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Tides Lose in Sunday Afternoon Slugfest 8-6

“The key to winning baseball games is pitching, fundamentals, and three run homers.” Earl Weaver

Getting his swing back. Nolan Reimold hammers a deep fly ball on Sunday

The Norfolk Tides lost their 5th straight falling to the Buffalo Bisons in a Sunday afternoon slugfest in which for the third time in three games they collected what should have been enough hits and runs to win. In fact today of the 8 runs scored by the Bisons 3 were unearned coming as the result of poor fielding and throwing by Tides infielders in particular a top of the 8th inning error where shortstop Robert Andino ran past what would have been an easy double play ball off the bat of former Norfolk Tides infielder Justin Turner that scored two runs at a point that the Tides were ahead in the game.  The runs gave the Bisons a lead that they would not relinquish and seal the fate of the Tides on this blistering hot Sunday afternoon.

Jeff Salazar steps on home plate following his 7th inning home run

Tides starting pitcher Chris George gave up 5 runs, 4 of which were earned in 5.2 innings work and Zack Clark so new to the team from AA Bowie that he went out in a jersey without his name affixed to it gave up 3 runs in 2.1 innings of which only 1 was an earned run.  Ross Wolf pitched the 9th inning coming in with two on and two out. He got J R House out while trying to bunt and made an excellent play to field the ball and throw out Valentino Pascucci at third. He then got Jesus Feliciano to ground into a double play to end the inning.

Brandon Snyder bunts for a hit

The big damage to the Tides came from the extremely potent Buffalo offense. For once the Bisons’ parent organization the New York Mets has invested in putting experienced and potent offensive force together despite a dearth of young prospects. The Bisons pack a huge offensive punch including Mike Hessman the all-time Minor League home run king but the Chief Tides basher has been Mike Jacobs who has beaten Tides pitching about in a rude and nearly ruthless manner over the past two days as well as former Tides catcher J R House who today had a home run, double plating 3 of the Bisons runs.

However if there is a silver lining in the past three games it is for the first time this season the Tides seem to be hitting the ball consistently using both contact and power to make things happen. The Tides picked up their first run in the bottom of the 2nd inning one singles by Rhyne Hughes, Brandon Snyder and Michel Hernandez. The Bisons collected two in the top of the 3rd inning when Andy Green reached on an error J R House doubled and Jesus Feliciano singled to drive in both Green and House.

The Tides tied the score in the bottom of the 4th as Rhyne Hughes and Brandon Snyder singled and Michel Hernandez sacrificed to right field to score Hughes.  Buffalo then scored 3 runs in the top frame of the 6th driving Tides starter Chris George out of the game and it was as the sage Earl Weaver mentioned, the part about the three run home runs as   J R  House clubbed a three run homer off of George with one out.  However the Tides did not roll over and die as they had in so many games earlier in the season and in the bottom of the 7th the now scrappy Tides offense plated 4 runs.  Michel Hernandez, Blake Davis and Matt Angle singled to load the bases. Robert Andino then hit into a double play but Hernandez scored.  Jeff Salazar then hit a 2 run home run off of Pat Misch to tie the game. Nolan Reimold and Rhyne Hughes singled and Brandon Snyder singled to drive in Reimold before Blake Davis grounded out to end the inning.

Chris George allowed 4 earned runs in 5.2 innings getting no decision

In the top of the 8th the Bisons took the lead when Robert Andino missed what looked to be an easy grounder that easily could have been a double play, the ball rolled into short left field and two runs scored and the Bisons were back in the lead and add an insurance run in the 9th to make the final score 8-6.

The Bisons scored 8 runs on 11 hits with 1 error and 11 men left on base. The Tides 6 runs on 15 hits and 4 errors leaving 8 on base including 5 left in scoring position with 2 outs.

