In front of a crowd of over 11,000 fans, the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, showcased elite pitching and clutch hitting on their way to their 87th win of the year, breaking a franchise record held by the 1975 and 1995 Norfolk teams.
The final Saturday home game at Harbor Park moved quickly through the opening frames with both starting pitchers mowing down the opposition. Tides starter, Cade Povich, was dominant as he kept Memphis off the scoreboard, limiting traffic on the basepaths. He retired 10 consecutive batters after allowing a one-out single in the second, fanning eight batters through the first six frames.
Breaking the scoreless tie in the home half of the sixth was Kyle Stowers, blasting one to center field for a two-run home run that scratched the first runs of the game for either side, giving Norfolk the 2-0 lead.
The Norfolk arms could only keep Memphis at bay for so long as Juan Yepez came up with a two-out, two-run single in the eighth to even the score.
In the bottom of the eighth, Meibrys Viloria came up clutch in his Tides debut, legging out an infield single with the bases loaded to put the Tides back in front. With two away in the frame, Joseph Rosa collected an RBI knock of his own, driving one up the middle to bring two around to score for the 5-2 Norfolk lead heading into the ninth.
Wandisson Charles entered the game out of the bullpen with a save opportunity and struck out two to close the door on the Redbirds, sealing the Tides 5-2 win.
Norfolk returns to Harbor Park tomorrow for their final home game of the regular season with first pitch scheduled for 1:05 p.m. The Tides will send RHP Austin Voth (3-2, 2.49) to the hill while RHP Michael McGreevy (9-6, 4.71) will toe the rubber for the Redbirds.
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Chris Graham
