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July 16, 2010 · 13:57

Tides Shut Down by Carrasco and Clippers 6-1

Carlos Carrasco held the Tides to just 2 hits

There was a pitcher’s duel on Thursday night at Harbor Park but it occurred in the 4th, 5th and 6th innings between Columbus Clipper’s starter Carlos Carrasco and Norfolk Tides reliever Jim Miller.  Apart from Miller the Tides pitchers did not show up and without Matt Angle’s lead off single and a throwing error by Clipper’s catcher Lou Marson in the 1st inning the Clippers would have had a shutout.

Jim Miller pitched 3 innings of 1 hit scoreless relief

The game featured Carrasco going up against Tim Bascom and in their previous starts against the opposing team neither had done well leading me to believe that the game had potential to be a high scoring game.  The game started favorably for the Tides as Bascom set the Clippers down in order in the top of the 1st and the Tides scored an unearned run when Angle singled, stole second and advanced to third on Marson’s throwing error. He then scored on a sacrifice fly by Michael Aubrey.  The Tides would then go 19 outs without a hit when Rhyne Hughes singled with 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th.  A further hit was added by Angle in the bottom of the 9th.

Matt Angle slides into 3rd in the 1st inning

The Clippers did not have a problem with Bascom scoring 3 runs in the top of the 2nd and forcing the Tides to get relievers up in the bullpen.  Bascom threw 40 pitches in that frame giving up the 3 runs on 3 hits which included a ground rule double and a 2 run home run.   Bascom was able to get through the top of the 3rd inning but he struggled giving up another double and throwing 20 pitches driving his pitch count to 75 pitches in just three innings work.  Bascom left the game and Jim Miller entered to pitch three scoreless innings giving up just 1 hit and striking out 3 Clippers.

Columbus 1st Baseman Wes Hodges comes down with a high throw to put out Nolan Reimold

Miller was followed by Mike Hinckley who also struggled.  Hinckley gave up 2 runs on 3 hits walking 2 and striking out 1 in 2 innings of work.  This made the score 5-1 and the Clippers added an insurance run in the 9th against equally ineffective Cla Meredith and save for a double play to end the inning the damage could have been worse.

Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson was on leave and the team seemed to be flat and have little energy.  The Clippers had 6 runs on 11 hits with 1 error and left 7 men on base. The Tides 1 run on 3 hits with no errors leaving 3 runners stranded.  The game was winnable for the Tides until the 7th as Miller held the Clippers and had the Tides offense been able to get in gear likely would have provided the edge in a possible win.  The winning pitcher was Carrasco (8-4 4.10 ERA) while Bascom (2-4 6.15 ERA) took the loss.

In personnel matters Andy Mitchell was reassigned to Aberdeen to make room for Jim Hoey up from Bowie and Josh Bell was recalled to Baltimore as Matt Wieters is now on the disabled list with a pulled hamstring injury.

The teams meet again at Harbor Park tonight with Dan Huff (3-0 4.15 ERA) pitching for the Clippers against lefty Troy Patton (6-9 4.67 ERA) on the hill for the Tides.  As of late Patton has been pitching well winning three of his last 5 decisions with an ERA of 3.68. Huff is back down at AAA after going 2-9 with a 6.04 ERA in 13 appearances for the Indians.

I’ll be there to watch.

Blessings

Padre Steve+

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July 1, 2010 · 16:59

Padre Steve is Back in Town: Tides and Orioles Notes

Josh Bell was promoted to Baltimore to replace Luke Scott now on the 15 Day DL

Well I am back and yes sports fans I will be back at Harbor Park tonight as the Tides return to face the Charlotte k-nickets or Knights if you don’t watch Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Although the ugly Charlotte K-nickets split the two games with the Tides in Charlotte winning by a paltry score of 2-1 on Wednesday after being hammered by the Tides on Tuesday by a score of 12-3 which makes the total score in Charlotte 13-5 in favor of the Tides.  Tonight as I said the teams will meet again at Harbor Park with the visiting K-nickets sending Carlos Torres (6-4 3.04 ERA) against Zach Britton making his AAA debut with the Tides after spending the first part of the season at Bowie where he went 7 and 3 with a 2.48 ERA.

In Tides and Orioles news Chris Tillman and Jeff Salazar were selected to play in the AAA All Star Game next week.  Tillman is 7-4 with a 3.07 ERA for the Tides and a no-hitter and Salazar is hitting .280 with 13 home runs and 34 RBIs.

Cla Meredith remains with the Tides after being designated for assignment and dropped from the Orioles 40 man roster while Josh Bell was promoted to Baltimore to replace Luke Scott who was placed on the 15 day disabled list for a strained hamstring. While this is a good thing for Bell it is a bad thing for the Tides who will definitely miss his bat in the lineup.

Speaking of the Orioles but don’t look now but the Birds are 6-4 in their last ten games and slowly but surely working their way out of the Marianas Trench of the Major Leagues. They still have a lot of injuries but they seem to be improving as a team.

