THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, June 21, 1996 TAG: 9606210657
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY BUMP
CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: ROCHESTER, N.Y. LENGTH: 51 lines
Only two things really bothered Mike Gardiner last night as he continued his remarkably consistent roll through Internationl League batters.
A Scott McClain home run to left field and another McClain homer over the right field wall.
As a result, the Norfolk Tides' pitcher left the game after eight innings, his longest outing of the year, in a 2-2 tie.
``The home runs were a disappointment to myself, but I had a sense we were going to win all along,'' he said.
It took 10 innings, but the Tides did beat the Rochester Red Wings 6-2 with four-runs in the 10th, when all of manager Bobby Valentine's moves paid off.
The Tides improved to 41-29, while Rochester fell to 34-35.
Gary Thurman started the rally with a one-out double against losing pitcher Todd Frohwirth (0-1). Shawn Gilbert, who pinch hit for Brian Daubach in the ninth, finished it with a two-run bloop single. And Rick Trlicek (1-3) closed out a nifty five-hitter with a 1-2-3 bottom of the 10th.
``We got lucky with some of our hits,'' said Valentine, who also saw his team break out with two outs in the third inning for its first two runs. ``That was really good timing for Thomas.'' The righthanded Thurman, part of the veteran gang of the Tides, said he was not fazed by Frohwirth, a sidearming righthander.
``Actually, it doesn't bother me. I see the ball a little bit longer against a sidearmer. I always enjoy hitting off them. We have a lot of line-drive hitters, guys who can hit doubles.''
Such as Matt Franco, who followed Thurman's hit with a run-scoring double. And Alex Ochoa, who blooped a double into right, sending Franco to third base. An intentional walk, an infield hit and Gilbert's blooper put the Tides in command.
However sweet Norfolk's two rallies were, pitching was the story of the night.
``We pitched real well tonight,'' Valentine understated. ``That's the way Gardiner has pitched this year. His one walk was intentional. He throws strikes, and works quick.''
``Actually, I didn't pitch tonight, I threw the ball,'' said Gardiner, whose league-leading earned run average soared all the way to 1.46. ``I got away with a lot. I made a lot of mistakes, and I'm glad I had my defense behind me. ILLUSTRATION: BOX SCORE
STANDINGS
TEAM STATISTICS
[For a copy of the charts, see microfilm for this date.] by CNB