Tides can’t make early lead stand up
The Norfolk Tides couldn’t make an early lead stick Tuesday night at Harbor Park and fell 8-6 to the Charlotte Knights in front of 4,362 fans.
Playing to a 4-2 lead after six innings, the Tides surrendered two runs in each of the last three innings. Steve Johnson, who had pitched brilliantly through 6.0 innings, ran into trouble in the 7th frame when he allowed consecutive hits to lead off the inning. Andrew Garcia cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly that scored Jordan Danks and ended the night for Johnson. Wynn Pelzer came on in relief and recorded one out before surrendering an RBI single to Eduardo Escobar that tied the game.
Pelzer (0-1, 3.52) remained in the game to start the 8th inning but wasn’t effective. After allowing a leadoff single to Jared Price, the reliever issued two one-out walks before serving up a go-ahead, two-run single to Danks.
The Tides jumped ahead early off Charlotte Knights starter Phil Humber, who was pitching on a Major League rehab assignment. Josh Bell got the Tides on the board with a two-run homer in the 1st inning and later added an RBI single in the 3rd inning to make it 3-0. Brandon Snyder followed with an RBI single that scored Bell.
Humber settled down to last 5.0 innings and allowed just the four runs on seven hits but didn’t factor into the decision. The White Sox starter struck out five batters and walked just one.
The Knights chipped away at the Tides lead, adding a run in the 4th and 6th inning. Dallas McPherson put his team on the board with a towering home run to right field. Lastings Milledge inched the visitors closer with a two-out RBI single in the 6th.
Johnson was charged with all four runs (three earned). He allowed seven hits on the night in 6.1 innings.
Wes Whisler (3-2, 8.15) picked up the win by tossing 2.0 scoreless innings. Shane Lindsay gave up one run, a two-out RBI double Rhyne Hughes, in 1.0 inning to earn his fourth save of the year.
The Knights put up two runs in the 9th inning. Jim Gallagher added an RBI single while McPherson came around to score on an errant pickoff attempt.
Brendan Harris added a sacrifice fly in the 8th inning for the Tides.
The Harbor Park lights went out with two outs in the 9th inning and Brandon Snyder at the plate. Snyder, who represented the tying run, was batting with a 3-2 count at the time. He struck out on the first pitch he saw after the 16 minute delay.
The Tides will welcome Gwinnett to Harbor Park Wednesday for the start of a two-game set. The two clubs will pick up their suspended game from July 25. That game was suspended due to rain just before the start of the 5th inning with the score tied 1-1. The regularly-scheduled game will follow its conclusion and last seven innings. RH Rick VandenHurk (9-13, 4.43) will pitch the regularly scheduled game opposite RH Randall Delgado (2-2, 4.15). Pitchers for the suspended game have not been announced.
Late homer dooms Tides
Mitch Atkins made one mistake Monday night at Harbor Park, and it cost the Norfolk Tides as they fell to the Charlotte Knights 4-3 in front of 3,654 fans.
Pitching with a 3-2 lead in the 7th inning, Atkins (3-7, 5.20) gave up a two-out, two-run home run to Gookie Dawkins that proved to be the difference in the game. Atkins had been cruising at that point, striking out 10 of the previous 16 batters he faced prior to the inning. He finished the game with a season-high 11 strikeouts while walking just one batter.
The Tides took the lead a half inning prior on an RBI single from Felix Pie that found its way into the outfield after going under the glove of three different infielders, including pitcher Gregory Infante. The single plated Tyler Henson who had led off the 6th inning with a double.
Infante (1-4, 3.30) tossed 2.0 innings and allowed just the one run on three hits. He picked up the win in relief of Joe Serafin who gave up two runs on seven hits in 5.0 innings after being staked to an early 2-0 lead.
The Knights scored twice on Atkins in the 1st frame before the Tides starter locked in. Justin Greene led off the game with a single to left field and moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Following a one-out walk, Dallas McPherson put Charlotte on the board with an RBI groundout that Atkins took himself. The Knights scored their second run on a throwing error by Blake Davis at shortstop that allowed Jim Gallagher to score from second base.
The Tides came back with two runs in the 5th inning to tie the contest. Kyle Hudson started things for the home team with a single and moved to second base on a walk by Pie. Brandon Snyder came through with an RBI single that cut the deficit in half and Rhyne Hughes tied it up with an RBI single that deflected off Serafin’s glove and scored Pie from third base.
Addison Reed picked up his second save with two scoreless innings. He allowed one hit while striking out one.
The Tides got 2.0 scoreless innings from Clay Rapada and Jeremy Accardo. Each pitcher gave up a hit while Accardo walked two and struck out three.
The Tides and Knights will close out their 2011 season series Tuesday at 7:15. RH Steve Johnson (2-6, 5.79) will take the hill for the Tides opposite RH Phil Humber (0-0, N/A) who will be making a Major League rehab start for Charlotte.
Tides punchless in 4-0 loss
Zach Britton was effective on the mound Tuesday night for the Norfolk Tides but the offense couldn’t get things going in a 4-0 loss to the Charlotte Knights in front of 4,649 fans at Harbor Park.
Despite taking the loss, Britton (0-1, 1.80) flashed the stuff that made Baseball America rate him as the organization’s top pitching prospect heading into the season. The lefthander allowed just one run on three hits in 5.0 innings of work and was rarely in trouble after a shaky first frame.
