DATE: Saturday, August 30, 1997             TAG: 9708300575

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RICH RADFORD, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   57 lines

TIDES BEAT OTTAWA, BUT DON'T GAIN ON CHARLOTTE NORFOLK REMAINS A A HALF GAME BACK IN CHASE FOR THE FINAL PLAYOFF BID.

The Norfolk Tides combined two aspects of baseball Friday night - timely hitting and solid pitching - that had lately been traveling in different circles.

Home runs by Charlie Greene and Shawn Gilbert made a strong six-inning starting performance by Jeff Tam stand up as Norfolk won for only the fifth time in 21 games, this a 4-2 decision over the Ottawa Lynx at Harbor Park.

Norfolk remained a half-game behind Charlotte, a 8-2 winner over Richmond, in the race for the second playoff berth in the International League West Division.

Richmond's loss eliminated the Braves from playoff contention. Now the Tides can only hope the Braves don't fold their teepee over the next three days. Should both Norfolk (73-66) and Charlotte (73-65) win out, Charlotte would advance to the playoffs because they lost a rain date earlier in the season.

``It could be easy for Richmond to give in with no playoff incentive,'' Tides manager Rick Dempsey said. ``But I don't think they'll lay down. They've got a rightfielder (Tommy Gregg) battling for the batting title. They want to finish above .500. And they're pros. Plus, they're a lot better now than they were at the beginning of the season.''

For a change, the Tides got off to a hot start Friday with two first-inning runs. Gilbert was hit by a pitch and Benny Agbayani followed with a run-scoring double to the warning track in the right gap. Agbayani later came home on a two-out single to right by Phil Geisler.

``Everybody's been struggling lately,'' Geisler said. ``But we're starting to come to life at the right time. Hopefully this is just the beginning.''

Greene then popped his second home run in as many nights, and his eighth of the season, for a 3-0 lead.

Tam, who had gone 0-4 in his last six starts, pitched five shutout innings before tiring in the sixth and giving up back-to-back, two-out, run-scoring doubles to Orlando Cabrera and Jon Saffer.

Tam (7-5) left with a 3-2 lead after six innings and finished the season with a rather impressive statistic: no walks allowed in his last 29 innings pitched and only one walk in his last 55 innings of action.

``He's only a good changeup away from being an outstanding pitcher,'' Dempsey said of the righthander, who converted from the bullpen midway through the season. ``He just needs something to counter his fastball and slider.''

Jimmy Myers, who pitching two scoreless innings, and Mike Welch, who earned his 19th save of the season, made Tam's effort stand up. Gilbert roped Rod Henderson's first pitch of the seventh inning into the picnic area beyond left for a 4-2 lead, breaking a 1-for-15 run by the Tides' shortstop.

``That was a big hit for Gilbert,'' Dempsey said. ``I hope it helps him to relax some.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MOTOYA NAKAMURA/The Virginian-Pilot

Norfolk's Charlie Greene scored the winning run for the Tides on

Friday with a solo home run.

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