The Norfolk Tides (33-13) defeated the Memphis Redbirds (25-22), 9-7, on Wednesday afternoon at AutoZone Park.
A scoreless first inning gave way to the heart of the Tides order in the second. Lewin Díaz bounced one over the wall in right for a ground-rule double that was followed by a Robbie Glendinning RBI single through the right side of the infield to give Norfolk, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, its first run of the game.
By the time the Tides turned it back over to the Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, in the second inning of play, Mark Kolozsvary, Joseph Rosa, and Connor Norby had all checked in with run-scoring singles to extend the Norfolk lead to five.
It would not take long for Memphis to earn a run back, as Moises Gómez launched a ball over the left field fence for a solo shot, bringing the score to 5-1.
The third and fourth innings brought more production from the Norfolk sticks as Díaz crushed another ball to right, this time clearing the fence on the fly. One inning later, two more Norfolk runners would cross home plate with Norby scoring on a Josh Lester single and Jordan Westburg scoring on a Díaz sacrifice fly to bring the Tides total to nine.
Gómez would strike again in the fifth with yet another solo blast, his second of the game and his eighth of the year to give Memphis their second run of the afternoon. With Cole Irvin pitching through the fifth, the only two hits and runs he allowed were to Gómez.
The game was turned over to the bullpen in the sixth. While the Redbirds made things interesting in the eighth by putting up five runs to bring themselves within two of the Norfolk lead, the Tides would hold on and earn the win by a score of 9-7.
Game Notes
Contributing five solid innings on the hill this afternoon was Cole Irvin who allowed two runs on two hits with two strikeouts and no walks…in his last four outings, he is 3-1 with a 2.16 ERA and a 0.80 WHIP over 25.0 innings with 15 strikeouts.
Going 2-for-3 with a double, a home run and three RBI this afternoon was Lewin Díaz…his six total bases today are tied for the most he has had in a single game this season and most recently tallied that many bases on May 4 against Durham when he went-3-for-4 with a home run.
A pair of Norfolk batters each collected their first RBI as Norfolk Tides this afternoon with Robbie Glendinning and Joseph Rosa both driving in a run in the second inning…it was Rosa’s first game with the Tides as he was signed to a minor league contract by the Orioles this morning and he went 2-for-4 in the ballgame with a double.
Next Up
Norfolk looks to keep things rolling for game three of the series against Memphis at 7:45 p.m. tomorrow night. LHP Drew Rom (4-2, 3.40) is slated to make the start for Norfolk and the Redbirds will trot out RHP Michael McGreevy (2-0, 3.07).
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Chris Graham
