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

DATE: Sunday, August 21, 1994                TAG: 9408210205
SECTION: SPORTS                   PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: NORFOLK                            LENGTH: Medium:   56 lines

TIDES' PLAYOFF HOPES DIM IN LOSS TO R-BRAVES

Whatever glimmer of playoff hope the Norfolk Tides nursed before Saturday's game against the Richmond Braves all but vanished on the wings of Luis Lopez's three-run home run in the seventh inning.

Jonathan Hurst entered for Joe Roa with two on and no outs, charged with maintaining a one-run deficit. But Hurst wound up torched, and the Tides were tagged with a 7-2 loss that dropped them 8 1/2 games out of second place and the final playoff position in the West Division.

Before a Harbor Park record crowd of 13,069, Lopez, the fourth-leading hitter in the league at .321, powered a 2-0 pitch out of the park to left to essentially rid the outcome of uncertainty.

The home run, Lopez's 17th, followed a walk and sacrifice fly that Hurst yielded when he took over for Roa, who gave up a pair of singles to start the inning.

The rally helped extend Richmond's mastery of the Tides at Harbor Park, just as the Tides have controlled the Braves at their place. The teams have played 16 games (eight in Richmond, eight in Norfolk). The home team has won only twice.

Saturday's loss probably doomed the Tides (63-66), in that taking at least four of five in this final series against Richmond (70-56) seemed a must for their postseason chances.

``I don't do that stuff,'' Tides manager Bobby Valentine said of the speculative mathematics. ``We just need to come back tomorrow and play as good as we can play. You play as good as you can play as long as you can play, then the season ends. Hopefully you've played good enough when it ends.''

Lack of offense again dragged down the Tides, as it has all season at Harbor Park. They are hitting only .236 at home, a figure not helped by their six hits Saturday. And catcher Joe Kmak had three of them, all singles.

The other three hits came in the second inning, when the Tides scored both of their runs on Shawn Hare's triple and a pair of fielder's choice ground balls off Kevin Lomon.

Richmond tied it in the fifth on three singles and began to take control in the sixth. The Braves broke the 2-2 tie when Mike Mordecai drilled a fly ball deep to left-center that centerfielder Doug Dascenzo, after a long run, dropped at the warning track.

Mordecai was credited with a double, and he scored when Jose Oliva, who had homered in the second, doubled cleanly with one out.

Roa, who has made it through the seventh in just three of his last 10 starts, began the next inning by giving up consecutive singles to Tyler Houston and Mike Kelly.

Hurst came on to walk Jarvis Brown and yield a sacrifice fly to Brian Kowitz. After Mordecai lined out to second, Lopez lowered the hammer on Hurst and the Tides' fading season. by CNB