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Tides Lose to Knights 7-3 Friday Win 6-1 Saturday; Rubber Match Sunday

Troy Patton and the Tides had an exercise in futility on Friday

The Norfolk Tides returned to Harbor Park on Friday night to face their International League South rival the Charlotte Knights. It was a tale of two cities on Friday and Saturday as the Tides lost an error filled game in which they were held to just four hits.  However on Saturday Zach Britton pitched 8 innings allowing 5 hits and a run as the Tides pounded out 6 runs on 13 hits including 3 home runs, two by Michael Aubrey who now leaders the team with 17.

On Friday Troy Patton returned to the mound for the first time in nearly two weeks following successive call ups to Baltimore in which he did not pitch and the layoff showed as he struggled at times over the course of a 4 inning performance.  He was not helped in the second inning when he gave up 4 runs only two of which were earned as Jeff Salazar dropped a fly ball that should have been the 3rd out allowing two additional runs to score.  Troy would exit the game after the 4th inning striking out 5 Knights batters in 4 innings work.

Zach Britton pitched 8 strong innings allowing just 1 run on 5 hits

The Tides actually got an early lead as in the 1st inning Michael Aubrey had an RBI double to score Jeff Salazar who had walked to lead off the inning.  The Knights scored their 4 runs in the top of the 2nd with 3 consecutive hits that scored two runs followed by the error which allowed the others to score.  In the bottom half of the inning Brandon Snyder led off with a double and scored on a ground out by Paco Figueroa.  The Tides pulled within a run in the bottom of the 4th inning as Knights starting pitcher Carlos Torres walked Brandon Snyder and Scott Moore and then hit Adam Donachie with a pitch before Paco Figueroa grounded in to a force play on which Snyder scored.

Michael Aubrey after his first of 2 home runs tonight

Jim Miller came into the game for the Tides got into trouble in the 5th inning giving up two singles and a walk to load the bases before a double play on a ground ball allowed Jeremy Reed to score.  Miller looked to have things under control with two outs and a runner on third and threw a wild pitch in the dirt which allowed Brent Morel to score.  Pat Egan came in for the 7th and 8th innings and in the 8th gave up an insurance run to the Knights on doubles by Fernando Cortez and Alejandro De Aza. Cla Meredith pitched the 9th inning but the Tides could not muster any more offense and the game ended with the final score 7 to 6 in favor of the Knights.  Patton (7-10 4.79 ERA) got the loss and Carlos Torres (9-7 3.31 ERA) gained the win. The Knights had 7 runs on 10 hits and no errors leaving 10 men on base, the Tides 3 runs on 4 hits with 4 errors with 8 men left on base.

On the 13th the Orioles activated Lou Montanez from the DL and assigned him to Norfolk where he would have an impact on Saturday night.

On Saturday the Tides sent Zach Britton to the hill to face the Knights and pitcher Brandon Hynick in a game that differed much from Friday night.  Britton pitched an outstanding game pitching 8 innings giving up a run on 5 hits striking out 9 Knights and walking 3.  He looked like he was in trouble in the 4th inning he loaded the bases with 1 out but pitched out of trouble when Jeremy Reed grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, Figueroa to Andino who made a tremendous play at 2nd and on to Aubrey to end the inning.   Tyler Flowers walked to lead off the 5th inning and scored on a single by Fernando Cortez producing the only run of the night for the Knights.