So until tonight,

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 20, 2010 · 17:53

Tides Lose Friday 6-2 but Win Handily Saturday against Mud Hens 10-3

Jeff Salazar hit his 10th and 11th home runs on Saturday night

Chris George got roughed up by the Toledo Mud Hens on Friday night at 5th 3rd Field in the second game of a four game set between the Norfolk Tides and the Mud Hens.  Chris gave up 3 runs in the 1st inning on a 3 run homer by Jeff Larish with 2 outs in the inning.  Chris was stung again in the bottom of the 2nd when Scott Sizemore hit a 2 run blast with 2 outs in the bottom frame of that inning.

The Tides got a run in the 1st inning when Matt Angle singled, stole second and advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by Mud Hens catcher Jeff Kunkle.  He scored on a ground ball hit by Robert Andino.  In the second inning the Tides scored again when Nolan Reimold and Michel Hernandez singled and Reimold scored on a ground out by Blake Davis.

With the score 5-2 the Mud Hens picked up another run on George when Jeff Kunkle doubled and scored on an RBI single by Brent Dlugach.  The Tides made the game closer in the top of the 5th inning closing the gap to 6-4.  Matt Angle walked and then erased on a force out when Robert Andino grounded to third.  Jeff Salazar popped out to third for the 2nd out bringing Josh Bell to the plate.  Bell walked and was followed by Michael Aubrey who doubled to score Andino and Bell.

Michel Hernandez went 3 for 4 including a double on Saturday

The rest of the game was about relief pitching. George left the game in the top of the 5th having surrendered 6 runs on 9 hits including 2 home runs in 4 innings work. In those 4 innings he threw 85 pitches.  Mike Hinckley came on in relief pitching the 5th and 6th innings allowing 2 runs but no runs walking none and striking out two.  Alberto Castillo came on in the 7th and pitched two scoreless innings giving up no hits or walks and striking out two.  The Mud Hens relievers were just as effective as the Tides.  Josh Rainwater came into the game in the top of the 6th inning and pitched three scoreless innings allowing 2 hits.  John Sborz closed the game getting his 15th save of the campaign allowing no hits though Robert Andino reached on an error by Scott Sizemore.

Alberto Castillo pitched well in relief on Friday

The game ended with the Tides having 4 runs on 9 hits with two errors and leaving 8 men on base. The Mud Hens had 6 runs on 11 hits and one error also leaving 8 runners on base. Ruddy Lugo (2-3 8.23 ERA) got the win for the Mud Hens while Chris George (2-2 4.28 ERA) got the loss.

On Saturday the Tides bats came alive to give Troy Patton his 5th win of the season, something that Troy had not had much of early in the year. Troy pitched 5 innings allowing 3 runs, only one of which was earned, 6 hits, 2 walks and 2 strike outs. Armando Gabino back in the middle relief role with the return of Brad Bergeson to the Tides came into the game in the top of the 6th inning and remained strong in relief pitching three scoreless innings giving up three hits.  Cla Meredith closed the game for the Tides and for the first time since his arrival shut down the opposing team pitching a one-two-three 9th inning striking out two.

The Tides went to work on Mud Hens pitchers beginning with the starter Lauren Gagnier who they tagged for 6 runs on 9 hits including a 3rd inning home run by Josh Bell, his 8th of the season.

The Mud Hens got out to an early lead scoring on a pair of doubles by Scott Sizemore and Jeff Frazier however they would not score again until the 5th inning when Patton walked Scott Sizemore and then made a throwing error on a force attempt which allowed Jeff Frazier on board.  Jeff Larish doubled to score both Sizemore and Frazier but Patton would pitch out of trouble ending the inning.

The Tides scored early pounding out 4 runs in the top of the 2nd inning against Gagnier. Nolan Reimold doubled with one out and took third on a wild pitch. Michael Aubrey walked and with Robert Andino batting Gagnier threw wild on a pickoff attempt allowing Reimold to score and Aubrey to take 2nd.  Andino struck out swinging and catcher Michel Hernandez singled to score Aubrey and took second on the attempt to get Aubrey at home.  Paco Figueroa singled to score Hernandez and scored on an RBI double by Matt Angle.  Josh Bell hit his 8th home run in the top of the 3rd and made the score 5-1.  In the top of the 6th Hernandez singled with one out and scored on a triple by Paco Figueroa. This sent Gagnier to the showers and brought in Matt Hoffman.  Then the Tides did something that they have not done this year, made the bold attempt to steal home.  Figueroa was out at the plate but the next batter, Matt Angle singled and scored on Jeff Salazar’s 10th home run of the season to make the score 8-3.  In the top of the 8th with Hoffman still pitching Michel Hernandez doubled and Paco Figueroa walked to chase Hoffman from the game and bring on Scott Drucker. Drucker got Matt Angle to ground into a double play giving the Mud Hens hope that they might stop the Tides.  His hopes were dashed when Salazar hit his second home run of the game, his 11th of the season.

