BASEBALL'S WEEK

NATIONAL LEAGUE
Little League graduate Joey Jay and big league rookie Ken Hunt shot the surprising Cincinnati Reds back into first place. Jay's eighth consecutive win prompted his former boss, Phillies' GM John Quinn, who signed Jay as a 17-year-old, to explain, "It was just a matter of waiting for him to grow up." A ferocious batting surge by Vada Pinson (.438 for four weeks) and fine relief work by Writer-Pitcher Jim Brosnan helped the Reds win five of seven. The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their hero-a-day routine. When Johnny Podres' arm tightened in his second start after a three-week layoff, Roger Craig stepped in with 7 1/3 innings of one-run relief. Five-hit shutouts by Don Drysdale and Stan Williams also helped. Neither influenza, injuries nor poor pitching could slow the San Francisco Giants, who won six of seven. Seven regulars were out with illness or injury, and Starter Sam Jones was sentenced to the bullpen for committing the cardinal sin of blowing one to the Cubs. Complete-game wins by little Bobby Shantz (5 feet 6) and tall Joe Gibbon (6 feet 4) helped Pittsburgh pitching but couldn't solve other problems for the Pirates. World Series hero Bill Mazeroski was benched with a .218 mark; Catcher Hal Smith was hitting .202 and batting champion Dick Groat hit .118 last week. St. Louis Manager Solly Hemus responded to his team's lackluster efforts: No more poker playing for the Cardinals. "Let 'em talk baseball instead," snapped Solly. Still, there were some bright spots. Bonus Catcher Tim McCarver, 19, hit .300; Ray Sadecki, 20, beat the Phils, and Stan Musial, 40, lifted his average to .312. The floundering Milwaukee Braves got a win on Lou Burdette's ninth straight victory at the L.A. Coliseum. Burdette was at a loss to explain his failures at home, however. "My wife's a real good cook, so it can't be that," he said. Elvin Tappc, the Chicago Cubs' head head coach, put peripatetic Ernie Banks on first base after a journey from shortstop to left field. The move kept Banks' consecutive-game streak alive at 710. Billy Williams took Ernie's left-field spot and hit a grand slam against the Giants for the Cubs' single win. The Philadelphia Phils could win only one of six games, but the right side of the infield, First Baseman Pancho Herrera and Second Baseman Tony Taylor, showed signs of hitting after poor starts.

AMERICAN LEAGUE
The New York Yankees cooled down the fired-up Indians, taking two out of three in Cleveland. Ralph Terry's gritty, 11-inning 3-2 win was the crucial game. Said Terry, who has switched from bubble gum to tobacco at 25, "This kind of chewing relaxes me." Then the New Yorkers moved to Detroit. More than 100,000 turned out for two night games at Tiger Stadium and the Tigers reversed the routine. First Detroit trimmed the Yanks 4-2 behind rookie Phil Regan's six-hitter. Cletis Boyer's heretofore magic glove at third base failed him (two errors in two innings) and Roger Maris made two errors on a single play. The next night the Yankees hit four home runs, scored 10 runs—and lost 12-10. A disappointing home stand (eight losses in 12 games) had the Baltimore Orioles worried. Manager Paul Richards seemed to think the team was in the wrong sport. "Shall we punt or go for short yardage? It's fourth down," said Richards. The grab-bag Washington Senators reached the .500 mark on wins by Dick Donovan (three straight after five losses) and Ed Hobaugh. Then the Senators slipped when they blew big leads to the surging Boston Red Sox who climbed into fourth place. Slumping Frank Malzone and Jackie Jensen provided some right-handed hitting as the Red Sox won six. The Kansas City Athletics won three games and will long remember one of them. Lew Krausse, 18, their $125,000 bonus pitcher, blanked the Los Angeles Angels 4-0 in his first big league start. Said the worried youngster before the game: "My mother's not here yet. She'll probably arrive just in time to see me leave for the minors." Manager Joe Gordon was touched by Krausse's debut. "I almost cried," said Joe. The Angels felt like crying, too. They lost nine in a row. With 10 out of 11, the aged Chicago White Sox were rejuvenated. New blood (but not young) aided the cause. Warren Hacker, 36, succeeded traded Gerry Staley in the bullpen, and Andy Carey supplied the first semblance of fielding at third base all season. The Minnesota Twins—with Manager Cookie Lavagetto back at work—won two games in a row for the first time in a month. "I'm tired of explaining away losses," said Lavagetto, "I just want to win."

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Boxed statistics through Saturday, June 17

TWO PHOTOS

ROOKIE STANDOUTS Joe Torre of the Braves, Lee Thomas of the Angels hit with power. Each had five HRs; Torre hit .309, Thomas, .300.