Late Norfolk Tides rally falls short in loss to Red Sox

The Norfolk Tides (43-45) fell to the Worcester Red Sox (46-42), 6-2, on Friday night at Harbor Park.

Chris Vallimont worked his first quality start in a Tides uniform, tossing 6.0 innings and allowing two runs on three hits while striking out seven batters and walking one. His efforts weren’t enough, as after he departed, the Red Sox scored four more times in the seventh, taking a 6-0 lead.

The Tides had a chance to get back into the contest in their half of that frame, but left the bases loaded. Norfolk would go on to leave 11 men on base, going 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Jacob Nottingham prevented Norfolk from being shutout for the first time at home this season by leading off the ninth with a solo shot to left and Brett Cumberland immediately followed with a solo blast to right center. They are the first set of Tides batters to go back-to-back.

Terrin Vavra went 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, extending his on-base streak to 19 games, the longets streak by a Tides batter this season. Jordan Westburg also had a multi-hit performance, going 2-for-5. Both turned in their 14th multi-hit game of the year, which leads the team.

The two teams will be back in action tomorrow night, with the Tides set to start LHP Bruce Zimmerman (2-0, 4.50) with the Red Sox slated to start RHP Brayan Bello (6-2, 2.81). First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.