At the end of the day it was the Tides wining scoring 10 runs on 14 hits and one error with three home runs leaving 6 men on base.  The Mud Hens scored 3 runs on 9 hits also having an error leaving 9 runners stranded.  Troy Patton (5-7 4.74 ERA) got the win and Gagnier (3-3 3.49 ERA) got the loss. The teams play the final game against each other for the season tonight with Brandon Erbe (0-9 6.03 ERA) going up against Alfredo Figaro (5-4 4.36 ERA) on the hill for the Hens.

In a personnel note Tides outfielder Joey Gathright was reactivated coming off the 7 Day Disabled List.

Until next time.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 19, 2010 · 00:27

Tides Rally for 5 Runs in 8th Inning beat Mud Hens 6-3

Ross Wolf  came in relief and held the Mud Hens striking out 5 in 3.1 innings

After being blanked by the Columbus Clippers on Tuesday the Norfolk Tides opened their four game series with the Toledo Mud Hens with a come from behind with at 5th 3rd Stadium in Toledo.  The Tides got out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 3rd inning when Matt Angle got a bunt in for a hit and took second base on a throwing error by Toledo Pitcher Ryan Ketchner.  He the stole third base on the first pitch by Ketchner to Robert Andino and scored on the next pitch when Andino hit a sacrifice fly to Center Field.

Unfortunately Tides starting pitcher Brad Bergeson making his first appearance for the Tides since being optioned from Baltimore after a dismal performance.  Bergeson who had been successful in 2009 until being injured has not been nearly as effective in the big leagues and was sent down earlier in the year for a tune up with the Tides.  During that stint he won the one game that he started and returned to the Orioles.  Obviously that was what the desire was for Thursday night but Bergeson struggled allowing 3 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks with 3 of the hits and a walk in the 3rd inning using 65 pitches before being pulled out of the game with 2 outs in the 3rd inning.

Mike Hinckley picked up his first win for the Tides

Now behind by a score of 3-1 the Tides brought in Jim Miller to relieve Bergeson.  Miller pitched well going 3.1 innings allowing only 1 hit while striking out 5 Mud Hens.  He was relieved in the 7th inning by Mike Hinckley who put the Hens down in order.In the 8th inning the Tides sent 11 men to the plate as the diamond resembled a merry-go-round of Tides players.  Paco Figueroa led off the inning with an infield hit and followed by Matt Angle who was walked by reliever Daniel Schlereth who had entered the game at the top of the inning.  Robert Andino then singled to load the bases for the Tides. Jeff Salazar reached on a failed force attempt by Mud Hens First Baseman Jeff Frazier which scored Figueroa to make the game a 3-2 game with the bases still loaded.  Josh Bell struck swinging bringing Michael Aubrey to the plate.  After a called strike Schlereth threw four straight balls to walk Aubrey and score Matt Angle to tie the game. The walk was the signal for a new pitcher and Scott Drucker replaced Schlereth. Nolan Reimold who continues to work his way out of the ooze of his slump doubled on a 1-0 count to Left Field driving in Andino and Salazar and giving the Tides a 5-3 lead.  Drucker then intentionally walked Rhyne Hughes to get to weak inning catcher Adam Donachie.  Donachie hit a sacrifice fly to Left to score Aubrey before hitting Paco Figueroa with a pitch to reload the bases before getting Matt Angle to ground out to short to end the inning.

Now with a 6-3 lead the Tides brought in Ross Wolf to pitch the 8th inning and Wolf pitched a scoreless 8th allowing only a single by Casper Wells.  The Tides had 2 runners on with 2 outs in the top half of the 9th inning but did not add any insurance.  This sent the game into the bottom of the 9th where Bobby Dickerson brought in Denis Sarfate allowed a one out walk before striking out Scott Sizemore and Brent Dlugach to end the game.

The Tides had 6 runs on 12 hits and 2 errors leaving 9 men on base.  The Mud Hens had 3 runs on 7 hits with 3 errors and left 8 men stranded.  The wining pitcher was Mike Hinckley (1-3 7.71 ERA) Denis Sarfate got his 9th save.  The Tides and Mud Hens face each other tonight with Chris George on the hill for the Tides facing Rudy Lugo.

In personnel news pitcher Andy Mitchell was placed on the 7 day Disabled List.

Until next time peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 15, 2010 · 16:43

Tides Sink Clippers 6-3 as Gabino Notches 4th Win

Robert Andino had 3 RBIs in the Tides 6-3 win over Columbus Monday

Well it wasn’t the prettiest win but Armando Gabino gutted out six innings against the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Field on Monday night to notch his fourth win of the season. Gabino showed a lot of fortitude after giving up a leadoff double in the 1st inning to Michael Brantley who scored on a Nick Weglarz single with one out. Gabino got out of that inning and gave up another run in the 2nd inning when Jared Goedert homered to left with 2 outs in the inning.  He gave up doubles in the 3rd, 4th and 6th innings but each time with the pressure on was able to work out of each jam against a very good hitting Clippers lineup.

