THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 2, 1996 TAG: 9606020222
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C8 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 44 lines
Mike Gardiner's streak of innings pitched without giving up a home run ended at 66 Saturday night when Ricky Ledee drove a fastball over the Norfolk Tides' bullpen in rightfield in the second inning.
But that didn't cause as much pain as an eighth-inning, one-out bunt by Kevin Northrup that traveled about 20 feet.
Gardiner twisted his right ankle attempting to plant while fielding the bunt single, then the Columbus Clippers twisted Gardiner's previously unbeaten record, posting a 3-1 victory at Harbor Park.
After Northrup reached, Gardiner took a precautionary warmup pitch to test the ankle and continued, although with a slight limp.
Gardiner's next pitch was in the dirt and allowed Northrup to move to second. He intentionally walked Marc Marini, then gave up a run-scoring double to the gap in right to Mark Delasandro. Robert Eenhoorn followed with a sacrifice fly to right as Gardiner suffered his first loss of the season, falling to 6-1.
``A non-athlete,'' Gardiner said in reference to his fielding of the bunt.
``It's tough to take him out in a 1-1 game,'' said Tides manager Bobby Valentine.
As with his 10 previous starts, Gardiner had great control of his pitches, giving up only four hits in 7 2/3 innings. But the pitch to Delasandro was a costly mistake.
``I gave the guy the opportunity to drive the ball and he did it,'' said Gardiner, whose earned run average climbed to only 1.49. ``The pitch to (Ledee) wasn't a mistake. He just hit it out. The mistake was to (Delasandro).''
The Tides had erased the Clippers' one-run lead in the fourth when Benny Agbayani singled, advanced two bases on wild pitches by Tim Rumer and scored on Luis Rivera's single to left.
But Norfolk (30-23), which leads Columbus by two games in the International League West Division, was kept off-balance by the Clippers' seemingly endless number of pitching changes.
Rich Monteleone pitched the seventh to earn the victory and Dave Pavlas, the Clippers' sixth pitcher, came on in the ninth to earn the save. Not before the Tides threatened, however.
Rivera walked with two outs and pinch-hitter Andy Tomberlin singled to right, moving Rivera to third. Shawn Gilbert flew out to left to end it. by CNB