THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 31, 1994 TAG: 9407310243
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
There is this pitcher in Richmond named Judd Johnson. The Norfolk Tides adore him. Here is how much:
Johnson, an otherwise effective lefthanded reliever, has worked 7 2/3 innings against the Tides this season. He has been torched for 21 hits and 14 runs (12 earned), to the tune of a 14.08 earned-run average.
Two of those innings and six of those runs came Saturday night at The Diamond. They obliterated a 2-2 deadlock and propelled the Tides to a 9-5 victory that pulled them back to the .500 mark and within five games of the second-place Braves in the West Division.
Subtract his five appearances against Norfolk (54-54), and Johnson, who entered for Chris Seelbach in the sixth, has a 1.88 ERA for the season. Instead, he's at 3.43 and stinging from one of the Tides' stranger four-run innings - Saturday's sixth, when three bunt singles, a seeing-eye bouncer to left and a two-run double by Quilvio Veras gave the Tides a 6-2 lead.
Joe Kmak added to Johnson's misery with a two-run home run in the seventh to make it 8-3.
``Personally, I know I've hit him hard a couple times,'' said third baseman Butch Huskey, who lined out in his only at-bat against Johnson. ``I just see the ball so good off him. And I guess the whole team sees the ball good off him.''
Based on the 5-0 record and 45-20 scoring margin the Tides enjoy here, it's a good guess that the ball looks twice its size to a number of them. Veras, for instance, is 10-for-24 in Richmond. The second baseman was 3-for-5 with three stolen bases, which gives him 27, one off league leader Shannon Penn of Toledo. (Veras, though, will miss today's game against Richmond as he begins a two-game suspension.)
Huskey is 9-for-22 here, Shawn Hare 6-for-12 and Kmak 4-for-7. And Saturday's 10-hit attack was accomplished without the aid of suspended shortstop Aaron Ledesma, who is 9-for-17 at The Diamond.
``I don't think it has anything to do with anything,'' Tides manager Bobby Valentine said. ``There's no reason for it. Maybe it's the bus ride. Maybe we'll drive around Harbor Park next time.''
Richmond (58-48) actually outhit the Tides, 15-10, with the help of four hits by Luis Lopez, who boosted his average to .326. Lopez hit a home run, as did Brian Kowitz.
And although Kmak's blast helped secure the victory for starter Joe Roa (7-4), a pair of perfect bunts by unlikely bunters, Hare and Kmak, sparked the rally that gave Roa the lead, which Pete Walker and Kenny Greer protected.
Omar Garcia followed with an RBI bouncer before Greg Graham also bunted safely. Roa then drove in a run with a ground out and Veras laced his two-run double to finish the inning's scoring. by CNB