Tonight’s starting pitcher for Norfolk, Cade Povich, started off strong by keeping the Bulls, the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, out of the hit column through his first three shutout frames.
Leading off the bottom of the third was Lewin Díaz who got a 1-0 pitch he could handle and launched it over the right field fence for a solo home run that gave the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, their first run of the night.
In the following frame, Norfolk would add another as Joey Ortiz lined a ball off the top of the wall in right-center to plate Heston Kjerstad on an RBI double to give the Tides a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
It wouldn’t be until the sixth inning when the Bulls would break up the no-hit bid, doing so in a big way as Austin Shenton hit his 10th home run of the year to right field to put Durham on the scoreboard and pull them within one run of the Norfolk lead.
Following the seventh-inning stretch, the Tides kicked off a four-run inning by knocking in two runs on a base hit lined into center field off the bat of Connor Norby. Later in the frame, Kyle Stower picked up an RBI single of his own, plating two more to give the Tides a 6-1 advantage with two innings left to play.
The Norfolk bullpen would combine for three no-hit innings in relief to secure the Tides win, taking a 6-1 victory in the series opener.
Norfolk is back in action tomorrow night at Harbor Park against Durham with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Scheduled to take the ball for the Tides is RHP Justin Armbruester (1-2, 4.30). The Bulls have not announced a probable starter.
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Chris Graham
