THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 16, 1994 TAG: 9407160453
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM ROBINSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Five minutes after his Norfolk Tides teammates had cleared their dugout Friday, Joe Roa remained, clearing his head.
A 22-year-old righthander, Roa had just fashioned a complete-game, seven-hit, no-walk gem to beat the Richmond Braves, 6-2. Aided by uncanny run production from his teammates - all the Tides' runs scored with two outs in three different innings - Roa, a former Braves prospect, avenged the 11-hit treatment Richmond handed him over five innings in a July 3 loss.
Yet in the postgame silence, Roa was enjoying anything but a fond reverie. He knew he had been picked off second base, costing the Tides a run. He knew he had committed a throwing error that led to Richmond's first run. He recited more than once how he failed to move a runner to third base with a bad bunt, and missed a sign to boot.
In short, for someone who improved to 6-3 and lowered his earned-run average to 3.14, Roa seemed as bothered as a guy could be.
``That's the only way I can get through to myself, as far as learning,'' Roa said. ``I have to get on myself. That's the way to keep me on that middle level or that narrow path, whatever. That's just the way it works for me.
``I made three or four mistakes tonight that probably could've cost us. But (pitching coach Bob Apodaca) told me, `You pitched a good game. Think about that, too.' ''
Well, if he has to, it was a good one to mentally replay. Roa had a four-hitter through seven, then battled through two rally opportunities in the eighth and ninth to record his third complete game.
He hit a man to start the ninth and was probably a hitter away from being removed when Jose Olmeda lined out with two on to end the game. Yet Roa had three-ball counts only four times.
A ``strike-throwing machine,'' according to Apodaca, Roa has walked only 19 batters (one intentionally) in 111 2/3 innings - and just one in his last 27 innings.
``He said, `Aw, I screwed up a couple times,' '' Apodaca said. ``I said, `Geez, Joe, you made a hell of a lot of good pitches, too.' He's having success, and I don't know if he knows how to take the success.
``So, yeah, you've got to keep hitting him over the head a little bit with, `Hey, you're pitching outstanding for us.' ''
At the least, Roa said he was pleased to beat the Braves for the second time.
``More so this game because they hit me so good last game,'' said Roa, who came to the Mets in September 1991 as the player to be named later in a trade for Alejandro Pena. He arrived with strong credentials - a 19-7 record and 2.52 ERA in three seasons with Atlanta.
``They put me in a hole last game,'' Roa said. ``I've never been so depressed, as far as this year anyway. It hurt more because it was the Braves. It took me two or three days to get over that. I couldn't wait for this start. Now I feel better.''
Which is good, because after a victory, he probably couldn't have felt worse. by CNB