On deck: Mud Hens vs. Norfolk Tides

8/14/2003

When: Today and tomorrow, 7 p.m.

TV: None.

Radio: 1470 AM.

Affiliation: Norfolk, New York Mets.

Pitching probables (Hens listed last): today, RH Jeremy Griffiths (5-6, 2.69 ERA) vs. RH Gary Knotts (4-2, 4.08); tomorrow, RH Jason Middlebrook (6-8, 4.76) vs. RH Tyler Walker (2-8, 4.75).

Tidal waves: Norfolk lost 12 of its first 20 games after the All-Star break, including six of its last eight, to fall out of the pennant chase. The Tides started play yesterday eight games back in the IL South Division race and 10 games down in the wild-card hunt. ... OF Esix Snead led the league with 54 stolen bases, 24 more than the next-highest total. ... As a team the Tides had swiped 153 bases; no other IL team was within 30 steals of Norfolk. ... 1B Jorge Toca has hit .343 against the Mud Hens this season ... Norfolk has five pitchers who have registered at least three saves this season; Edwin Almonte ranked among the league leaders with 18, and Orber Moreno had nine.

Hen happenings: Toledo has won two in a row at home to keep alive its remote hopes of a playoff berth. The Mud Hens are 51/2 games behind Buffalo in the wild-card chase. ... The Hens are 3-7 against Norfolk this season, but are 2-2 at Fifth Third Field. The biggest problem for Toledo has been its .238 team batting average against the Tides. ... OF Cody Ross has hit .410 in his last 15 games. He is third in the league in extra-base hits (48), and his .489 slugging percentage ranks fifth in the IL. ... The Hens are last in the 14-team circuit with a .250 batting average but lead the league with a 3.61 ERA. ... Even though he was in the majors for a month, RH Fernando Rodney still ranks among the league's best with his 22 saves.

Special events: Tonight the Mud Hens will hold a lottery to give away 1,000 Cody Ross bobblehead dolls. ... Only a limited number of tickets remain for tomorrow's contest. ... During tomorrow's game the Zooperstars, costumed animal characters named for famous baseball people, will entertain. ... There will be fireworks following both games.

Next home series: vs. Louisville Bats, Aug. 20-21.