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

DATE: Sunday, July 24, 1994                  TAG: 9407240230
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY CRAIG MERZ, CORRESPONDENT 
DATELINE:    WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GOOD OUTING AND A BAD ONE FOR THELE

                   BAD LOCATION HURTS LINTON; TIDES FALL 

   The Clippers pounded out 11 hits against Linton and three relievers for a 
5-3 win before 7,126 at Cooper Stadium.
   Maybe the Clippers have finally figured out Linton. He pitched a one-hitter
Monday in a 4-1 win.
   Columbus had triple the hits and double the runs in the second inning alone
Saturday, as the Clippers overcame a 1-0 deficit.
   ``I had bad location,'' Linton said of his second start since being sent 
down by the New York Mets. ``Monday, I had good location, got the first pitch 
over for strikes.
   ``Tonight, it was bad location. I had to work. It wasn't like the other 
night when everything was working. It was flowing nice and smooth. I was 
fighting myself the whole game tonight.''
   His counterpart fared better.
   The first outing in a Columbus uniform by Mariano Rivera was worth the 
wait.
   ``You betcha,'' Clippers manager Stump Merrill said. ``The kid's got a lot 
of poise.''
   After allowing an unearned run in the first inning, Rivera settled down to 
pitch 6 2/3 innings.
   ``He's older than his time in the game because he knows how to play,'' 
Merrill said. ``I know he was nervous. He'll get better.''
   Rivera's much-anticipated Triple-A debut opened with mixed results. He 
whiffed two in the first, including leadoff hitter Quilvio Veras on three 
pitches, but the first run scored on a passed ball by Jorge Posada.
   ``After the first inning, I felt more comfortable in my pitching,'' Rivera 
said.
   Rivera started the season at Class-A Tampa, where he went 3-0. He compiled 
an identical mark in nine starts for Albany in the Eastern League. His 
combined ERA was 2.25 for 100 innings. 
   He finished Saturday with six strikeouts and two runs - the second coming 
on Shawn Hare's 10th homer in the fourth to tie the game 2-2. The Tides got 
four hits off him.
   ``We let them off the hook early, that was the big thing,'' Norfolk manager
Bobby Valentine said.