Armando Gabino picked up his 4th win of the 2010 season

The Tides bats came back to life and with the Tides down 1-0 in the top of the 2nd inning it was Third Baseman Josh Bell that tolled loudly for the Tides as he homered over the right field wall on a 1 and 2 count.  With the Tides down 2-1 in the top of the 4th inning Michael Aubrey doubled and was followed by Bell who also doubled to score Aubrey.  Bell came home on a Nolan Reimold single to give the Tides the lead at 3-2 and on Monday they would not fall behind again. The Tides added to their lead in the 5th inning when Michel Hernandez led off with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Blake Davis. Matt Angle flied out to deep right which allowed Hernandez to take third base.  Robert Andino came to the plate with two outs and Andino who has been a RBI machine of late singled to score Hernandez to make the lead 4-3 providing the insurance that the Tides would need to seal the deal.

Andy Mitchell made his third middle relief of the series again holding the hard hitting Clippers

Andy Mitchell came into the game in the top of the 7th inning to make his third appearance in three games against the Clippers.  Mitchell struck out Jared Goedert but then gave up consecutive singles to Cord Phelps and Michael Brantley placing runners on first and second with one out.  Seeking a double play ball it appeared that Mitchell would get it when Josh Rodriguez hit the ball back to Mitchell who had trouble with it and then threw wide to second pulling Blake Davis off the bag and loading the bases. With Davis arguing the call at second and Mitchell preparing to join in Tides Manager Bobby Dickerson  came to the mound and helped calm down the normally unflappable Mitchell who then pitched out of the jam getting Nick Weglarz to ground out scoring Phelps and then getting Matt LaPorta to ground out on a 3-1 count.

Josh Bell got his 7th home run of the season as well as an RBI double

With the Tides now leading 4-3 Denis Sarfate came in for a 2 out save attempt.  Sarfate who had 7 saves going into the night allowed a single to Jordan Brown but got Wes Hodges on a double play when he attempted to bunt sacrifice Brown to second.  Sarfate then struck out Lou Marson to end the inning.

In the top of the 9th the Tides offense struck again and once more Robert Andino would be in the mix. Brandon Snyder led off the inning sending a 1-0 pitch by reliever Joe Smith into center field for a single. Michel Hernandez reached on a force attempt on a throwing error by First Baseman Jordan Brown.  Blake Davis sacrificed bunted to advance Snyder to third and Hernandez to second. Smith then intentionally walked Matt Angle to load the bases hoping to create conditions for a double play.  This was not to be as Smith had to face the clutch hitting Robert Andino who on the first pitch singled to left field scoring both Snyder and Hernandez to make the lead 6-3.

Sarfate then faced the Clippers in the bottom of the 9th.  He struck out Jared Goedert for the first out but then walked Cord Phelps.  However the glimmer of hope given to the Clippers was short lived when on a 0-2 count Sarfate got Michael Brantley to ground into a four-six-three double play to end the inning and the game.

The Tides had 6 runs on 10 hits and 2 errors leaving seven runners on base while the Clippers had 3 runs on 9 hits and no errors also stranding seven.  Armando Gabino (4-0 2.62 ERA) got the win for the Tides and Sarfate got his 8th save.  The loss went to Clippers starter Carlos Carrasco (5-3 4.22ERA). Today the teams conclude the series with Tim Bascom (0-1 3.86) making his second AAA appearance for the Tides going up against Jeanmar Gomez (3-7 6.96 ERA).  In San Fransisco former Tides starter Chris Tillman was manhandled by the Giants as the Orioles lost to the Giants 10-2 in interleague play.  The Orioles have lost 17 of their last 18 games with the only win coming on the arm of recently promoted Jake Arietta.

Until next time…

Peace,

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June 15, 2010 · 00:06

Tides Clipped by Clippers 6-2 and 5-4 in Columbus

Michael Aubrey homered in Saturday’s game in Columbus

After taking 3 of 4 from the Gwinnett Braves at home the Norfolk Tides began their first excursion to visit the teams of the Western Division of the International League. They began the trip in Columbus on Saturday  where the Tides faced the Columbus Clippers the AAA affiliate of the Cleveland Indians who like their parent club are hard hitting team and have the second highest team batting average (.283) in the International League at Huntington Field.

Mike Hinckley was tagged with the loss in relief on Saturday and Sunday

Despite this the Tides and Clippers have not see the kind of fireworks that dominated the first part of the Tides home stand.  On Saturday Troy Patton got the start and pitched 4.1 innings giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 5 strikeouts before being pulled for Mike Hinckley.  Hinckley struggled giving up 3 runs on 2 hits and two walks in one inning.  The Clippers added two more runs off Jim Miller who gave up those runs on 3 hits in the bottom of the 7th inning.