The Knights jumped on the board early with a two-out RBI single from Dallas McPherson. Jim Gallagher scored from second base on the play after walking with one out in the frame. Britton nearly got out of the inning unscathed when Dayan Viciedo hit a ball right at Ryan Adams at second base, but the Tides infielder couldn’t handle the hard smash cleanly and was forced to settle for just one out. McPherson followed with his run-scoring single.
That was all the support Dylan Axelrod needed. The Charlotte starter was tremendous in 8.0 shutout innings for the visitors. He scattered three hits on the night and allowed multiple runners to reach base in just one frame while retiring the final 10 batters he faced. He struck out six batters on the night and walked none to pick up his fourth win against one loss.
The Knights added three runs in the 6th inning off reliever Mark Hendrickson. Viciedo hit his 17th home run of the year, a two-run moon blast that landed near the concession stand in left field. McPherson followed with a solo shot to center field.
The Tides and Knights continue their four-game set Wednesday at 7:15. RH Chris Tillman (3-3, 4.17) will take on LH Doug Davis (1-3, 3.00).
Tide blasts Knights
The Norfolk Tides paid homage to the Independence Weekend Sunday night at Harbor Park by lighting up the scoreboard in an 11-7 win over the Charlotte Knights in front of 8,853 fans.
John Hester put the Tides ahead with a three-run homer in the second inning. Trailing 3-0 to start the frame, the Tides loaded the bases with no outs on two hits and a walk. Nick Green put the home team on the board with an RBI fielder’s choice before John Hester launched a Deunte Heath offering into the left field picnic area.
The Tides put up another four spot in the third inning thanks to another home run, this one from Brendan Harris. Rhyne Hughes got the big inning started by reaching on a dropped third strike and moved to second base when Jake Fox was hit by a pitch. Snyder followed with the first of his three RBI on the night, an RBI single. Tyler Henson then delivered an RBI single of his own ahead of the blast from Harris that gave the home team an 8-4 lead.
The Knights got off to a hot start of their own. Alejandro De Aza led off the game with a home run that landed in the Tides bullpen. The Knights added two more runs in the second inning off a two-run homer by Jordan Danks that gave the Knights a 3-0 lead. Trailing 4-3 in the third inning, De Aza led off the frame with his second home run to tie the game at 4-4.
Snyder added solo home runs in the fifth and seventh inning to increase the Tides advantage. The four home runs hit by the Tides tied a season best for the club. They also hit four home runs against Charlotte on April 18.
Fighting a strong wind to left field, Chris Tillman (3-2, 4.54) labored through 5.0 innings to pick up the win. He gave up five runs on seven hits, three of which went for home runs.
Knights starter Deunte Heath (2-4, 5.73) was charged with nine runs on eight hits in a losing effort. The righthander struck out eight batters on the night.
Matt Angle continued his hot stretch, going 2-for-5 with an RBI.
Nick Bierbrodt tossed 1.2 innings of relief and allowed a run on two hits. Jeremy Accardo earned his second hold in as many nights after throwing 1.1 innings of scoreless relief. Mark Worrell’s streak of 11.0 scoreless innings came to end when he allowed a ninth inning RBI double to Danks. The All-Star closer allowed just the one run in his 1.0 innings of work.
The Tides will travel to Charlotte Monday night for a 7:30 game. The game was originally scheduled for 7:15 but was pushed back to accommodate pre-game festivities. RH Steve Johnson (0-2, 8.49) will get the start for the Tides opposite RH Matt Zaleski (1-4, 7.47).
The Tides will return to Harbor Park on Saturday, July 9 for a two-game series with Durham. The first 2,000 kids 17 & under to enter Harbor Park on July 9 will receive a Tides youth replica jersey compliments of Coke Zero and Fox 43.
Tides earn doubleheader split
Matt Angle got the Norfolk Tides off to a fast start in game two of Saturday night’s double-header, and the Tides earned a split with a 4-0 win over the Charlotte Knights in front of 7,260 fans at Harbor Park
The speedy outfielder, who grounded out to end game one of the double-header, led off game two with a home run off Jhonny Nunez. Angle finished the night a combined 2-for-7 with a home run and is now hitting .315 (52-for-165) with 18 RBI since May 20.
That was all the run support Tides starter Troy Patton needed. Patton (4-1, 2.06) continued his home dominance, allowing no earned runs in 5.0 innings. The lefty lowered his home ERA to 0.40. He has allowed just one run in 22.2 innings this season at Harbor Park.
Jhonny Nunez (2-1, 3.66) took the loss after pitching just 2.0 innings for the Knights. He gave up just the one hit to Angle while walking two and striking out three.
Ryan Adams added two doubles for the Tides, including one in the third inning that scored John Hester for the Tides second run. Adams came around to score in the sixth inning after hitting his second double. Brandon Snyder plated the second baseman with a sacrifice fly
Rhyne Hughes scored the Tides final run on a wild pitch by Gregory Infante in the sixth inning.
Jeremy Accardo and Mark Worrell each tossed a perfect inning of relief to close out the game. Accardo earned a hold for his effort.
The two clubs will play the series finale Sunday at 6:15 p.m. RH Chris Tillman (2-2, 3.82) will try to close out the homestand in style for the Tides opposite RH Deunte Heath (2-3, 4.68). A spectacular post-game fireworks display will follow the game.
