in his 15th victory of the season, Herb Lewis and Slim Hatch were the duo that cooked up the scheme.
This is probably going to be the last season for a few of the Braves. And for a good reason. They'll be moving up the line if the reports of the scouts passing through here bear fruit. Bernie deViverios, ivory hunter for the Detroit Tigers, look in the July 4 doubleleader and had nothing but choice phrases for the Braves. "Certainly one of the finest class B baseball clubs I've seen" was Bernie's comment following the game.
Vic Buccola rated a "one" from the Tiger scout for his fine defensive work. "That's the best a player can get and I don't give many of them," he said. Bernie held the reins on the Spokane club back in 1937 when the WIL was organized. For this reason and because he has a lot of baseball under the belt what he had to say about Charlie Peterson is worth listening to. "The Braves have been well coached, there's no question about that.
Pete has done a magnificent job." Right now deViverios is moving fast. After Wednesday's game he was due to go to Walla Walla, then Yakima, return here, and then into Spokane. You can add major league scouting as another top job in the sports world, at least from this vantage point you ran.
FINE PAIR OF HANDS
Al Spaeter, Buddy Peterson, and Dick Faber also drew generous words from the Detroit scout. "Peterson, and Spaeter have a great pair of hands. I like the way they follow the ball all the way in, "deViverios commented. We gathered from what Bernie had to say about Faber that fielding would never prevent the young left fielder from moving up. "That boy has a lot of hustle out there, and plays his position very well."
It turned out that deViverious and Joe Nicholas are practically old friends. Bernie has been watching Joe for the past four years since the side-armer broke in, in class D ball. "Nicholas was quicker and had more stuff than I've seen him use before. He's still young and from what I've heard around here, that boy has strong possibilities."
PAIR OF BAD LEGS
Two of the "big swat" gate attractions in the Western International League came together at Sanders Field. But neither Clint Cameron or Lou Novikoff saw much action. Both are out of the lineup because of the same old trouble. . .bad legs. Cameron's left leg is still giving him plenty of trouble while Novikoff has a lump as big as an egg on his right calf. Lou did make two appearances, both as a pinch-hitter, but grounded out both times, once to Peterson and the other two Nicholas.
But the Mad Russian is glad to be back playing baseball. He had been playing softball in L.A. because the Bears signed him. It was part of a job he had with a company there. "No comparison between the two games," said Lou. "Baseball has always been the game I liked and it's good to be playing again." The big boy with the big grin, got away to a slow start with his bat, but since then he's been belting his usual .300 and more. As of Monday his mark was .304.
BOTH AT SECOND BASE
That long arm of coincidence certainly reached into Sanders field in that July 4 nightcap. Just the other day we mentioned in some detail a call that umpire Perkins made at second base in the Wenatchee series. The gist of the argument was that Perkins made the call against the Braves on a force at second while Larry Neal of Wenatchee was taking the ball after he had crossed the base.
So what happens? Blamed if Art Jacobs didn't come a cropper on almost the same identical play. As it turned out the play didn't figure in the scoring; anyhow, for which we suppose Art is duly thankful . We don't intend to take Mr. Jacobs to task. He probably feels worse about it than anyone else.
But the point we'd like to make is that there is too much of a tendency to make the calls too quickly on the part of the umpires. Naturally behind the plate the decision must be made without delay. But in the field it's different. The "good book" even prescribes deliberation if there is any doubt. We have no doubt that Al Jacinto, Bear second baseman, was nowhere in the vicinity of second when he took Reno Cheso's throw that took Dick Faber out of the game.
KEEPS NICK BUSY
Jim McKeegan's sore arm is giving big Nick Pesut plenty of work behind the plate. Nick is having to work all times, including double-headers with McKeegan confined strictly to bull-pen activities. But it isn't bothering Nick as much at it is McKeegan. The red-head with the crew cut is anxious to log more time both catching and hitting.
SHORTS IN SPORTS
There were five exceptionally happy people in Sanders Field when the Braves won those first two from Yakima. Taking in their first game here were Mrs. Charlie Peterson and her two daughters. Pete's mother and father were also there to see their son's twin triumph.