The Tides led the game early on 3rd inning home runs by Michael Aubrey and Blake Davis but the game slipped away in the 6th and 7th innings.  Andy Mitchell entered the game in the 8th inning and sent the Clippers down in order but the damage was done and the Tides fell to the Clippers by a score of 6-2 on Saturday evening.  The Tides had 2 runs on 5 hits and gave up no errors stranding 2.  The Clippers had 6 runs on 8 hits and 2 errors leaving 6 men on base.  Justin Germano (2-1 3.46) got the win in relief for the Clippers and Mike Hinckley (0-2 9.64) took the loss for the Tides.

On Sunday the Tides and Clippers played into extra innings.  Brandon Erbe started for the Tides still seeking his first AAA win for the Tides.  Brandon has been pitching well as of late getting the game into the middle to late innings but not getting the win due to errors or blown saves.  Sunday was little different. Erbe sent the first 15 Clippers that he faced down in order before giving up back to back home runs in the bottom of the 6th.  Andy Mitchell relieved Erbe and stopped the Clippers.

Robert Andino continued his clutch hitting

The Tides bats were not idle. In the 3nd inning Matt Angle walked and Robert Andino singled him to third base advancing to second on an errant throw and Angle scored on a ground ball by Rhyne Hughes.  In the 5th they scored again.  Michel Hernandez singled and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Paco Figueroa.  Matt Angle then singled and sent Hernandez to 3rd.  Robert Andino grounded into a force out scoring Hernandez for the 2nd run.  In the top of the 6th the Tides scored a third run to give Erbe a 3-0 lead when Josh Bell and Nolan Reimold got aboard on walks and Bell scored on a sacrifice fly by Michel Hernandez.

The Tides surrendered the lead in the 7th inning with Cla Meredith on the hill in relief of Mitchell.  Meredith gave up 2 runs after loading the bases with one out.  He would get only two Clippers out and Ross Wolf came in to close out the inning but not before the damage had been done.  Meredith has not been impressive since being optioned to Norfolk and he gave up 2 runs on 2 hits and 3 walks raising his ERA to a whopping 16.88.  Wolf would pitch the Tides through the 8th and 9th innings as well allowing only a walk in 2.1 innings work lowering his ERA to 2.17.

The Tides tied the game in the top of the 9th.  Paco Figueroa singled but was out at second on a force out by Matt Angle.  Angle then was put out on a force out at second on a ground ball by Robert Andino.  This put the Tides down 4-3 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Rhyne Hughes then reached on a fielding error and Andino advanced to second.  This brought up Josh Bell who singled scoring Andino to tie the game.

Ross Wolf continued to make strong relief appearances

With Wolf holding the Clippers tight in the bottom of the 9th the game went into extra innings.  The Paco Figueroa singled with 2 outs but was erased on a force out by Matt Angle.  Mike Hinckley came into the game in the 10th to relieve Wolf who as I said has shut down the Clippers from the 7th inning on.  Jose Constanza got a base hit bunt and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Michael Brantley.  Brian Brixler flied out to right fielder Rhyne Hughes for the 2nd out.  Hinckley then hit Nick Weglarz with a pitch and gave up a walk off single to Matt LaPorta which scored Costanza to end the game.

Norfolk produced 4 runs on 11 hits with 1 error left 12 men on base.  The Clippers had 5 runs on 7 hits and no errors but benefited on getting three walks by Cla Meredith which gave Columbus the lead in the 7th inning and the hit batsman by Hinckley in the 10th.  They left 5 men on base.  Carlton Smith (1-0 6.43) got the win in relief for the Clippers while Hinckley took his second consecutive loss bring his record to 0-3 with a 10.13 ERA since coming up from Bowie.

The Tides and Clippers play tonight in Columbus with Armando Gabino (2-0 2.56) facing Carlos Carrasco (5-2 4.12) on the hill for the Clippers.

On the personnel front the Orioles optioned Brad Bergeson to Norfolk, his second trip down of his troubled season and the Tides placed Kam Mickolio on the 7 Day Disabled List with a strained right shoulder.  I had noticed that in his last two appearances despite pitching well that Kam left one game and been talked to by Bobby Dickerson on the mound in an appearance when he was shutting down Gwinnett.

In other notes Andy Mitchell has appeared in the first two games allowing no runs or hits in either appearance.  Robert Andino now has 36 RBIs on the season to lead the team.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 9, 2010 · 15:53

Another Slugfest at Harbor Park: Tides Defeat Braves 10-9

Robert Andino hits a three run home run in the bottom of the 3rd inning

The Norfolk Tides offense has come alive in a big way since returning to the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish last Friday.  In the five games since their return they have scored 37 runs on 68 hits by far their most productive performance of the season and maybe the past few years.  The Tides are playing like a team with a real sense of purpose now when the team is at bat those in the dugout are up at the dugout railing and have their mind on the game and this is something that I cannot remember seeing in my time attending Tides games.  The even in the games that they have lost in this home stand the offense has scored enough runs to win most any well pitched game. Unfortunately the Tides pitchers have been knocked around a bit but tonight despite falling behind 5-0 in the first inning this now potent offense went to work and produced in a big way led by plucky shortstop Robert Andino.

