Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9408020057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While the Rocks rolled on Saturday, beating Salem 12-7 for their eighth win in nine games this season at Municipal Field, the Carolina League's answer to Greg Maddux didn't have as much fun.
Wilmington right-hander Bart Evans, whose pitching statistics line is the best this side of the Atlanta Braves' star, got roughed up for the first time in 20 starts, allowing six earned runs in 6 1/3 inings.
Nevertheless, it didn't the stop the Blue Rocks, who shelled three Salem hurlers for 16 hits.
"I know our guys love it here because they hit the ball so well and score so many runs,'' Evans said. "Well, this is the first time I've pitched here. Man, I feel sorry for the guys who have to pitch here all year. That would be rough.''
Entering Saturday, Evans was 7-1 with a league-leading 1.84 earned-run average. In 112 innings, the fastballing right-hander had struck out 115 and allowed only 72 hits.
``He's the best pitcher in the league,'' Salem manager Trent Jewett said of Evans. ``I'd say he's got the No.1 fastball in the whole league.''
Evans just wishes somebody in the Kansas City Royals system would notice. Despite his terrific numbers, the 23-year-old Missouri native said he hasn't been given any indication that he may soon be bumped to a higher level.
``You'd think I'd hear something from somebody,'' said Evans, shaking his head. ``It's disappointing to just sit here all year. I've pitched really well all season, and I've heard nothing. Just sit here and wait, that's all you do.
``It comes down to the fact that I'm in the wrong organization. We've moved one guy up all year. All the other teams in the league have moved up three or four guys.''
Evans got his fastball up a couple times Saturday, and it hurt him. The six earned runs he allowed were three times what he had yielded in three previous starts again Salem.
``I didn't have my best stuff tonight,'' the husky right-hander said. ``I got behind a few guys and it cost me. If you make a mistake in this place, it usually hurts you bad, too.''
The Blue Rocks put their usual hurting on the Salem pitching staff. Nine-hole hitter Steve Murphy led the Wilmington batting barrage, collecting a double and a triple while knocking in four runs. Wilmington's Steve Sisco, Ryan Long and Felix Martinez each had three hits, and Johnny Damon drove in three runs.
``They go crazy in this park,'' Jewett said of the Blue Rocks. ``They're the best-hitting team in the league, no question. We have a hard time stopping 'em. Face it, our pitching wasn't good enough tonight.''
Wilmington (19-15) broke open a 4-3 game with a five-run fifth off loser Matt Reubel (4-3). The key blows in the inning were Murphy's two-run double and Damon's two-run homer.
Salem retaliated with three runs in the seventh to close to 9-6 and knock out Evans. After the Bucs made it 9-7 on Lou Collier's sacrifice fly in the eighth, Wilmington iced it with three runs in the ninth against Terry Farrar.
BUCSHOTS: Jon Farrell smacked a two-run homer in the fourth for Salem, his fifth. It was only the fourth homer allowed by Evans in 118 innings. ... Jason Kendall had a pair of singles and knocked in two Bucs runs. ... The loss was Salem's fifth straight. ... Wilmington leads the series 13-6 heading into today's regular-season finale between the two clubs.
Keywords:
BASEBALL
by CNB