While the Tides offense has come alive the pitching has been weak and they were not helped by four errors which allowed three unearned runs.  In spite of this the Tides are showing signs of life under Interim Manager Bobby Dickerson who took on an umpiring crew that made three obviously bad calls that cost the Tides runs the most egregious being a hit by J R House in the top of the 2nd which should have been a foul ball that was ruled fair and went for a double, a force at second in the top of the 8th which the 2nd base umpire ruled that second baseman Blake Davis who was plowed over at second had been pulled off the bag.  Later in the 8th Mike Hessman was ruled hit by a pitch which had all the marking of a ball that hit the bat before striking him. The last call got Dickerson tossed by Home Plate Umpire Chris Conroy.  Dickerson does not just manage but he leads and appears to inspire. Players that have not been performing have been benched and for the first time in recent memory the Tides took infield practice on a game day. What appears to be the new mantra in the Orioles organization is accountability and chemistry.  Things are not better yet but if I were the Orioles I would make Dickerson the permanent manager of the Tides tomorrow.  It takes time to get the pitching right and I do not see a quick fix to that with the probability that Arietta will be in Baltimore possibly within the week, however it appears that he is bringing some discipline and order back to a team that has a lot of talent but not achieved the success that it is capable of accomplishing. It will be interesting to see what happens in the coming days and weeks as Andy McPhail and the Orioles begin to make the hard choices regarding players and ultimately who will remain in Baltimore and on the 40 man roster.

The Orioles defeated the Red Sox today at Camden Yards 4-3 in 11 innings with David Hernandez getting his first win of the season in relief.

The final game of the season series between the Bisons and Tides will be on Monday at 12:15 as Troy Patton (3-7, 5.73 ERA) will take the hill for the Tides against former Tide Bobby Livingston (2-5, 4.18 ERA).

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tides Lose in Harbor Park Slugfest 12-9

Andy Mitchell was hit hard in the first two innings and registered the loss despite the Tides Hitters attempts

It was a hot night at the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish as the temperature was high and bats were on fire. If you were looking for a pitcher’s duel this was not the place to see one. In part this was due to Norfolk Tides ace Jake Arietta being pulled from the start the day of the game in what is believed to be a move by the Orioles to have him ready to come to Baltimore in a middle relief role at short notice.  In his place veteran submariner Andy Mitchell got the start, his first start since April.  Unfortunately for Andy it was his worst outing of the year as the veteran Bisons’ line up which has the highest batting average in the league and is loaded with players who have played against him for years had his number. After giving up 6 runs in the 1st inning he lasted 2 and 2/3rds innings giving up a total of 7 runs on 13 hits.  Andy has been at his best this year in middle relief following hard throwing pitchers where his submarine style keeps batters who are locked in on the hard throwing pitchers off balance.

Mike Jacobs hit everyone that he faced including Jake Arietta

Tonight the Bisons had Andy’s number and with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd inning he was pulled for Mike Hinckley who after an inauspicious debut in the 9th inning Friday night pitched 1 and 1/3 innings allowing no runs on hits.  Jake Arrieta came into the game in the 5th to throw two innings gave up another run on 3 hits before handing the ball over to Kam Mickolio in the 7th. Kam who has struggled gave no hint of that on Saturday pitching very well in 1 and 2/3rds innings giving up no runs on 3 hits before being pulled with a 2-0 count against Mike Cervenak appearing to be injured and closer Denis Sarfate came in and struck out Cervenak to end the inning.

Mike Hinckley had a good outing in his second appearance for the Tides

The Tides hitters were not silent and as on Friday night chipped away at the Buffalo lead in a convincing manner in a performance on any normal night would have been a game winning performance.

