The Norfolk Tides (79-49) defeated the Worcester Red Sox (70-58), 4-0, on Thursday night at Polar Park.
The first run of the game didn’t score until the fifth inning. With two outs, Maverick Handley blasted his fourth home run of the season for two runs.
The 2-0 lead allowed MLB rehab starter John Means to earn the win, getting a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth.
Means finished with 5.0 innings, allowing no runs on one hit and two walks while striking out six.
The bullpen continued with similar success after relieving Means. Ryan Watson and Nick Vespi each earned holds by tossing scoreless sixth and seventh innings.
In the eighth, two more runs crossed for the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, after Joey Ortiz ripped a two-run double to put the score at 4-0. Mike Baumann and Logan Gillaspie tossed scoreless innings consecutively as well, combining for a three-hit shutout.
Game 4 of the series is set for tomorrow night at 6:45 p.m. Norfolk is scheduled to throw LHP Bruce Zimmermann (3-6, 3.72) while Worcester has LHP Brandon Walter (2-5, 4.75) listed as their starter.