BASEBALL'S WEEK

NATIONAL LEAGUE

The San Francisco Giants started as though they meant to wrap up the pennant before May. In tricky Candlestick Park they bunched their hits for the runs they needed, rode to victory on the superlative pitching of Sam Jones and Mike McCormick. On the road they pounded out 31 hits and 28 runs in two woolly wins over the Cubs. The surprising Pittsburgh Pirates roared back from two losses in their first three games to win seven of their next eight. The supposedly power-shy Pirates hit 12 home runs along the way. Vern Law turned in two tidy seven-hitters and Bob Friend cheered Pittsburgh hearts with two complete-game wins in three starts. Taut pitching and light but effective hitting brought the Los Angeles Dodgers four early wins in five home games, plus a nerve-tingling split in San Francisco. But with no one but Don Drysdale able to pitch a complete game, the club failed to capitalize on pepped-up hitting and quickly fell behind the leaders. Manager Dressen of the Milwaukee Braves benched Crandall, yanked Spahn, relieved with Burdette and watched in anguish as hi; stalwarts failed to play like the champs he's sure they are. Bob Buhl turned in a creditable six-hit victory, and Carl Willey took up some of the sudden slack in pitching, but the only real bright spot was the play of Red Schoendienst. The Philadelphia Phillies were woeful on the road (lost five of six games) but snapped back at home to push up into fourth place. New Manager Gene Mauch shuttled men in and out relentlessly, trying to find a passable combination. He got only one complete game from his pitchers (a three-hitter by Jim Owens) but had strong hitting from Harry Anderson and Bobby Del Greco. Recovering from their third sickly start in as many years, the St. Louis Cardinals shored up their sagging defense and ran off four straight victories. Lindy McDaniel relieved in five straight games, yet heard Manager Hemus say, "We don't want him to overwork himself." The Cincinnati Reds had no trouble winning whenever they scored nine runs or more. But they were shut out three times in nine games, and though they rapped out 16 hits in another they still couldn't win it. The Chicago Cubs, tough customers on the Coast, ran out of pitching in Wrigley Field and plopped into the cellar.

Standíngs: Pitt 8-3, SF 7-3, LA 5-5, Phil 5-6, Mil 4-5, StL 4-5, Cin 4-7, Chi 3-6.

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Detroit Tiger fans, ready to stuff President DeWitt in an outgoing Easter basket that Sunday, suddenly saw a flag in sight as his new acquisition, Rocky Colavito, blasted three homers, eight RBIs to lead the Tigers to five wins in a row. Massive Steve Bilko added two home runs, and the much maligned relief corps won three straight games. Off with a rush against the tail-enders, the New York Yankees had folks predicting a rapid return to normalcy. And indeed the Yanks looked good: Rookies John Gabler and Bill Short were poised and hard to hit, and Ryne Duren relieved in fine fashion; Bill Skowron and Roger Maris combined for 20 hits, 14 RBIs. The Washington Senators opened impressively (10 runs, four homers, 15 Pascual strikeouts), and the momentum kept them in the first division. Bob Allison, copying the stance of departed Roy Sievers, shot into the league batting lead with 17 hits in 30 trips. The Boston Red Sox surprised people by winning almost half their games. Frank Malzone performed like baseball's best third baseman and Jerry Casale, taught by Coach Sal Maglie to keep the ball low, set down the Yanks with three hits. Losers of their first two games, the Kansas City Athletics were stripped of golfing rights by Manager Bob Elliott. Said Elliott: "Let 'em stir lemonade and take the family out for a picnic." Goaded to action, the A's hopped on Cleveland twice. The Chicago White Sox started predictably, with two one-run victories and telling hits by Minnie Minoso. But aside from the relief work of Gerry Staley and Ray Moore, the heralded pitching staff failed to produce. With Paul Richards outmanaging everyone in sight (77 players in five games), the Baltimore Orioles roared off the mark with one win, five losses. The pitching hurt: none of the bright youngsters could finish a game and, against the Yanks, the team hit two grand-slam homers yet lost by six runs. The New, New Cleveland Indians hit bottom and stayed there until Gary Bell finally turned back the Athletics. Even Manager Joe Gordon felt the hot breath of Frank Lane. Said Gordon wryly: "Everybody's afraid to send out his laundry."

Standings: Det 5-0, NY 5-1, Wash 4-3, Bos 4-3, Chi 2-3, KC 2-3, Clev 1-4, Balt 1-5.

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TWO PHOTOS

FAST STARTERS were Don Drysdale, who eyelded just 16 hits in three complete games, Roy McMillan, who hit five HRs.