Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, August 14, 1995 TAG: 9508150021
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RAY COX STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Nobody from Salem needs to sit around and think too much about the weekend's misadventures.
The Durham Bulls steamed out of Salem Memorial Baseball Stadium on Sunday having taken three of four from the wobbly Avalanche. The last of these was a 7-5 dusting before a crowd of 2,467 on a humid night.
The Bulls scored 13 of their 17 runs in the three victories during the series in the last two innings of each game.
Sunday's catastrophe for the Avalanche came in the eighth, when second baseman Vicente Garcia's throwing error set the stage for four unearned runs. Salem, struggling for runs the entire series, couldn't overcome the 7-3 lead Bulls manager Matt West handed his closer, Matt Byrd. The right-hander wasn't sharp, the evidence of which was a hard-hit double by Forry Wells and a walk to Keith Grunewald with one out.
Brian Culp delivered a two-run single to right. Byrd then induced a pop-up from Garcia to the catcher to end it and earn his 22nd save.
``We just keep leaving the door open for people and they keep walking right in,'' Hayes said. ``To sum it up, we keep shooting ourselves in the foot and the foot is barely hanging on.''
Salem (25-25) is right where it was after beating Durham 2-0 in the first game of a doubleheader that opened the series, 11/2 games behind front-running Kinston in the Southern Division's second-half standings. The Indians matched Salem loss for loss during the weekend, falling 3-2 on Sunday at the hands of the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
But it is Durham that is the hot team. The Bulls (25-25) have won three in a row and nine of 10 to burst into a second-place tie with the Avalanche. While in Salem, the Bulls moved out of last place and past third-place Winston-Salem.
``We're doing the ordinary things, like moving the runners over, and that's what pleases me,'' West said. ``It's different when you're hitting home runs and that kind of thing, because you know that comes from pure talent.''
It was a trying loss for Salem starter Jamey Wright, who pitched into the eighth inning before things started coming apart. If Wright reacted at all to the Garcia error on a routine grounder that should have ended the inning, he didn't show it.
``You can't get too upset about the one play that wasn't made when a lot of good plays were made,'' Wright said.
A hit batter later (Wright's second of the inning), and Scott LaRock arrived from the bullpen. Miguel Correa greeted him with a three-run double to make it 6-3.
As with each of the two previous losses to the Bulls, Salem had led. This time, it was 2-0 after one inning, thanks to Colin Dixon's third homer of the year, a two-run shot.
``We've needed to step it up a notch, but we haven't done it,'' Wright said.
NOTES: John Giudice, who homered and drove in two runs in Saturday's night's 5-4 loss to the Bulls before crashing into the outfield wall trying to make a play, sat out Sunday's game. Giudice said he was stiff and sore but otherwise fine. ... Right-hander Jason Dietrich (1-0, 8.59 ERA) is returning to Portland of the Northwest League to rehabilitate a sore shoulder.
by CNB