June 30
1925 – The Nats are in sole possession of 1st place with a 7-0 win over the A’s. Johnson allows 2 harmless hits 
in the rubber match of this 5 game series, of which 4 are won by Washington.
1937 – Pitcher Wes Ferrell, acquired on June 11 from Boston, knocks in the tying and go-ahead runs against his former mates, in a 6-4 Senator home victory. The Red Sox’s Bobo Newsom, part of the aforementioned trade, is tagged with the loss.
1955 – Bill Veeck buys the Senators from Clark Griffith. Well, not exactly, but some may have believed that Veeck did judging from the pre-game hijinx at Griffith Stadium. The pre-game show features an egg tossing contest, a phantom infield practice, a blindfolded wheelbarrow race (won by Camilo Pascual), and a singing duet with singer Frank Shea and Nat’s starter Mickey McDermott belting out “You Gotta Have Heart” from “Damn Yankees”. The Red Sox, today’s opponents, do not participate in the festivities due to the recent passing of Harry Agganis. Amid this bizarre atmosphere, there is a baseball game played. McDermott, obviously not encouraged to quit his day job, beats the mourning Red Sox, 3-2.
1965 – Sam McDowell fires 11 strikeouts and allows 2 runs over 8 innings. Yet, the Sens manage to get the better of the Tribe, narrowly edging Cleveland, 2-1. Washington hurlers Phil Ortega and Ron Kline negate McDowell’s powerful performance by limiting the 1st place Indians to 1 run on 5 hits.
Senators Birthdays
We end the month of June noting the birthdays of another “Senators Short Timer” and another member of the much remarked Senators “Cuban Connection”.
Pompeyo Antonio Romero (Yo-Yo) Davalillo B Jun. 30, 1931 D Feb. 28, 2013
Venezuelaian born Senators short timer Yo-Yo Davalillo spent 22 days on the roster of the Senators in August of 1953. Appearing in 19 games, and playing shortstop for 17 of those, he managed 17 hits in 58 at bats, good for a .293 BA. However, he was gone from the Senators, and the majors, after August 23, 1953.
“Yo-Yo” Davalillo career record
Roberto Gonzalo (Nunez) Ortiz B Jun. 30, 1915 D Sep. 15, 1971
Another member of the Senators “Cuban Connection”, Roberto Ortiz spent 6 years in a Senators uniform before finishing his career playing in 6 games for the Philadelphia Athletics.
Originally appearing in 1941, he was used sparingly and only played in 1 game in 1943. His most active season would be 1944 when he appeared in 85 games and hit .253.
He wouldn’t appear in a Senators uniform again until 1949 when he hit .279 in 40 games. He’d return to the Senators in 1950, playing in 39 games, before finishing his season, and career, in Philadelphia.
His brother, Olivero (Baby) Ortiz, also played with the Senators in 1944 and will be covered on December 5th.
