Later in the month, on June 26, the Nationals, never lower than second in the standings, pulled into a tie with the A's for the American League lead when Goslin unloaded on rookie Lefty Grove with a three-run seventh-inning homer in a 5-3 win. Walter Johnson had shut the A's out after the third inning, in the first of three career matches between the two Hall of Famers (Johnson would win all three). Four days later, Barney spun a 7-0 two-hitter, with no walks, at Griffith Stadium against the same dangerous Athletics. Johnson had now blanked the A's, a team which would hit .307 for the season, for 15 consecutive innings.
The Big Train also equaled the A's in hits on this day. In fact, Walter would hit .433 this season, his first time over .300. On one occasion, on April 24, a Johnson pinch-hit appearance resulted in a rule change. The Big Train was in the clubhouse in the ninth inning when Bucky Harris, who'd used up all of his righthanded bats, summoned him back. The game was delayed ten minutes before Walter laced Herb Pennock's first pitch for a two-run single to win the game. In June, league president Ban Johnson announced that only players on the bench or on the sidelines could be deployed in a ballgame.
Johnson's two-hitter was the fourth win in five games against the Athletics and put the Nats in first place for the first time since early May. Dutch Ruether and Stan Coveleski were both winning nearly every time out, but the Senators were barely keeping up with the A's. The Nats lost their RBI champion, Goslin, who was suspended for the better part of a week. The Goose had lost his temper with Cleveland pitcher Bert Cole, who he thought had been throwing at him. Much more detrimental was the fact that Walter Johnson had been hit with the flu bug and wasn't getting better. He was out the entire month of July.
https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1682412824