McGlothlin Snaps Ligmament
Career Over at Age 24 for 20-Game Winner
LOS ANGELES (June 1) -- The Los Angeles Outlaws will have to make do without their young righthander Red McGlothlin.  The 24-year-old ruptured a ligament in a game against Boston on May 20.  McGlothlin was the 10th overall pick in the 1967 draft and won 21 games last year, helping the Outlaws to their first divisional title.  Red was 5-4 with a 5.20 ERA in 10 starts this year and leaves the game with a lifetime 39-30 record and 4.22 ERA and 337 strikeouts in 80 games.  McGlothlin's injury puts more pressure on ace southpaw Fritz Peterson and sophomore righthander Stan Bahnsen, who will likely move into the #2 spot in the rotation.  Los Angeles ranks 7th in earned run average, 8th for starters, and sits three games behind Atlanta in the West.
 
"Downtown" Ollie Brown Streaks to 25
Superbas Offense Catches Fire
BROOKLYN (June 1) -- Brooklyn right fielder Ollie Brown is one of the more unlikely candidates to assemble a long hitting streak, but the 25-year-old second-year player did just that from April 26 to May 29.  Brown, a fifth-round draft pick in 1966 from Tuscaloosa, Ala., batted safely in 25 straight games, and compiled a .378 batting average in May.  The Superbas were 16-13 in May, just good enough to hold onto second place, and are second in the league in offense, thanks to #7 hitter Brown, and the scary 3-4-5 trio of Dick McAuliffe, Mickey Mantle, and Hank Aaron.  Aaron is hitting .441 and slugging .794 in his last 8 games, Mantle is hitting .429-3-8 in his last 5 games, and McAuliffe and Diamond Jim Gentile each have four home runs in the last week.  Despite the prolific offense, the Superbas have struggled to maintain winning form because of the second worst pitching staff in the league.  And not all their hitters have been hot; at the opposite end of the spectrum are Woodie Held (.043 in 19 games) and Joy Foy (.069 in 27 games).

Maroons Lose Top Two Pitchers, Win 8 Straight
ST. LOUIS (June 1) -- The St. Louis Maroons lost their top two pitchers in May, but managed to win their last eight games to keep close to the first place Atlanta Hilltoppers.  Don Sutton (2-0, 0.81 in 6 starts) and Bob Shaw (4-1, 2.38 in 15 games, including 8 starts) were both having exceptional years at the time of their injuries.  Shaw will return before August, but Sutton is out for the year.  Sutton, the Maroons' first round pick in 1966, won the staff ace job coming into this season.  Sutton was 23 games in his Rookie of the Year season, then went 11-11 but with a 3.06 ERA in 1967, and was 17-6, 3.45 last year.  He tore his labrum on May 8 and will miss the rest of the season.  Bob Shaw, 35, was such a question mark this spring that he didn't even make the opening day 5-man rotation and started the season in the bullpen.  After posting a 1.15 ERA in eight relief appearances, Shaw was shifted to the rotation and won three of his first four starts.  He strained his rotator cuff on May 25 and will miss eight weeks.

The injuries and the struggles of veteran Lew Burdette have created opportunities for some younger pitchers to break into the rotation, and Luke Walker and Tom Phoebus have seized the chance.  Walker, a 25-year-old lefty, has been one of the league's hottest pitchers, going 3-0 with a 2.13 ERA in 5 starts and 3 relief appearances in May.  Phoebus, a 26-year-old righthander, is 6-1 with a 4.25 ERA in 15 games, and pitched eight shutout innings in his first start at Boston May 31.  With Shaw's injury, Phoebus will enter the rotation at the #5 slot.  St. Louis has allowed two or fewer runs in their last seven games and ranks second only to Manhattan in ERA.