Robert Andino Doubles down the left field line in the 5th inning to tie the game at 5-5

Tides starter Brandon Erbe got hit hard in the 1st inning giving up 5 runs to the Braves and it looked like that Brandon was not long for the game. However after a visit to the mound by Tides Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson he got himself settled down and completed 5 innings being pulled from the game in the 6th inning after facing one batter.  Jim Miller shut down the Braves in the 6th but in the 7th inning gave up 4 runs on 3 hits and a walk which at that point tied the game.

Josh Bell connects

The Tides as I said were hit hard in the 1st inning and the silence of the Tides fans was deafening it was as if gloom was descending on our fair stadium.  The people who sat next to me in my pew in section 102 began to quietly say that the game was over and that there was no hope.  Having seen the Tides come back from worse deficits this week I told them not to count the Tides out and Padre Steve got it right.  There was something that I could sense in the air that told me that the Tides hitters would not meekly walk away from this scrum and I was right.  Brandon Snyder as he has a number of times this week ignited the Tides offense doubling to drive in Josh Bell with two outs in the bottom of the 2nd inning.  In the 3rd inning Robert Andino hit a three run homer over the left field wall to bring the Tides to within one run.  In the 5th inning the Tides struck again this time with enough force to go ahead of the Braves as the Tides tied together doubles by Paco Figueroa and Robert Andino and a single by Josh Bell.

In the bottom frame of the 6th the Tides scored three more runs when they put together hits with two costly Braves errors to make the score 9-5.  Of course as I mentioned earlier the Braves scored four runs in the top of the 7th however Kam Mickolio after surrendering the hits that plated the batters left aboard by Miller shut the Braves down in the 8th.  In the bottom of the 8th Blake Davis pinch hitting for Paco Figueroa walked with 1 out. He went to third on a single by Matt Angle and scored on a sacrifice fly in foul territory by Robert Andino.  Andino finished the game with a home run, double and 5 RBIs a stellar performance for the Tides Shortstop. Brandon Snyder, Matt Angle and Josh Bell all came up with big hits as the Tides offense continued its romp over opposing pitchers.

Blake Davis avoids the tag at home on Robert Andino’s sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 8th

Denis Sarfate pitched the 9th to close the game striking out Wes Timmons, Freddie Freeman and Barbaro Canizares in order to gain his 5th save of the season.  Kam Mickolio got a blown save and the win and Brandon Erbe came out with a no-decision after coming back from that disastrous 1st inning to keep the game close until the relief pitchers were ready to come out to save the game.  The “unsave” was unfortunate as many of us in the stands were rooting, hoping and praying for Brandon to get his first win of the season.

The Braves had 9 runs on 12 hits and 3 errors stranding 4 while the Tides had 10 runs on 11 hits and 1 error leaving 5 men on base to grab the win.  Kam Mickolio was the winning pitcher and Corey Gearrin (0-3 4.02 ERA) took the loss.  The teams meet tonight at Harbor Park with Armando Gabino (2-0, 2.73 ERA) scheduled to take the mound for Norfolk against Braves right-hander Tim Gustafson (5-3 5.74 ERA )  See you there.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 7, 2010 · 22:07

Tides Shutout Bisons 6-0: Troy Patton Pitches 7 Scoreless Innings for Win

Troy Patton dominated the potent bats of the Buffalo Bisons Monday

The Norfolk Tides bats remained on fire even as the temperature cooled into the mid 70s in Hampton Roads and today both the defense and the pitching showed up.  After losing five straight to include three high scoring games where the Tides offense produced enough runs to win each handily had pitching, defense or calls by umpires gone their way.  But this Monday was another day and Troy Patton had the answer on to how to shut down the potent offense of the Buffalo Bisons and I do hope that he starts telling other pitchers just how to do this as he went seven innings giving up just three hits with only one walk and three strikeouts to gain the victory.  Patton was aided by Ross Wolf and Mike Hinckley who pitched the 8th and 9th innings without surrendering a hit.

Jeff Salazar hit his 9th home run of the season in the 6th inning

After watching many games where the hitting showed up and the pitching did not, or the pitching showed up only to have the offense go into a coma or the defense to fail it was good to see a game where the fundamentals of the ball game, pitching, hitting and defense came together as the Tides shut down the Bisons 6-0.

Patton surrendered only 3 hits, a double in the second inning and two singles while walking only one in a dominant performance against the hottest hitting team in the International League. The Tides offense continued its strong performance since the arrival of interim manager Bobby Dickerson.  The Tides opened up on the Bisons in the bottom of the 3rd inning when catcher Adam Donachie led off the inning with a double and scored on a single by Matt Angle.  Robert Andino tripled to drive in Angle and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Salazar.  They added two more in the bottom of the 6th inning when Jeff Salazar hit his 9th dinger of the season and Rhyne Hughes launched his 4th of the season both of which were solo shots to make the score 5-0.  The Tides added a final run in the bottom of the 8th when Josh Bell doubled and advanced to third when Rhyne Hughes singled and scored on reliever Michael O’Connor’s wild pitch, the second time that “Wild Thing” O’Connor allowed a run to score at Harbor Park during this home stand but at least he did not bounce it over the screen behind home plate this time….he’s improving.

