"He's real close because he's getting real angry when he doesn't hit a pitch he should hit," Miller said.
"Before, he was kind of quiet when he made an out because he told Terry [hitting coach Terry Crowley], `I'm not quite getting to it yet.' But now he's getting to it, so he's getting upset."
Clark, who doubled three times and homered last night, began the game batting .226 since returning from the DL on May 25. He was hitting .370 before fracturing his left thumb April 18 in Toronto.
Around the horn
The Braves surrendered their most runs since a 23-8 loss to San Francisco on June 8, 1990. It was the most lopsided defeat since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1966 and fell just short of the most lopsided loss in team history -- Boston's 26-3 loss to Cincinnati on June 4, 1911. The Orioles have agreed in principle on a contract with first-round draft pick Michael Paradis, a right-hander from Clemson who was the 13th overall selection in the draft. The signing is contingent on a physical. The Braves' bullpen, which had not allowed an earned run in 16 innings, surrendered 15 runs to the Orioles.
Moose road curve
Before his last two starts, Mike Mussina had much more success at home than on the road. A comparison of Mussina at home and on the road through June 2:
Home Road
Starts 6 6
Record 6-0 1-3
Innings per start 6.83 6.44
Hits per start 7.2 8.3
Earned runs per start 2.2 4.2
O's runs per start 7.5 5.7
But in his last two starts, he's turned it around:
Date Opp IP H ER Res
6/8 at Fla *5 2 0 ND
6/13 at Atl 7 5 1 W 22-1 *
pulled after rain delay
Pub Date: 6/14/99
