DATE: Saturday, May 31, 1997 TAG: 9705310650 SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 60 lines
When you're hot, good things happen.
The Norfolk Tides are hot, and they got the only break they would need in the third inning Friday night when Syracuse centerfielder Darrell Whitmore lost his footing on a Shawn Gilbert line drive that became an inside-the-park, two-run home run in a 2-0 victory at Harbor Park.
Whitmore took three steps in on Gilbert's sharply hit ball, then had his left heel slip from under him. Whitmore reached up at the last second, but the ball cleared his glove by inches and the race was on.
``When I saw him slip and the ball go past, I thought I had a chance,'' said Gilbert, who could not recall having an inside-the-park homer as a pro. ``I was just hoping I had enough to get there. I was running out of gas.''
Luis Lopez, who had extended his hitting streak to 17 games with a single through the right side, came home ahead of Gilbert, turning Syracuse's Roy Halladay into the hard-luck loser.
``If that ball doesn't get by him out there, we might still be playing,'' Gilbert said.
It was the Tides' sixth win in their last seven games, and the back-to-back shutouts - Norfolk beat the Charlotte Knights 8-0 on Wednesday before having Thursday off - are the first by a Tides pitching staff in six years.
Keith Shepherd and Jeff Tam had combined to shut down Charlotte. On Friday, it was Joe Crawford, Ricardo Jordan and Mike Welch as Norfolk 22) maintained its half-game lead over Columbus in the International League West Division.
``We've gotten some outstanding pitching lately,'' Tides manager Rick Dempsey said. ``And our bullpen is very fresh, which is one reason why I went to it. They need some work, and I'm pitching-rich right now.''
Crawford went 7 1/3 innings before giving way to Jordan after allowing a one-out single to Felipe Crespo. Jordan then struck out Rich Butler and got Mike Aldrete to fly out to end the eighth; Welch pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save of the season.
Crawford gave up six hits, walked one and struck out five while improving to 5-1. He noted two changes in delivery as the keys.
``I picked some brains on some stuff in the last few days,'' Crawford said. ``Ricky (Jordan) really gets his arm down on his curveball, so I tried lowering my arm angle, and it worked. I'd also been standing up too tall and not using my legs out of the stretch.''
Halladay, 20, the Toronto Blue Jays' first-round pick in the 1995 draft, allowed only four hits - two by Lopez and two by Gilbert - over seven innings before giving way to reliever Marty Janzen.
``That kid caught a real tough break tonight,'' Dempsey said. ``I take my hat off to him and I don't want to face him again anytime soon.''
Note: The first 2,000 fans 17-and-under for tonight's game will receive caps with the Tides' logo and ``Smoking isn't cool'' embroidered above the logo. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot
Shawn Gilbert dashes past Syracuse catcher Sandy Martinez to score.
His inside-the-park homer provided the game's only runs. ``I was
just hoping I had enough to get there,'' he said. ``I was running
out of gas.''
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