The Norfolk Tides (1-2) jumped out to a 4-1 lead early, but ultimately fell 13-7 to the Charlotte Knights (2-1) in 10 innings on Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park.
The Tides struck first when Yusniel Diaz launched his first home run of the year, a solo shot in the first, to give the Tides the early 1-0 lead. Jahmai Jones would later hit a two-run blast in the fifth, his first of the season, to extend the lead to 4-1.
The Knights responded to the Tides’ three-run fifth with by scoring three runs in both of the sixth and seventh innings to take a 7-4 lead.
Diaz continued his torrid start to the season by homering for the second time in seventh to tie the game at 7-7. It marked the first multi-home run game of his career.
The contest went to extra innings, where the Knights scored six runs in the 10th to pull away for good.
Alex Wells made his first start of the season, firing 4.0 shutout innings, allowing just one hit. The Australian struck out three and walked one.
Nick Vespi made his season debut out of the bullpen, tossing 2.1 scoreless frames and striking out one, to help send the game into extras.
Chris Hudgins took the mound in the 10th, becoming the first Tides position player to take the mound this season, and got Patrick Kivlehan to line into a double-play on his first pitch.
RHP Grayson Rodriguez (0-0, -.–), MLB.com’s highest ranked pitching prospect, makes his first start of the season for Norfolk and will make his Triple-A debut. He faces RHP Emilio Vargas (0-0, -.–), taking the mound for Charlotte.
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