The Norfolk Tides (86-54) defeated the Memphis Redbirds (66-75), 12-10, on Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park.
The Memphis bats were clicking early as they strung together five straight hits to scratch three runs in the opening frame. Juan Yepez got the scoring starting with an RBI single and was followed shortly after by Ivan Herrera who blasted a two-run home run to straightaway center, giving the Redbirds, the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals, a 3-0 lead.
Checking in with run-scoring knocks the second time through the order in the following frame were Yepez and Herrera, both singling to drive in the fourth and fifth runs of the game for Memphis. Nick Dunn collected an RBI single of his own to extend the Redbird lead to six by the end of the second inning.
Answering for the Tides, the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, in the second with a solo home run was Lewin Díaz. The 2-2 cutter ended up low and inside to Díaz, but he pulled his hands in and dropped the barrel to tuck it inside the right field foul pole. An inning later, Jackson Holliday took advantage of the blustery Harbor Park conditions and launched his first career Triple-A home run, a solo blast to right.
Memphis tacked on three in the fifth when they kicked off the frame with back-to-back singles with those runners scoring on a fielder’s choice and a groundout. Thomas Saggese later checked in with his fourth hit of the day, an RBI double to give the Redbirds a 9-2 lead.
Norfolk responded in the home half with Colton Cowser and Josh Lester hitting towering solo home runs. The scoring spree would carry over to the sixth when each of the first five Tides batters reached base to open the frame, scoring four to cut the deficit to one.
In Anthony Bemboom’s second turn at bat in the inning with the bases chucked, he lined a ball to right field for a grand slam to give the Tides their first lead of the afternoon, 12-9.
A sacrifice fly from Yepez in the seventh added a run for Memphis, but that would cap the scoring from either side as Wandisson Charles tossed the final two innings in relief to earn the save, completing a seven-run comeback victory for the Tides, defeating the Redbirds by a 12-10 score.
Norfolk is back in action tomorrow night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. against Memphis. Scheduled to take the hill for the Tides is RHP Chayce McDermott (3-2, 2.49) while RHP Sem Robberse (1-1, 6.38) will toe the rubber for the Redbirds.
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Chris Graham
