THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 26, 1995 TAG: 9504260599
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY AARON PORTZLINE, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: COLUMBUS, OHIO LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
After three weeks of spring training, the Norfolk Tides broke camp and headed north with a strong sense of team chemistry. And then the roster started to rumble.
Sixteen transactions since April 21 crushed the Tides' camaraderie, forcing them to spend as much time with handshakes and greetings as with batting practice and long tossing.
But, if Tuesday night is any indication, the gradual process of rebuilding chemistry may be close to completion. The Tides mixed a powerful offense with the power pitching of Chris Roberts to down Columbus, 7-0, before 2,077 at Cooper Stadium.
``This was a big ballgame for us,'' Tides manager Toby Harrah said. ``We needed a performance like this to get us back up again. We've spent the last couple days getting adjusted to all the new faces. It's a transition phase for us. But this was a positive sign tonight. We got it done.''
The win snapped a three-game losing streak and kept the Tides above .500.
Roberts was a big part of it. He scattered seven hits and one walk over seven innings and showed for the first time at the Triple-A level what kind of pitcher he can be.
Roberts, who allowed 28 hits in his previous 17 innings before Tuesday night, struck out four and consistently used his fastball with success. He spent last season at Double-A Binghamton.
``We really needed a well-pitched game to get us going,'' Harrah said. ``He's a very confident young man, but you have to expect some struggles when you come up to this level. It's not easy here.''
Facing Columbus on April 19, Roberts was shelled for eight earned runs in just 4 1/3 innings.
``This was big for him, his best game of the year,'' Harrah said. ``He threw strikes and kept the ball in play. He has such a sneaky fastball and he challenged them with it tonight.''
The Tides' offense was equally impressive and it started early. Derek Lee blasted a home run in the first inning, giving him three home runs against Columbus already this year.
Norfolk added solo runs in the third and fourth innings, two in the fifth and one each in the sixth and eighth. The top four batters in the lineup - Jarvis Brown, Edwin Alicea, Lee and Chris Jones - were a combined 7 of 16 with five RBIs and five runs scored.
``You can't tell from one game if we've adjusted to all the changes, but this might be the start of something,'' Lee said. ``We had some chemistry from spending all that time together at spring training and then we kind of lost it. ``Hopefully, we'll get it back soon.''
The three-game series concludes at 12:30 p.m. today. Paul Byrd (1-1) will start for Norfolk against righthander Daryl Smith (0-2). by CNB