Lou Montanez went 3-5 in the win

The Tides offense was productive producing 13 hits to score their 6 runs.  Michael Aubrey crushed a pitch in the 2nd inning from Hynick for a home run putting the Tides on the board with an early lead of 1-0.   Matt Angle led off the 6th inning with his first home run of the year and with 2 outs Nolan Reimold walked and was followed by Scott Moore who singled.  Reimold then scored on a Lou Montanez single one of three hits on the day for Lou.  The Tides scored 3 more runs off of reliever Jon Adkins in the bottom of the 7th inning.  Michael Aubrey led off the inning with his 17th home run and was followed by consecutive singles from Nolan Reimold, Scott Moore and Lou Montanez to load the bases.  Brandon Snyder took a pitch from Adkins to the right field wall where it was caught by Jordan Danks which scored Reimold.  Michel Hernandez then took a pitch to the warning track in right but the sacrifice enabled Moore to score to give the Tides a 6-1 lead.  Jim Hoey came on in the 9th in a non-save situation and dominated the Charlotte batters striking out Dayan Viciedo on a 98 mile per hour fastball, getting Stafan Gartrell to pop up to second baseman Paco Figueroa and stinking out Jeremy Reed swinging to end the game.

Hynick (1-3 6.81 ERA) was charged with the loss while Zach Britton (2-2 3.12 ERA) notched the win. The Knights had 1 run on 5 hits with no errors leaving 4 men on base while the Tides put up 6 runs on 13 hits with no errors leaving 12 men on base.

Sunday the Tides will send Chris Tillman (9-7 3.45 ERA) against Lucas Harrell (10-9 4.43 ERA).  Game time is 6:15 at Harbor Park.

See you there,

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tides nip Tribe 2-1 in 11th Inning on solid Pitching and Clutch Hitting

Rick Vanden Hurk pitched 8 innings of 3 hit ball

The Norfolk Tides concluded an otherwise dismal road trip with a 2-1 11 inning victory over the Indianapolis Indians on Thursday night.  The key to the Tides victory was pitching as Earl Weaver said “the only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field.”  Starter Rick Vanden Hurk pitched 8 outstanding innings allowing 1 ruin on 3 hits, the run coming on the only hits he allowed in the game, successive singles to Pedro Ciriaco, Brian Friday and Kevin Melillo.  With the exception of a walk to Brian Friday in the bottom of the 6th inning he allowed no other base runners.  He threw 103 pitches with 73 being strikes, an amazing strike to pitch ratio in anyone’s book.

Vanden Hurk came out of the game in the 9th and relievers Alberto Castillo, Frank Mata and Denis Sarfate all pitched an inning of scoreless relief allowing no hits with Castillo and Sarfate each walking a batter.  Mata (3-2 3.07 ERA) got the win and Sarfate (2-1 S15 3.07) got his 15th save of the year.

The Tides got 9 hits but manages just the two runs but that was all that they needed to secure the win.  In the top of the 6th inning Brandon Snyder doubled and moved to 3rd on a sacrifice bunt by Scott Moore and scored on a Paco Figueroa single.

The score remained tied until the 11th inning with neither team able to connect the dots to score a run.  In the one out in the top of the 11th Paco Figueroa doubled on a pop up that was missed by Second Baseman Brian Friday.  He advanced to third base on a ground ball out to first base by Jeff Salazar and with Robert Andino at the plate scored on a wild pitch by Indians’ reliever Jean Machi.  The Indians were then sent down by Denis Sarfate to end the game.  The Tides had 2 runs on 9 hits with no errors, the Indians 1 run on 3 hits with 2 errors.  Machi (5-4 4.17 ERA) took the loss for the Tribe.

The Tides return home to Harbor Park tonight for Navy Night against the Charlotte Knights with Troy Patton back on the hill for the Tides facing Brandon Hynick (1-2 7.03 ERA).  On the roster the Chris George who injured his elbow against the Indians on Tuesday was placed on the 7 Day DL.

In other news the Tides and Orioles announced a four year extension of their Player Development Agreement/ Affiliation that will go through the 2014 season.  Double A Bowie and Advanced Single A Frederick announced similar deals.

See you at the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish.

