THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 25, 1996 TAG: 9607250539
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 56 lines
If only the Norfolk Tides could have borrowed a couple runs from the previous couple nights.
After pummelling Toledo pitching for 35 hits and 30 runs in back-to-back games, the Tides suffered a power outage Wednesday night, losing to the Mud Hens 8-1 at Harbor Park.
``That's one of those lulls after the storm,'' Tides manager Bobby Valentine said.
Toledo's Brian Barnes was guilty of pulling the plug on the Tides. Or more accurately, pulling the string.
The crafty lefthander had the Tides flailing the entire evening, scattering eight hits in his first complete game of the season for the Mud Hens.
``He pitched a great game and kept us off-balance with the change-up,'' said Tides third baseman Matt Franco. ``He threw me one fastball on my first at-bat and I got a double out of it. After that, I didn't see another fastball until my last at-bat. I think Jay Payton (3 for 4) was the only guy who had him figured out.''
After Franco's double, the Tides didn't have another extra-base hit.
Toledo struck for three runs in the first, with the Mud Hens' rush beginning when Steve Rodriguez beat pitcher Joe Crawford to the bag on a grounder to first baseman Roberto Petagine.
``I thought the ball was (to the second baseman),'' Crawford said. ``I hesitated for two steps. . . . It came back to haunt me.''
Tony Mitchell then drew the first of his four walks on the night and Bubba Trammell and Eric Wedge followed with two-out, run-scoring singles. Then, when Tim Hyers' bouncer went through second baseman Shawn Gilbert's legs, the Mud Hens took a 3-0 lead.
Toledo upped that advantage with Kevin Baez's leadoff homer in the second.
The Tides got singles from Payton, Kevin Roberson and Alberto Castillo to cut the lead to 4-1 in the bottom of the second.
But Toledo stretched the lead to 7-1 in the fourth on a double by Baez, a bunt single by Glen Barker and a home run by Phil Hiatt, his International League-leading 26th of the season.
Tim Hyers' homer in the seventh capped the scoring.
The loss shrinks Norfolk's lead in the International League West Division to one game, with second-place Columbus coming to town tonight for a two-game series. Two wins could put the Clippers in the division lead.
With just over a month to go in the regular season, does this make it an important series?
``It's important if they call off the rest of the season after they leave,'' Valentine said. ``There's one month left. It's close. It'll be close the rest of the way.''
``A win is a win and if you win five of 10 and they win five of 10, it doesn't really matter where the five wins come from,'' Franco said. ``But we're both expecting to be in the playoffs (the top two teams from each division make it), and every time you beat a team you might face later, it leaves a little doubt in their mind. That's where it's important.'' by CNB