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Norfolk edges Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 4-3, clinches season series with RailRiders

Chris Graham

norfolk tides The Norfolk Tides (57-31) defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (42-45), 4-3, on Sunday night at Harbor Park.

Norfolk, after a 58-minute rain delay that delayed the first pitch, started hot, with Connor Norby launching his second leadoff home run of the series. A couple batters later, Kyle Stowers launched a solo home run himself, giving the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, an early 2-0 lead.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, made their comeback in the fourth with two runs themselves. Andres Chaparro knocked in the first run on an RBI double. He scored when Jake Lamb hit an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2.

Both starters did well for each team otherwise. Bruce Zimmermann for the Tides lasted 5.0 innings, giving up those two runs in the fourth while striking out five. His counterpart, Mitch Spence, would pitch into the sixth allowing just the two home runs in the first initially. However with two outs and a runner on in the sixth, Daz Cameron belted a two-run shot to put the Tides up, 4-2.

The RailRiders tried crawling back in the seventh, when they scored on Estevan Florial  knocked an RBI single. Logan Gillaspie would end up entering the game in the ninth for the Tides and closed it down for his fourth save of the season. Ryan Watson earned the win in relief for the Tides 4-3 victory.

After a scheduled league off day tomorrow, the Tides travel to Gwinnett for a six-game series. First pitch on Tuesday will be at 7:05 p.m., with neither team announcing their probable starter.

Game Notes

  • Extending his hitting streak to 10 games today was Connor Norby who went 2-for-4 with a run and a solo home run…the hitting streak is his career-high…since the streak started on July 2, he’s hitting .343 (14-for-39) with seven runs, two doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI and seven walks while slashing .457/.718/1.175…he hasn’t gone back-to-back games hitless since April 28, where he’s hit safely in 51-of-64 games…in that span, he’s hitting .293 (78-for-266) with 42 runs, 22 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs, 42 RBI, and 22 walks while slashing .352/.508/.860.
  • Going 1-for-4 with a solo home run tonight was Kyle Stowers…it was his sixth home run of the season and his 28th of his Tides career…that ties him for 7th-most all-time as an Orioles affiliate with Rhyne Hughes…he also ranks among Orioles affiliate franchise leaders in RBI (T-12th, 108 with Josh Bell), walks (15th, 74), extra-base hits (T-20th, 63 with Ryan Mountcastle, Henry Urrutia and Ryan Adams) and hit-by-pitches (T-10th, 11).

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].