THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 22, 1995 TAG: 9505220119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
A Sunday afternoon showcase of two of the International League's finest young arms transformed into an outbreak of offensive give-and-take that the Norfolk Tides survived better than the Toledo Mud Hens.
Neither Bill Pulsipher or Toledo's Jose Lima were around at the finish of the Tides' 7-5 victory that ended with Mud Hens on second and third and hot-hitting Milt Cuyler at the plate, staring down Tides closer Pete Walker.
But Cuyler, with seven hits in the three games against the Tides, chopped back to the mound as Walker earned his fifth save and the Tides padded their West Division-leading record to 29-14.
It wasn't supposed to be this crazy. Pulsipher, all but untouchable at Harbor Park this season, surprisingly had a 2-0 lead dissolve in the seventh, but the Tides went back on top with two runs in the bottom of the inning on Omar Garcia's double.
When Toledo answered with two more in the eighth on Tony Clark's home run off Dave Telgheder to go up, 5-4, the Tides merely blinked and scored three times in the eighth to win it.
Doubles did the damage here, as well. The run-scoring hits by Ed Alicea and Jarvis Brown off Kent Bottenfield put the Tides ahead, 6-5, and Rey Ordonez's single provided an insurance run.
``We're always going to come back,'' Brown said. ``We might not always win it, but teams know that when they bring in their set-up man or closer, we're going to make them work to get the job done. We're going to poke away until the last out.''
It was left to the Tides to labor from behind after Toledo (20-21) loaded the bases against Pulsipher
with no outs in the seventh and Terry McGriff cleared the bases with a double. Pulsipher, a 21-year-old lefthander, entered the inning with a two-hitter, as well as 23 consecutive scoreless innings at Harbor Park.
Pulsipher retired the next three hitters and his day ended with a no-decision for the first time in four home starts. Pulsipher, who came in with a 3-0 record and 0.35 ERA at home, wound up yielding six hits and three runs in seven innings.
``It kind of makes me mad that after they scored their runs I got the next three guys in order,'' Pulsipher said. ``I just made a couple of bad pitches. Other than that I was cruising. I can't be upset with my performance. I did my job and we eventually came back and won the ballgame.'' ILLUSTRATION: JIM WALKER/Staff [color photo]
Derek Lee receives a warm welcome from his friends in the Norfolk
Tides dugout after scoring a run at Harbor Park.
BOX SCORE
STANDINGS
STATISTICS
[For a copy of the charts, see microfilm for this date.]
by CNB