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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“The only thing that matters is what happens on the little hump out in the middle of the field.” Tides Lose to Tribe 10-6 and 7-4; Orioles win 3-1

Nolan Reimold is hitting .383 and has 2 home runs and 9 RBIs in the last 10 games

The Norfolk Tides were downed by the Indianapolis Indians on Tuesday by a score of 10-6 and Wednesday afternoon 7-4.  As was the case in Louisville it was in large part due to pitching though unlike the Louisville series only one of the two games could be held against the starting pitcher. In an unfortunate turn of events for the Tides Chris George was forced from the game after retiring the first two batters in the first inning with an injured elbow. He has not yet been placed on the DL and there is nothing currently on the Tides or Orioles website as to his status and the severity of the injury. In most of his starts this year Chris has been solid and if he is injured it will place even more stress on a struggling Tides starting rotation which could affect the bullpen. The bullpen with the exception of Tuesday’s game against the Indians has been very effective allowing the Tides to stay in games that earlier in the year would have been blowouts.

Tim Bascom and other Starters have been hammered over the past few weeks

With Jake Arietta, Alfredo Simon and Armando Gabino now at Baltimore the Tides are without their three most effective starters.  Chris Tillman has been affected and he has not been as effective as he was earlier in the year I believe by the constant actions of Orioles management to keep sending Chris up and down between Baltimore and Norfolk.  He has had some outstanding games including a no-hitter against the Gwinnett Braves. Troy Patton has improved throughout the year and is now one of the Tides most dependable starters, unfortunately for the Tides he has missed several recent starts due to being called up to Baltimore where he saw no action.  Brandon Erbe had a number of rough outings and during his good starts did not have run support from the offense or saw the defense commit errors that resulted in runs.   Tim Bascom called up from Bowie in May has struggled his last win occurred on June 27th and was tagged for 7 earned runs in today’s game.  Zach Britton who was called up on July 1st has been effective despite a record of 1 win and 2 losses.  His worst outing occurred in Louisville where he gave up 5 earned runs in 3.2 innings. Chris George as I mentioned earlier has had a decent but not remarkable season but now the verdict is out concerning the severity of the injury to his elbow that he appeared to sustain Tuesday night.

The Tides and Orioles need to find a solution to the difficulty that the current starters are having in the early innings.  Again with few exceptions the bullpen has been solid since the All-Star break but the starting pitching needs to improve.  The Tides are now scoring enough runs on a regular basis that they should be winning more games than they are losing. They are losing in the early innings when starters have given up too many runs to opponents. Examples include July 16th when Bascom gave up 6 runs in 1.2 innings, July 24th when Tillman gave up 6 runs in 3.2 innings, the 29th when Tillman gave up 5 runs in 4.1 innings, August 5th when George gave up 6 runs in 3.2 innings, August 6th when Bascom gave up 7 runs in 3.2 innings, the 8th when Britton gave up 5 runs in 3.2 innings and today when Bascom gave up 7 runs in 6 innings.  All things considered getting down by that many runs that often makes it very difficult on the offense.  It is true that there have been many occasions when the offense failed to produce when starters pitched well but the trend lately is to get behind early and despite solid performances from the offense to score plenty of runs and get plenty of hits and nearly come back to win.

Tides hitters are showing signs of life, in the past 10 days Nolan Reimold has hit .389 with 2 home runs and 9 RBIs, Robert Andino .350 with 5 RBIs, Scott Moore .324 with 2 homers and 6 RBIs, Matt Angle .385 and 5 RBIs.  A couple of players hot earlier have cooled down or are slumping but even so in the past two weeks the Tides team batting average has gone up from .248 to .252 with corresponding increases in other offensive categories, a sign that overall the hitting is getting better.

On Tuesday night the Tides lost 10-6 and following the injury to Chris George saw the bullpen not be able to get the job done giving up 10 runs (7 earned) on 12 hits with 2 errors and walking 5 in 7.1 innings, a game ERA of 8.87.  Tides hitters had a good night of their own pounding our 6 runs on 12 hits including a home run by Scott Moore, an inside the park home run by catcher Adam Donachie and doubles by Michael Aubrey, Rhyne Hughes and Donachie who had 4 RBIs.  Cla Meredith (1-2 7.65 ERA) got the loss for the Tides and Joe Martinez (1-0 4.00 ERA) the win for the Tribe.

