THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408280242
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C9 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BUMP, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ROCHESTER, N.Y. LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
With a victory Saturday night, the Norfolk Tides could all but eliminate Rochester from International League playoff contention.
So the Tides went out and showed the home team that just because you are no longer in the race doesn't mean you stop playing baseball. Norfolk, already out of the West Division race, took a 5-4 decision in the opener of a two-game series.
Jeromy Burnitz and Eric Hillman, two players who spent a good part of this season in major leagues, went about their work as true professionals in leading the Tides.
Burnitz's three-run home run, his 13th of the season and third in two nights, provided just enough cushion for Hillman to earn his 10th victory of the season.
In the race, out of the race; in the majors, in the minors; against a righthander, against a lefthander - none of that seemed to matter to Burnitz, who hit his fifth-inning blast off Rick Krivda.
``In my year in Double A and my first two in Triple A, I hit about 10 points higher against lefthanders,'' Burnitz said. ``The only difference I've noticed is that in the big leagues, I haven't hit for power.
``My initial reaction when I was sent down wasn't overly positive, but now I'm happy to be here and finish out the season. The guys still in the majors are not getting paid.''
Burnitz's situation is different from Hillman's. While the rightfielder is reserved on the Mets' 40-man roster, Hillman's contract was assigned outright to Norfolk. So unless the Mets restore him to their 40-man roster, he will be a free agent after the season.
``My wife and I are excited about it,'' Hillman said. ``It's a chance for me to take better care of my family and earn enough to live in a nice neighborhood with good schools for our kids.''
Hillman lasted only five innings Saturday, allowing five hits and one run.
``He's had a little discomfort in his elbow,'' said Marlin McPhail, acting in the place of manager Bobby Valentine. ``We wanted to make sure it didn't flare up, and we had other guys in the bullpen who hadn't worked in a while.''
Kenny Greer gave up a run and Pete Walker surrendered two more as Hillman's 5-1 lead was trimmed to a run. Mike Cook then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 18th save and improve Hillman's record to 10-1.
The Tides will finish their series against the Red Wings with a game tonight at 6:05. Lefthander Juan Castillo (1-3) is scheduled to oppose Rochester's Arthur Rhodes (6-5). by CNB