Keegan Akin and Dillon Tate combined on a six-hit shutout to pitch the Norfolk Tides past the Syracuse Mets 3-0 Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park.
Akin (5-5) earned the win after allowing three hits and a walk while striking out seven over six shutout innings. The 24-year-old southpaw faced just three batters over the minimum and did not allow a runner to reach second base as he picked up his first win since June 30th. His seven strikeouts upped his total to 111 punchouts this season, the second-highest single-season total registered by a Tides pitcher as an Orioles affiliate behind the 120-strikeout campaign recorded by Garrett Olson in 2007.
Tate followed Akin’s efforts with three innings of relief to earn his second save in as many outings with the Tides. He escaped a bases loaded, one-out threat in the seventh inning before facing the minimum over his final two frames to help wrap up Norfolk’s seventh shutout win of the season.
The Tides gave Akin all the support he would need in the first frame, as Christopher Bostick opened the game with a triple off of Walker Lockett (2-3) before scoring on a single from Ryan Mountcastle. Mountcastle extended Norfolk’s lead to 2-0 in the third frame with an RBI double that scored Austin Hays. Jack Reinheimer’s RBI single in the sixth inning capped the scoring.
Mountcastle’s two-hit game extended his league-leading hit total to 140 this season. The 22-year-old is batting .315 and leads Orioles minor leaguers with 20 home runs and 70 runs batted in.
With the win, Norfolk picked up its third straight series victory and upped its league-best record in August to 7-2. The Tides pace the International League in average (.287), OBP (.375) and ERA (2.42) this month.
After their final scheduled off day of the season on Monday, the Tides will open up a three-game set in Pawtucket Tuesday night at 7:05. Airtime from McCoy Stadium is slated for 6:50 pm.
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