BRADENTON, Fla. - Dave Burba got his jacket from the dugout and began making his way down the left-field line to the Reds' clubhouse. As he started to jog, a row of fans stood up and cheered, followed by another.
Soon Burba was getting a standing ovation from an opposition crowd and he didn't know what to do. So he smiled and waved as he ran past, like a politician signaling victory on election day.
It was the second standing ovation Burba has received this spring as he shows the Reds they may have found a solid No. 1 starter. The first came after an impressive performance in his second start - when he didn't allow a hit after the first batter in five innings - and the latest came Thursday, when he went seven innings, allowing no walks and only one hit against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Burba, in fact, threw a perfect game for 6ô innings and should have had a no-hitter. But an infield grounder by the Pirates' Tony Womack handcuffed Reds first baseman Eduardo Perez, who bobbled it. Burba got to first base on time to take Perez's throw, but Burba's foot missed the bag.
Perez should have been charged with an error, but because of the biased nature of spring training scoring, the official scorer ruled it a hit.
''It doesn't matter to me,'' Burba said, pointing out that it was just a spring training game. ''Even if I threw a no-hitter, big deal. I didn't even think about it. I was more concerned with getting to the bag so Jack (McKeon) wouldn't yell at me.''
It may not have mattered to Burba, but his masterly performance Thursday and his others this spring do matter to the Reds, who are pleasantly surprised with their burgeoning ace.
So far Burba has started 1998 the way he finished 1997: hot. He has allowed only 10 hits in four spring starts. More importantly, he hasn't walked a single batter in the 20 innings he has thrown while striking out 19.
''I like what I see,'' said Reds manager McKeon. ''You don't see many pitchers in spring training who are as sharp as he is. All the other starters have had a bad outing, and he will sometime, but he hasn't yet. The thing I like is his consistency in throwing strikes.'' That's the biggest difference in the Burba of 1998 and the Burba of the past, who has often started slowly and wildly.
Burba, in his seventh major league season, is becoming the poster child for pitching coach Don Gullett's philosophy: throw strikes. ''I wish I had all my starters here to watch him go after the hitters,'' McKeon said. ''It's strike one, strike two, and that's it.''
Gullett said Burba is throwing more strikes because he's in better shape. Burba was bothered by a back injury last season, so this off-season the Reds changed his workouts from a stationary bicycle to more jogging.
Consequently, Burba says he feels better this spring than in any other spring training in his career. Part of the change is mechanics. By using his whole body, he puts less stress on his arm and it doesn't get sore.
''I have yet to ice my arm this spring,'' he said. ''Usually you're walking around the clubhouse asking guys if their arm hurts as much as yours does, but I've been feeling great.''
Thursday, Burba pitched so well he only threw about 60 pitches in the seven innings. It's rare for a starter to go seven innings at this stage of the spring, but Burba went five in his second start and six in his third.
This is all extremely good news to the Reds. Burba has struggled mightily in past early seasons, but if he keeps pitching this way when games start to count, the Reds will have found a guy who has the potential to dominate and anchor a still yet-to-be-named staff. ''It's been an eye-opener for me,'' Burba said, ''and I'm sure it's been an eye-opener for some front-office people.''
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