This is probably going to be the last season for a few of the Braves. And for a good reason. They'll be moving up the line if the reports of the scouts passing through here bear fruit. Bernie deViverios, ivory hunter for the Detroit Tigers, look in the July 4 doubleleader and had nothing but choice phrases for the Braves. "Certainly one of the finest class B baseball clubs I've seen" was Bernie's comment following the game.
Vic Buccola rated a "one" from the Tiger scout for his fine defensive work. "That's the best a player can get and I don't give many of them," he said. Bernie held the reins on the Spokane club back in 1937 when the WIL was organized. For this reason and because he has a lot of baseball under the belt what he had to say about Charlie Peterson is worth listening to. "The Braves have been well coached, there's no question about that.
Pete has done a magnificent job." Right now deViverios is moving fast. After Wednesday's game he was due to go to Walla Walla, then Yakima, return here, and then into Spokane. You can add major league scouting as another top job in the sports world, at least from this vantage point you ran.
FINE PAIR OF HANDS
Al Spaeter, Buddy Peterson, and Dick Faber also drew generous words from the Detroit scout. "Peterson, and Spaeter have a great pair of hands. I like the way they follow the ball all the way in, "deViverios commented. We gathered from what Bernie had to say about Faber that fielding would never prevent the young left fielder from moving up. "That boy has a lot of hustle out there, and plays his position very well."
It turned out that deViverious and Joe Nicholas are practically old friends. Bernie has been watching Joe for the past four years since the side-armer broke in, in class D ball. "Nicholas was quicker and had more stuff than I've seen him use before. He's still young and from what I've heard around here, that boy has strong possibilities."
PAIR OF BAD LEGS
Two of the "big swat" gate attractions in the Western International League came together at Sanders Field. But neither Clint Cameron or Lou Novikoff saw much action. Both are out of the lineup because of the same old trouble. . .bad legs. Cameron's left leg is still giving him plenty of trouble while Novikoff has a lump as big as an egg on his right calf. Lou did make two appearances, both as a pinch-hitter, but grounded out both times, once to Peterson and the other two Nicholas.
But the Mad Russian is glad to be back playing baseball. He had been playing softball in L.A. because the Bears signed him. It was part of a job he had with a company there. "No comparison between the two games," said Lou. "Baseball has always been the game I liked and it's good to be playing again." The big boy with the big grin, got away to a slow start with his bat, but since then he's been belting his usual .300 and more. As of Monday his mark was .304.
BOTH AT SECOND BASE
That long arm of coincidence certainly reached into Sanders field in that July 4 nightcap. Just the other day we mentioned in some detail a call that umpire Perkins made at second base in the Wenatchee series. The gist of the argument was that Perkins made the call against the Braves on a force at second while Larry Neal of Wenatchee was taking the ball after he had crossed the base.
So what happens? Blamed if Art Jacobs didn't come a cropper on almost the same identical play. As it turned out the play didn't figure in the scoring; anyhow, for which we suppose Art is duly thankful . We don't intend to take Mr. Jacobs to task. He probably feels worse about it than anyone else.
But the point we'd like to make is that there is too much of a tendency to make the calls too quickly on the part of the umpires. Naturally behind the plate the decision must be made without delay. But in the field it's different. The "good book" even prescribes deliberation if there is any doubt. We have no doubt that Al Jacinto, Bear second baseman, was nowhere in the vicinity of second when he took Reno Cheso's throw that took Dick Faber out of the game.
KEEPS NICK BUSY
Jim McKeegan's sore arm is giving big Nick Pesut plenty of work behind the plate. Nick is having to work all times, including double-headers with McKeegan confined strictly to bull-pen activities. But it isn't bothering Nick as much at it is McKeegan. The red-head with the crew cut is anxious to log more time both catching and hitting.
SHORTS IN SPORTS
There were five exceptionally happy people in Sanders Field when the Braves won those first two from Yakima. Taking in their first game here were Mrs. Charlie Peterson and her two daughters. Pete's mother and father were also there to see their son's twin triumph.
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