THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, April 13, 1996 TAG: 9604130454
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STAN OLSON, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: FORT MILL, S.C. LENGTH: Short : 50 lines
Even one of the hottest prospects in organized baseball couldn't slow the Norfolk Tides on Friday night.
Livan Hernandez, a 21-year-old Cuban defector, started the first game of his American professional baseball career Friday and lost to the Tides 7-1 in Knights Castle.
Hernandez, who defected from the Cuban national team in September and signed a four-year, $4.5 million contract with the Florida Marlins in January, was greeted roughly by the Tides, who pushed their way into first place in the International League's West Division.
The game was Charlotte's home opener after a road trip that ended with seven of eight scheduled games postponed by the weather, and a crowd of 7,781 showed up to watch Hernandez work.
But the Tides (6-2) spoiled the party.
After Hernandez, perhaps the most discussed rookie in the game this spring, got Shawn Gilbert to open the game with a flyout, veteran Matt Franco doubled hard to right-centerfield. Then Hernandez hung an 0-2 curve to Jay Payton, who lined it over the leftfield fence to make it 2-0.
Hernandez settled down after that but was roughed up a bit more in the fifth, when he walked pitcher Mike Fyhrie with one out. After a fielder's choice, Franco hit a triple off the centerfield wall.
Hernandez, two shy of his 85-pitch limit, was done after that fifth inning.
He said through an interpreter that he wasn't tired despite not having pitched in two weeks, that he felt ``really good,'' and said of the homer and triple, ``I threw a couple of mistakes - that's where they got their runs.''
Still, he had not been a match for Fyhrie, who followed up a shutout of Toledo in his first start with 6 2/3 innings of four-hit, one-run work to earn his second victory.
But while Hernandez didn't exactly look like the future savior of the Florida Marlins, he showed off a 92 mph fastball.
And, after throwing 51 strikes and 32 balls, he made an impression on the Tides.
``He hung a curve to me, but after the first inning, his stuff got nasty,'' said Payton. ``We saw him some in spring training, too.
``He has the potential to be a great big league pitcher.''
The Tides and Knights play the second of this three-game series tonight at 7:05 in Knights Castle. by CNB