The comeback started in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Blake Davis and Paco Figueroa both singled and Figueroa stole 2nd setting up Matt Angle who singled to drive in both runners.  In the 5th inning with a runner on and 1 out the improving Nolan Reimold homered to left to make the score 7-4. The Tides scored 2 more runs in the bottom of the 6th.  Adam Donachie singled and reached third on a double by Paco Figueroa.  The Bisons then sent in Michael O’Connor to relieve starter Dylan Owen.  O’Connor promptly threw a wild pitch in the dirt that bounce over the home plate netting into the seats to score Donachie.  He the got Matt Angle to ground out to first before Robert Andino singled to score Figueroa. Jeff Salazar struck out and then Rhyne Hughes singled Andino to 3rd base.  Jose Della Torre came into the game for O’Connor and hit Nolan Reimold with a pitch to load the bases. He then walked Brandon Snyder to score Andino before getting Blake Davis to ground out to first to end the inning.

Nolan Reimold greeted at the plate after hitting a 2 run homer in the 5th inning

Once again the Tides seemed to have momentum on their side but fortune turned against them as Denis Sarfate who has been lights out in the 9th inning gave up 4 runs the big damage coming on a Mike Jacobs bases clearing triple with the bases loaded. This gave the Bisons a 12-7 lead going into the bottom of the 9th.  The Tides did not go quietly into the night however as Brandon Snyder hit a leadoff home run and Blake Davis doubled. Adam Donachie struck out swinging and Paco Figueroa grounded out to move Davis to 3rd base. Davis scored on a wild pitch by Manny Acosta to narrow the lead to 12-9. Matt Angle then singled and it looked like the Tides might be about to pull this one out of the fire, instead Robert Andino flied out to center on a 2-0 pitch to end the game.

Once again the Tides put enough runs on the board to win a game and didn’t. Tonight as Earl Weaver said “The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field” and that was in evidence Saturday as Tides pitchers gave up 10 runs in just two innings.  Had the pitching been there the Tides would have walked away with the win but instead dropped their 4th straight.  On the positive side for the second night in a row the Tides hitters produced hits and runs.

As I said at the beginning of this article this was not a night to see pitching.  The Bisons had 12 runs on 22 hits and no errors and left 11 men on base. The Tides with production that should get a win on any night had 9 runs on 15 hits and 1 error leaving 11 on base. Andy Mitchell (0-1 9.86 ERA) got the loss and Dylan Owen (2-1 6.14 ERA) got the win with Manny Acosta getting the save. The teams play Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park. See you there.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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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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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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Tides Drop Final Two in Pawtucket on Consecutive Blown Saves; Arietta Wins in Rochester

Robert Andino Got his 6th home run of the year Monday

Brandon Erbe must be wondering what he needs to do to get a win and Armando Gabino making his second start for the Tides taking Chris Tillman’s spot in the rotation must be scratching his head as well.  This weekend each pitcher saw solid performances end in losses when the relief staff could not seal the deal.  For Erbe it looked like after a dismal start to the season when even his good performances could not get a win that he just might get a win in Pawtucket and this Padre was wondering why the Deity did not answer his prayers for Brandon to get the win.  For Gabino who has not delivered a bad performance to date the no-decision result had to be frustrating but most certainly not the frustration experienced by Erbe. On the other side of the coin Jake Arietta continues to win and lower his International League ERA even when he has almost no run support.

Nolan Reimold hit his 2nd home run since his return to the Tides on Sunday

In Saturday’s game Erbe pitched 5.2 innings allowing no runs on 5 hits with 5 strikeouts and just one walk.  He left with a 2-0 lead and at first it looked like the bullpen just might hold things together when Pedro Viola got the final out of the 6th inning.  Viola got into trouble in the bottom of the 7th when Dusty Brown singled and was driven home on a double by Jorge Jimenez and Tug Hulett singled to send Jimenez to third. At this point since Viola has had a number of very rough outings Manager Gary Allenson pulled him for the usually reliable Ross Wolf. Unfortunately for the Tides this was not a good night for Wolf though not entirely of his making.  Wolf walked Angel Sanchez and then Daniel Nava hit into what looked to be a force at second but Blake Davis committed a fielding error allowing Nava on and Jimenez to score. Lars Anderson then doubled to score Hulett and Sanchez but Nava was thrown out on the relay by Josh Bell when he attempted to score. The inning ended with the Tides down 4-2 and Erbe’s chance at a win gone.  Tides hitters mustered nothing more and the game went into the bottom of the 8th with Andy Mitchell coming into the game. Mitchell who has been spot on in mid-relief lately gave up 3 runs on 4 hits leaving the Tides down 7-2.  In the 9th Brandon Snyder got a one out singled but was doubled up when Blake Davis hit into a double play to end the game.

