
                         THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
                 Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, June 13, 1994                    TAG: 9406130205 
SECTION: SPORTS                     PAGE: C3    EDITION: FINAL  
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: 940613                                 LENGTH: NORFOLK

LOSS DROPS TIDES TO 13-22 AT HOME

{LEAD} Despite its name, Harbor Park has been no haven for the Norfolk Tides this season. Home is where where winning streaks are supposed to start, but it has mostly meant extended frustration for the Tides, to the tune of 22 losses in 35 games.

The latest came Sunday afternoon, when the Tides dropped a 4-3 decision to the Toledo Mud Hens on a day in which they committed two errors in the first inning that led to three unearned runs and then couldn't recover.

{REST} Strong defense from that point and scoreless relief pitching from Pete Walker and Mike Cook - after starter Jason Jacome yielded 12 hits in five innings - kept the Tides in it all the way. A run in the seventh pushed the Tides to within 4-3, but they got nothing in the final two innings against Drew Hall or Mike Christopher, who preserved the victory for Sean Bergman.

``We're just trying to play the game as good as we can play it every game we play,'' Tides manager Bobby Valentine said. ``We'd love to play well at home.''

They just haven't. The Tides (27-36) came out on top in just one of their four prior homestands, and suffered through a 2-8 stay their last time in during late May. Sunday's loss gave them a 3-10 mark in their last 13 games at Harbor Park and a 13-22 record overall.

Contrast that with their 14-14 record on the road, where the Tides are batting .283. That average is .236 at home. It's something real, third baseman Butch Huskey said, but difficult to describe.

``We're more relaxed on the road. I mean, you can see it,'' Huskey said. ``I think everybody wants to win so bad at home that we're just not playing like we should be, putting a little more pressure on ourselves than we should. Because you always want to win at home, because of the home crowd.

``I don't know what it is. We're playing good baseball on the road. We've just got to try to switch it to playing good at home.''

Past the first inning, the Tides didn't play all that badly, though they got only six hits and struck out 12 times. Unfortunately for them, a two-out error by shortstop Pablo Martinez in the first opened the door for Toledo (32-28) after Jacome (5-4) began the game with two strikeouts.

Riccardo Ingram followed with a single and Bob Higginson knocked in a run with a single. Then Rudy Pemberton singled, but rightfielder Jim Vatcher had the ball roll under his glove as two runs scored for the 3-0 lead.

The irony was that all three Tides outfielders went on to record assists, and two - centerfielder Tito Navarro and Vatcher - threw out runners at home.

Which is something the Tides, halfway through their 71-game home schedule, don't seem to be at Harbor Park. At home.

by CNB