Rhyne Hughes also homered for the Tides in the 6th inning

The game ended with the Tides winning by a score of 6-0. The Bisons had no runs on 3 hits and one error and left 5 men on base. The Tides 6 runs on 10 hits and no errors leaving four men aboard. Bobby Livingston (2-6 4.43 ERA) got the loss for the Bisons and Troy Patton (4-7 5.13 ERA) got the win for the Tides. Troy had his excellent performance backed up with great run support as well as solid defense to get the well deserved win.

During the series the Tides scored 27 runs on 57 hits including 6 home runs by far their most productive series of the year and a series where for the first time this season they showed consistency on offense over a sustained period and not just a game or two.  Since little has changed in the aspect of Tides offensive personnel with the exception of the addition of Matt Angle and Paco Figueroa but now for the first time that I can remember this season the Tides hitters are hitting with power as well as making contact.  Though it does not seem like much the Tides team batting average has improved from .234 on May 18th to .243 today in fact going up more in the past 4 days than the previous two weeks. While it is still early the only explanation that I can see for this turnaround is Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson.

The Tides open a series against the Gwinnett Braves at Harbor Park on Tuesday at 7:15 and we will see of the Tides can continue this merry offensive romp.  See you at Harbor Park.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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June 5, 2010 · 16:00

Tides Come Back from 6-0 deficit but Lose as Hinkley gives up 4 runs in 9th Inning

Armando Gabino had his worst outing of the year

On a very warm evening the Norfolk Tides looked like they would get a big comeback win. On their first night with Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson at the helm the Tides opened their four game series against the Buffalo Bisons at Harbor Park where a crowd of 6345 gathered to celebrate “Marine Night.”

The Tides managed to rebound from a 6-0 Buffalo lead only to lose in the 9th inning when Michael Hinckley just promoted to Norfolk from AA Bowie loaded the bases with no outs to give up 4 runs in the top of the 9th inning.

Tides starter Armando Gabino had his worst outing of the season giving up 6 runs on 6 hits, though 2 of the runs were unearned due to a fielding error by Second Baseman Blake Davis in the 3rd inning which opened the floodgates. Gabino got into trouble again in the 4th and was relieved by Jim Miller. Miller would settle things down and pitch three innings before yielding to Ross Wolf in the 7th. Wolf too held the Bisons in check as the Tides offense went to work.

Jim Miller continued good work as a middle releiver

Brandon Snyder ignited the Tides in the 5th inning when with one out he hit a line drive over the right field wall into the Tides bullpen. That hit by Snyder rocked Harbor Park. The fans that had been silenced by the Bisons were back in the game and the effect was electric.  Blake Davis then singled and Michel Hernandez walked.  With 2 on and 1 out Matt Angle singled to drive in Davis to cut the lead to 6-2.  In the 5th inning the Tides scored another run when Josh Bell reached second on a throwing error on an infield ground ball.  Nolan Reimold who seems to be improving after a dismal season in Baltimore followed by a worse start in Norfolk singled to drive in Bell making it a 6-3 game.

Matt Angle with one of his four hits

The Tides tied the game in the bottom of the 7th when with 1 out Michel Hernandez singled and advanced to second on a single by Matt Angle.  Hernandez scored when Robert Andino singled and Matt Angle advanced to second base.  Jeff Salazar singled to drive in Angle and move Andino to third base and would score on a sacrifice fly to center to tie the game at six.

Blake Davis Scores in the 5th inning on a Matt Angle Single

It appeared at this point that the Tides had all the momentum and had the Bisons on the ropes.  In the top of the 9th Michael Hinckley who had just been promoted to Norfolk from Bowie when hard luck Pedro Viola was sent down to Bowie made his first AAA appearance.  He gave up a single to former Tides infielder Justin Turner and a double to Mike Jacobs.  He then walked all time Minor League Baseball Home run king Mike Hessman to load the bases.  Now with the bases loaded he walked Russ Adams to give Buffalo the lead.  At this point Bobby Dickerson brought in former Oriole Cla Meredith hoping that Meredith’s Major League experience would pay off and shut down the Bisons before more damage could be done.  This was not the case as the first batter that Meredith faced Valentino Pascucci doubled down the line in right to clear the bases and give the Bisons a 10-6 lead.  Meredith struck out Andy Green but lost it on a wild pitch which put Green on first and Pascucci on third base.  J R House grounded out to score Pascucci before Meredith got Jesus Feliciano to ground out to end the frame. The Tides went down quietly in the bottom of the 9th and the game ended with the final score Buffalo 11 and the Tides 6.

Buffalo had 11 runs on 12 hits with 1 error and 8 men left on base, the Tides 6 runs on 12 hits and 2 errors with 6 runners left on base.  Bisons’ reliever Bobby Parnell (1-1 4.73 ERA) got the “unsave” and the win and Hinckley the loss giving up 4 runs without retiring a batter.