Offensively the Tides had 2 runs on 8 hits and 2 errors leaving 6 men on base. Brandon Snyder, Josh Bell and Rhyne Hughes all having doubles and Blake Davis his first home run of the year, a solo shot in the 5th inning. The Pawsox had 7 runs on 13 hits all 7 runs and 8 of the hits came in the 7th and 8th innings against Tides relievers.  The Sox committed 2 errors and left 9 men on base.

Jake Arietta picket up his 6th win lowering his ERA to 1.77

On Sunday the Tides started Armando Gabino.  Gabino scattered 3 runs, 2 of which were earned on 4 hits striking out 6 and walking 3 in six innings work.  He allowed a first inning two run home run to Daniel Nava and a run in the bottom of the 6th when Lars Anderson doubled and scored on a Josh Reddick single. The Tides offense got a run in the 4th tying together an error which allowed Josh Bell on base with one out, a double by Nolan Reimold and a RBI ground ball by Brandon Snyder to score Bell. In the 5th inning the Tides tied the score when Matt Angle just up from AA Bowie bunted for a single and took second on a throwing error. Robert Andino flied out to deep center allowing Angle to take third. Rhyne Hughes then singled to score Angle.  The Tides would take the lead in the top of the 8th as the offense when a newly hot Nolan Reimold hit a 2 run home run.

Jim Miller replaced Gabino in the 7th and pitches a scoreless inning allowing a single and walk while striking out one batter.  Kam Mickolio came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, walking 1 and striking out two. The Tides would fail to score in the 9th and Mickolio was handed the blown save and the loss, his second in the series against the Pawsox.

The Tides had 4 runs on 7 hits and 3 errors with 9 men left on base, the Pawsox 5 runs on 8 hits and 1 error with 8 runners left on base. Dustin Richardson (2-0 3.21) after blowing the save in the top frame of the 8th; got the win for Pawtucket and Fernando Cabrera got his 7th save.  Kam Mickolio had his third blown save of the season and his record dropped to 1 win and 2 losses with an ERZ of 9.42.

The Tides made the overnight bus ride to Rochester and the Tides pitching heated up with the weather on a warm western New York night with a game time temperature of 84 degrees Jake Arietta took the hill for the Tides and pitched yet another great game against the Rochester Red Wings.  This evening Arietta shut down the potent Red Wing attack allowing one run on 5 hits walking 2 and striking out 7 in 8 innings work. The one run came in the bottom of the 3rd inning when Matt Tolbert tripled to right and scored on a Jason Repko single but that would be all for the Wings.  Denis Sarfate came in to close the game and sent the Wings down in order in the bottom of the 9th. The Tides offense was generated in the bottom of the 7th when Josh Bell doubled and advanced to third on a ground out by Nolan Reimold. He then scored on wild pitch by Anthony Swarzak. In the top of the 8th Robert Andino hit his sixth home run of the season to make the score 2-1.

The Tides had 2 runs on 5 hits with no errors and left 3 men on base.  Rochester had one run on 5 hits and no errors leaving 3 on base. Arietta (6-2 1.77) got the win and Denis Sarfate got his third save of the year.  Rob Delany (5-3 4.40) took the loss for the Red Wings.

The teams match up again Monday with Chris George (1-1 3.96) taking the hill for the Tides and Glen Perkins (0-6 8.47) for the Red Wings.

The Tides parent club the Baltimore Orioles dropped their fifth game in a row dropping their record to 15-36 with a .294 win percentage 18.5 games behind the American League East leading Tampa Bay Rays.

Until tomorrow,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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