THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 29, 1996 TAG: 9608290622
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY KIMBALL CROSSLEY, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: PAWTUCKET, R.I. LENGTH: 44 lines
Now that the teams' regular-season series is over, it's fair to say the Pawtucket Red Sox would probably rather not see the Norfolk Tides in the Governors' Cup Championship.
The Tides showed once again that they have the PawSox's number Wednesday, defeating Pawtucket 7-4 behind homers from Matt Franco, Jay Payton and Alberto Castillo, and the pitching of Mike Fyhrie, who won his 15th game.
The Tides won the season series 10-4, taking two of three games in this set. Pawtucket's frustration at not being able to handle the Tides might have shown itself.
Pawtucket starter Jeff Pierce (2-1) started jawing at Castillo as the Norfolk catcher rounded the bases following his homer in the fourth inning. It was the third homer Pierce surrendered and it gave the Tides a 5-1 lead.
Pierce wouldn't tell what he said to Castillo or why he said it - he simply said he had a bad game. but Pawtucket manager Buddy Bailey was not pleased with his pitcher's behavior.
``I'm more disappointed at the way he handled himself than the way he pitched,'' Bailey said.
As for Castillo, he did his talking after the game, and perhaps further fueled the rivalry if these two playoff-bound teams do meet in the postseason.
``He's just upset that we're a better team than them,'' said Castillo, adding that the incident was not based on any prior episode. ``He's lucky I've never faced him before.''
Fyhrie (15-6) the league leader in wins and ERA, was once again sharp, although he did allow a run in the first inning on a double by Nomar Garciaparra and two more in the fifth inning on a wild pitch and a groundout. But he left after five innings because he's going to pitch again on Sunday so manager Bruce Benedict can set up his playoff rotation.
The Norfolk bullpen took over from there. Bryan Rogers allowed a solo homer to Jose Malave in the seventh, but the Tides got two insurance runs in the ninth when centerfielder Alex Cole dropped Jason Hardtke's two-out fly ball.
Rick Trlicek pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth for his ninth save.
NOTES: Benedict said Rick Reed, tonight's starter, will be his starter for the first game of the playoff series against Columbus. . . . Trlicek set a club record for appearances with his 59th outing Tuesday night. He broke Steve Frey's 1988 record of 58. by CNB