Norfolk Tides power past Nashville Sounds, 6-3, in Sunday series finale

The Norfolk Tides (63-37) defeated the Nashville Sounds (54-46), 6-3, on Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park.

Kicking things off with a bang this afternoon by launching a towering home run in the first inning of play was Heston Kjerstad as he scratched the first run of the game for the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, with the solo blast.

The Norfolk offense kept rolling in the second after back-to-back singles set the table for Anthony Bemboom who doubled into the right-center gap to bring a run around for the Tides. An error by the Nashville first baseman allowed another run to cross, and Norfolk led 3-0 by the end of the second.

Fighting back in the third were the Sounds as a sacrifice fly from Luis Urias got the Sounds, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, on the board for the first time of the afternoon.

An inning later, Patrick Dorrian launched a ball to dead center for a solo home run, and the Sounds cut the deficit to one by the end of the fourth.

With ducks on a pond for Joey Ortiz, he jumped on a 3-1 changeup that he deposited beyond the left field wall for a three-run blast that put the Tides up 6-2.

The Sounds plated a run in the ninth on a Brian Navarreto double and brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the inning, but Ofreidy Gómez prevented further damage and shut the door on the Sounds, giving Norfolk the 6-3 win.

The Tides have an off day tomorrow and are resume play at Harbor Park on Tuesday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. against Charlotte. Both sides have yet to announce a probable starter.

Game Notes

• Heston Kjerstad went 3-for-5 with two runs, a double, a home run and an RBI…he is batting .538 (14-for-26) with seven doubles, two home runs and five RBI while slashing .571/1.038/1.610 in six second half day games.
• Joey Ortiz went 2-for-5 at the plate with a three-run home run… he has now hit safely in 15 of his last 19 games, batting .384 (28-for-73) with 18 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, three home runs, 13 RBI and six walks over that span while slashing .425/.616/1.041.
• Turning in 2.1 scoreless innings on the hill in relief this afternoon was Noah Denoyer…he did not allow a hit, permitting only two walks while fanning two Nashville batters…against the Sounds this season, Denoyer has appeared in four games (one start) and is posting a 0.82 ERA with 13 strikeouts over 11.0 innings of work.