I did notice a couple of things that I thought were important. First Bobby Dickerson did not wait and wait to make pitching changes; he got pitchers out of the game when they got in serious trouble. Unfortunately in the 9th inning he had misplaced confidence in Cla Meredith. The second thing and this was even more important, the Tides hitters got the team back in the game as relievers Miller and Wolf held the Bisons after they had gotten out to the 6-0 lead.  Another note of interest was the continued hitting of Brandon Snyder and the 4 hits of Matt Angle in the lead off position.

The Tides and Bisons play tonight at Harbor Park and it will be a hot one with temperatures in the high 80s at game time. Jake Arietta (6-2 1.77 ERA) will be going for his 7th win of the season against Dylan Owen (1-1 4.76).

See you there.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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June 2, 2010 · 20:55

Tides Defeat Rochester 4-3 as Cla Meredith gets the “Unsave”

Chris George pitched a great game but was left with a no-decision

The Norfolk Tides took the second game of their four game set against the Rochester Red Wings behind solid pitching by Chris George and Denis Sarfate.  With the game time temperature at a comfortable 75 degrees and a light 5 mile and hour wind blowing out to center field under clear skies it was a beautiful western New York night for baseball in front of just under 5000 fans.

The game began on the wrong foot for the Tides when on the second pitch of the game Jason Repko hit a ground ball to third which Josh Bell mishandled and was charged with an error. Repko stole second and took third on a ground out by Brian Dinkelman. He would score on a single by Trevor Plouffe.  This would be the only run allowed while George was pitching and was unearned.  The Red Wings did not score again until the bottom of the 8th inning.

In 6.2 innings work George gave up 5 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5 Red Wing batters. Rochester starting pitcher Glen Perkins held the Tides in check until the 4th inning. In the fourth Josh Bell hammered his 16th double of the season and Nolan Reimold still digging out of his horrific hitting slump on his arrival in Norfolk then singled.  Paco Figueroa came up next and singled to score Bell and was followed by Adam Donachie who singled to drive in Reimold giving the Tides a 2-1 lead.  George would get the first two batters of the 7th inning but after hitting Brian Dinkelman with a pitch was relieved by Ross Wolf who got the next batter, Trevor Plouffe to ground out to Brandon Snyder at first.  In the top frame of the 8th inning the Tides scored again.  Robert Andino doubled to lead the inning off of Red Wings reliever pitcher Brad Hennessy.  Hennessy intentionally walked Josh Bell and got Nolan Reimold to pop up to first base for the second out. Brandon Snyder came up to the plate and singled the first pitch delivered by Hennessy into center field which scored Andino.

In the bottom of the 8th the Tides brought in newly activated relief pitcher Cla Meredith who had been optioned to Norfolk from the O’s late last week. Matt Macri singled to lead off the inning and Meredith walked Brock Peterson.  Wilson Ramos advanced both runners on a sacrifice bunt to first base and Meredith struck out Jose Morales.  On a 0-2 count Dustin Martin singled to drive in Macri and Ramos to tie the game, which netted Meredith his first blown save in Norfolk.  He was able to retire Jason Repko to end the inning.

In the top of the 9th with one out Joey Gathright singled on a ground ball to second and advanced to second on a throwing error by second baseman Brian Dinkelman and Matt Angle singled to bring Gathright home to retake the lead for the Tides. In the bottom frame the Tides brought in Denis Sarfate sent the Wings down in order on 12 pitches for his 4th save of the season.

Cla Meredith got what I am going to start calling the “unsave” instead of a standard “blown save.” The definition that I give to the “unsave” is a blown save where the reliever who blows the save ends up getting the win.  It’s kind of like when 7-Up was called the “uncola” it’s not a save and yet it doesn’t have the same sting as a blown save, unless perhaps you are the pitcher that would have had a win had the reliever not blown the save. Unsaves are kind of wins that a pitcher falls into as he has to blow the save to get the win which if you think about it is not a way that you want to win if you can avoid it. But anyway I digress.

The Tides had 4 runs on 12 hits with 1 error and left 10 on base while the Red Wings had 3 runs on 8 hits and 1 error and also left 10 men on base.  Cla Meredith (1-0 18.00 ERA) got the win for the Tides and Denis Sarfate (0-0 S4 1.15 ERA) the save. Anthony Slama (0-1 1.80 ERA) took the loss for the Wings. Tonight the teams play game three of this series with Troy Patton (3-6 5.70 ERA) who dominated Pawtucket in his last start taking the hill for the Tides and Matt Fox (4-2 2.44 ERA) pitching for the home team.

The Orioles lost their sixth straight, this time to the New York Yankees as Miguel Tejada committed an error which allowed two runs to score giving the loss to Brian Matusz who only allowed one earned run to the powerful Yankees attack.  The loss dropped the O’s to 15-37with a .288 winning percentage.  Things do not look any brighter tonight as the Yankees have a 6-0 lead in the 5th having driven Brad Bergeson from the game.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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