Today it was Tom Bascom who was stung giving up 7 runs, )4 in the 4th inning) in 6 innings work relievers Kam Mickolio, making his first appearance since coming off the DL and Denis Sarfate each pitched well, Mickolio allowing a hit but no runs and Sarfate putting the Tribe down in order with 2 strikeouts.  Nolan Reimold had two hits one a double with 2 RBIs, Robert Andino had a RBI producing sacrifice fly, Michael Aubrey had a RBI double and Brandon Snyder a double.

The Tides and Indians finish the series Friday night with Rick Vanden Hurk (1-1 2.84 ERA) on the hill for the Tides and Brad Lincoln (6-3 4.17 ERA) up for the Indians.

The Orioles played their second game of a 3 game series against Cleveland and defeated the Indians 3-1 on the strength of a 2 hit complete game shutout by Brad Bergeson.  The Orioles are now 8-1 under Buck Showalter and are now 40-74 for the first time during the season not having the worst record in the majors, which is now held by the Pittsburgh Pirates.  They are close to overtaking the Mariners and within striking distance of the Indians, Royals, Cubs, Diamondbacks and Nationals.  Showalter is a leader a precise man that uses statistics, views of others in the organization and his own observations to evaluate players including their competitive spirit.

Anyway, it is late; I am tired and have an early morning.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tillman Sharp as Tides end Skid Defeat Indians 9-1; Orioles take 3 of 4 from White Sox and crush Tribe Tuesday 14-8

Chris Tillman got his 9th Win on Monday

Chris Tillman pitched well on Monday night in Indianapolis to pick up his 9th win of the season and his first in four starts since returning from Baltimore. Tillman pitched 6.2 innings allowing 1 run on 8 hits, striking out 9 and walking only one in the outing.  The Tides hitters continued to hit well pounding out 9 runs on 15 hits tearing up the Indians pitching staff. Matt Angle went 4 for 5 with a double, triple and 2 RBIs, Robert Andino went 2 for 5 but had 2 triples and an RBI, Brandon Snyder went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 2 RBIs while Adam Donachie had an RBI double and Scott Moore a 2 run home run.

Brandon Snyder doubled twice with 2 RBIs Monday

The Tides took a 2-0 lead on Scott Moore’s 6th home run of the season in the second inning and never looked back. They added another in the 3rd when Robert Andino tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Salazar.  The 4th inning was a big inning for the Tides as they sent 8 batters to the plate and scored 4 runs.  Brandon Snyder led off the inning with a double and Scott Moore walked. Adam Donachie laid down a sacrifice bunt to send the runners to 2nd and 3rd base with 1 out. Paco Figueroa singled to score Snyder and send Moore to 3rd base.  Matt Angle tripled to score Moore and Figueroa.  Starter Jeremy Powell then hit Andino and was replaced by Dana Eveland. Jeff Salazar had a sacrifice fly to score Angle before Nolan Reimold grounded into a force out to end the inning. The Tides scored an insurance run in the 6th when Matt Angle singled and scored on Robert Andino’s second triple of the game and a final run in the top of the 9th when Brandon Snyder hit his 2nd double and was driven in by Adam Donachie who doubled.

The Indians scored just 1 run in the bottom of the 4th inning on consecutive singles by Brandon Moss, John Bowker and Mitch Jones.

The Tides rolled to the win with Chris Tillman (9-7 3.45 ERA) notching the victory and Jeremy Powell (8-8 5.24 ERA) the loss.  The Tides had 9 runs on 15 hits and no errors leaving 11 men on base, the Indians 1 run on 8 hits with 8 runners left stranded.  The Tides sent 47 batters to the plate in the effort.

