Gomez’ 8 RBI drops Tides
The Norfolk Tides had no answers for Mauro Gomez during Wednesday night’s 11-2 loss to the Gwinnett Braves at Harbor Park. . The game was a continuation from the July 25 suspended game and had an announced crowd of 3,960.
The Braves first baseman had an historic night, homering twice and driving in eight runs, the most any opponent has ever recorded against the Tides. He did it with a grand slam, a solo home run and a three-run triple.
Of all the hits, it was his bases-clearing triple in the 7th inning that proved to be the biggest one. It came moments after Stefan Gartrell tied the game at 2-2 with the Braves fourth-straight single, and it gave his team their first lead of the night.
Pitching with a 2-1 lead, Cole McCurry fell into trouble after getting the first out in the 7th inning. The lefthander, who took the mound when play resumed with one out in the 5th inning, allowed four-straight singles as the visitors moved from station-to-station on each base hit. Gartrell capped the singles rally with an RBI knock to left field that tied the contest at 2-2. Gomez followed with his bases-clearing triple that put the Braves ahead for good.
McCurry (2-2, 5.21) took the loss after being charged with six runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings.
Gomez wasn’t finished, though. The Gwinnett slugger came to bat in the 8th inning with the bases juiced again and drove a Nick Bierbrodt offering deep into the Tides bullpen to give his team a commanding 11-2 lead. It was the second home run of the game for Gomez, who hit a solo shot in the 4th inning to tie the game at 1-1 before play was suspended.
The Tides took a 2-1 lead after play resumed without the benefit of a hit. Felix Pie drew a walk, and then showcased his speed by stealing second and third base before trotting home after Diory Hernandez mishandled Wil Nieves’s throw to third base on the stolen base attempt.
The Tides got on the board first with an RBI single from Jake Fox that scored Matt Angle.
Brandon Hicks added a solo home run in the 7th inning.
Jaye Chapman (2-1, 2.35) picked up the win despite allowing the Tides to take their brief lead in the 6th inning. The reliever allowed a run on one hit but was the pitcher of record when the Braves bats exploded in the 7th inning. He struck out three batters in 1.0 inning on the mound.
Jerry Keller (1981), Mike Figga (1997) and Michael Coleman (1999) previously held the record for most RBI in a game against the Tides with seven.
The Braves and Tides are scheduled to play a seven-inning contest tonight as well.
Norfolk makes it two in a row over Braves
The Norfolk Tides made it two-straight against the Gwinnett Braves Sunday night at Harbor Park with a 3-1 win in front of 4,944 fans.
Ryan Adams delivered the big hit in the second of two games. The second baseman got a hold of an Anthony Varvaro offering and put it just over the wall in right field for a tie-breaking, two-run homer. Varvaro had just entered the game in relief of starter Steven Shell.
Rick VandenHurk (6-12, 4.71) ended his season-high five-game losing streak by tossing 6.0 innings of five-hit, one-run baseball. The righty from the Netherlands struck out four and walked two before giving the ball to newcomer Zach Phillips. His only blemish came in the 3rd inning when he gave up consecutive doubles to Jeff Fiorentino and Wilkin Castillo to leadoff the frame.
Shell (2-2, 2.80) took the loss despite not giving up the game-winning hit. Pitching in a spot start, he lasted 4.1 innings and was charged with two runs on six hits. He served up a ground rule double to Matt Angle with one out in the 5th inning before exiting in favor of Varvaro. Angle came around to score on the Adams home run.
Angle continued his impressive stretch. After going 3-for-5 in the first game Sunday night, the outfielder went 3-for-3 in game two. He is now hitting .418 (33-for-79) over his past 18 games with the Tides.
Jake Fox put the Tides on the board in the 1st inning with an RBI single that scored Kyle Hudson.
Phillips, making his Tides debut after being acquired on July 19 from Texas for Nick Green, tossed a scoreless 7th inning to earn the save.
The victory gave the Tides consecutive wins for the first time since July 2nd and 3rd against Charlotte.
The Tides will go for their first four-game series win since taking 3-of-4 from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre June 28 – July 1 tomorrow. RH Chris Tillman (3-3, 4.17) will take the ball opposite RH Erik Cordier (3-6, 5.13). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15.
Tides drop seventh straight at home
The Norfolk Tides lost for the seventh-straight time at Harbor Park Friday night, falling to the Gwinnett Braves 5-2 in front of 5,301 fans.
The Tides trailed all night after starting pitcher Mitch Atkins gave up a run in the 1st inning. Jose Constanza led off the 1st frame with a single and moved to third base on a single by Tyler Pastornicky. He came around to score a batter later on Matt Young’s double play.
Atkins (2-4, 3.38), pitching in his first game with the Tides since being optioned back to Norfolk on July 19, calmed down after the shaky 1st inning and lasted 7.0 innings. He was charged with four runs on the night on six hits. He struck out three batters and walked three.
The Braves added two more runs in the 4th inning off Atkins when Pastornicky led off with his second of three singles on the night. He came around to score later in the frame on Mauro Gomez’s double that hit off Robbie Widlansky’s glove in right field. Stefan Gartrell, who had gone to third base on the double, scored a batter later on a sacrifice fly from Ruben Gotay.
The Tides had their chances on the night but left 11 men on base while hitting just 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They had a chance to take the lead in the 3rd inning, loading the bases with one out, but Jake Fox hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat.
Fox had another chance to tie the game in the 9th inning off reliever Jairo Asencio. Kyle Hudson hit a one-out single and moved to 3rd on a walk to Ryan Adams. Following a Josh Bell groundout, Fox struck out to end the game.
Todd Redmond (7-8, 3.18) picked up the win after allowing two runs (one earned) in 5.0 innings. He gave up four hits while walking two and striking out two.
Asencio was credited with his 18th save.
Ryan Adams hit a solo home run to put the Tides on the board in the 6th inning. Tyler Henson delivered a two-out single that scored Bell later in the frame.
Kyle Hudson continued his hot stretch for the home team. The speedster recorded his second-straight three-hit game and is now hitting .429 (12-for-28) since returning to the Tides on July 17. It was his fifth multi-hit game of the run.
Gomez added a sacrifice fly that scored Pastornicky in the 6th inning. Constanza padded the visitor’s lead with bases-loaded, two-out single in the 9th inning off Josh Rupe.
The same two clubs will meet again Saturday night at 7:15. RH Steve Johnson (0-4, 6.81) will try to turn things around for the Tides opposite RH Julio Teheran (10-1, 1.70).
Gates to tomorrow night’s game will open at 5:00 to accommodate a pre-game concert on the field. Party Fins, a Jimmy Buffet Tribute Band, will play from 5:15-6:45. In addition, Reggy, The Purple Party Dude, will be in attendance to entertain fans throughout the game.
