ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, June 11, 1996 TAG: 9606110038
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK STAFF WRITER
Steve Shoemaker reflected his baseball team Monday night at Salem Memorial Stadium.
The Avalanche right-hander kept sliding.
Shoemaker left the game in the bottom of the fourth inning with a no-hitter and a strained right hamstring. Then, despite a ninth-inning rally, the Avalanche fell 4-3 to Kinston. (Box score in Baseball Scoreboard. B2)
David Caldwell didn't slip, and used his popping fastball to pitch seven shutout innings for the Indians, sending the Avalanche into last place in the Carolina League's Southern Division.
The loss, Salem's 12th in 15 games, dropped the Avalanche to .500 (32-32). Salem hasn't been below .500 since April 13, when it was 4-5.
The Avalanche needs to win three of the final five games of this homestand to become the first Salem club to finish a half-season at or above .500 since the first half of 1988.
Bill McGuire's club may not have the pitching to get there - a strange development after the club had been so dominating on the mound until three weeks ago.
"Every team and every manager is graded on how much it wins,'' McGuire said. ``We're .500. It's acceptable, but it's not. We all want to have a winning team.''
Shoemaker, making his third start, was injured when he slid after making a pitch to Kinston's David Miller with two outs in the Indians' fourth. He slid on the rain-dampened clay on the mound, although the start of the game had been held up 10 minutes while groundskeepers applied a drying agent.
Shoemaker warmed up after being injured, and felt his leg pull again. He wanted to complete the inning, but McGuire asked for the ball.
"I wanted to try and pitch through it,'' said Shoemaker, acquired in the off-season by Colorado from the New York Yankees in a deal that sent catcher Joe Girardi to the Bronx. ``They're looking out for what's best for me.''
Salem trainer Bill Borowski said the club will know more about Shoemaker's injury today. ``I'd say it's questionable he'll be able to make his next start [Saturday],'' Borowski said.
``He was dominating,'' said McGuire of Shoemaker, who had five strikeouts when he hobbled off the mound.
The Avalanche lost right-hander Brent Crowther in a call-up to Class AA New Haven on May 22. Then, Luther Hackman was hit in the nose by a line drive in his June 1 start.
Doug Walls' spot in the rotation comes Wednesday, but he won't be able to pitch, since he's still working his way back after arm trouble and extended spring training. Now, Shoemaker is iffy. The only plus for the club is that the five-day All-Star break arrives Sunday.
McGuire said right-hander Neil Garrett, who pitched briefly for the Avalanche last season, will come up from Class A Asheville for one start. While Shoemaker is scheduled to work in the last game of the first-half season, McGuire said the Avalanche may need help from Asheville for Saturday's game, too.
"Shoemaker's probably not going to start,'' said the Salem skipper. ``Why put him out there for one game when he could have another five days' rest for it?''
Right-hander Sean Murphy arrived from Asheville Monday, and relieved Shoemaker. Murphy's welcome to a faster Class A level was a one-pitch finish to the Kinston fourth. He couldn't take the fifth, however.
The Indians began that inning with six straight base hits, and a four-run rally was capped by Steve Bernhardt's error at third.
Salem's three-run rally in the ninth was keyed by Chan Mayber's two-run double, but he - the tying run - was left at third.
SNOWBALLS: Second baseman Elvis Pena returned to the club and was reactivated Monday, then entered the game in the seventh. Pena, out since May 24 and hospitalized with an intestinal illness, is still weak and isn't expected to play full-time until the weekend at the earliest. Pena was 10-for-31 in his last seven games before missing more than two weeks. ... Keith Grunewald, who came down from Class AA New Haven to fill Pena's spot, returned to the Ravens after hitting .243 in 10 games. Mayber led off and started at second Monday. ... Murphy, a former University of North Carolina right-hander, was 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA for Asheville.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: DON PETERSEN/Staff. The Avalanche's Steven Bernhardtby CNB(15), Blake Barthol (17) and Kyle Houser surround Indians runners
Chip Glass (left) and Tim Jorgensen at
third base during a rundown Monday night. color.