Tides fall to Lehigh Valley

The Norfolk Tides couldn’t figure out Scott Mathieson Monday night at Harbor Park, and fell to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs 6-3 in front of 4,033 fans.

Mathieson (1-1, 2.73) tossed 7.0 innings and seemed to get stronger as the night continued. The British Columbia native, who was consistently throwing in the high 90’s in his final frame, struck out eight batters on the night and walked just one. His lone blemish came in the 1st inning when served up a two-out solo home run to Ryan Adams.

The IronPigs got the run right back right away by scoring three times in the 2nd inning off Steve Johnson. The visitors opened with three-consecutive hits off the Tides starter, capped by a two-run double from Erik Kratz that put them ahead for good. Two outs later, Rich Thompson added the first of two run-scoring doubles.

Johnson (0-5, 6.17) calmed down after the shaky 2nd inning and pitched into the 7th frame before being pulled after serving up an RBI double to Pete Orr that pushed the IronPigs’ lead to 5-1. He was charged with five runs on 10 hits during his time on the mound. He struck out five batters and walked three.

The Tides made a run in the 8th inning after Mathieson was removed in favor of Mike Zagurski. Brendan Harris and Matt Angle sandwiched singles between Carlos Rojas’s walk to load the bases with no outs. Harris came around to score on the next at-bat with a fielders’ choice by Kyle Hudson. After Angle and Hudson moved up a bag on a wild pitch, Ryan Adams plated the Tides third and final run with a sacrifice fly.

Adams home run ran his hitting streak to 14 games, tying the Tides season high that is also held by Brandon Snyder. Adams is hitting .354 (22-for-62) during the stretch.

Matt Angle continued his hot run with two more hits. He is hitting .379 (44-for-116) in 27 games since June 30.

The Tides will try to get back on the winning side Tuesday night at 7:15. RH Rick VandenHurk (6-13, 4.80) will take the ball opposite RH Brian Bass (6-8, 4.01).