Jake Arietta got his 4th win as the O’s won their 7th win under Buck Showalter

In Baltimore the Orioles closed out their series with the White Sox winning on a walk off home run by Brian Roberts to give the O’s their 6th win in 7 games and a series win over the Sox following their sweep of the Angels. The Orioles played tonight in Cleveland winning 14-8 with Jake Arietta getting the win. The O’s had home runs from Felix Pie, Luke Scott, Matt Wieters and Corey Patterson. The O’s had 13 hits in the effort and improved their record to 39 and 74 and are not far from climbing out of the Marianas Trench of Major League Baseball.  It is amazing to see the turn around on the O’s since the hiring of Buck Showalter as manager making their record under him 7-1.  The Orioles hitting has come alive after a relatively dismal season and now their starting pitchers are getting good starts.

The Tides are losing 10-6 in Indianapolis as this is published.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tides Win Monday 4-1 lose bid for Sweep of Indians 5-3 Tuesday Afternoon

Rick Vanden Hurk got the win Monday for the Tides

The Norfolk Tides had a chance to sweep a series but were unable to do so but took the series from the Indianapolis Indians by 3 games to one.  It was an interesting series the Tides took the first two games in comeback winds and on Monday never trailed. Tuesday was another matter as the Tides got behind early and could not come from behind as they had on Saturday and Sunday.

Brandon Snyder hits a 2 run home run in the 4th inning

On a beautiful Monday night newly acquired Rick Vanden Hurk taking the place of new promoted Troy Patton pitched 7 strong innings giving up just 1 run on 4 hits striking out four enroute to the victory. Hewould be backed up by strong relief performances by Frank Mata in the 8th inning and Denis Sarfate closing the game and getting the save by striking out the side in the 9th.

Denis Sarfate got his 14th save striking out Jim Negrych for the final out

The only run given up by Vanden Hurk came in the 3rd inning when Luke Carlin led off the inning with a double and advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Brian Friday, He scored on a sacrifice fly by Kevin Melillo before retiring the side.  The Tides took an early lead in the 2nd inning off of Indians starter Michael Crotta. Nolan Reimold walked and Scott Moore singled with one out.  After Brandon Snyder was retired on a fly ball to right catcher Craig Tatum tripled to score Reimold and Scott before Paco Figueroa struck out swinging to end the inning.  The Tides would pick up two more runs in the 4th inning. Nolan Reimold singled and stole 2nd base. He was followed by Brandon Snyder who crushed Crotta’s pitch over the left field wall into the Indian’s bullpen to give the Tides a 4-1 lead which they never relinquished.

Rick Vanden Hurk got the win (1-0 1.29 ERA) and Michael Crotta (5-6 4.90 ERA) the loss. Denis Sarfate got his 14th save and lowered his ERA to 3.29.  The Indians had 1 run on 5 hits with no errors leaving 5 men on base.  The Tides 4 runs on 5 hits with 1 error once again relying on the long ball for the win.

On Tuesday afternoon the Tides sent Chris Tillman to the hill. Chris was hit hard in the first inning giving up 4 runs on 6 hits also giving up a wild pitch and a costly throwing error.  He did recover and threw 4 more innings giving up 3 more hits and no runs before being pulled at the end of the inning having throw 81 pitches.  It is my opinion that mentally Chris has not recovered from the last “bungi-cord” trip to Baltimore when in two appearances he threw a magnificent game including 6 no-hit innings on the big hitting Texas Rangers before being hit hard by the Minnesota Twins.  I for the life of me I cannot understand why the Orioles have not been more patient at the major league level with Tillman who is still only 22 years old.  Hopefully he will get his chance under Buck Showalter a manager with much experience dealing with young pitchers.

Matt Angle went 2 for 4 with a run and an RBI on Tuesday

The Tides bullpen had another strong night with Armando Gabino going 2 scoreless innings, Alberto Castillo gave up a run in the 8th facing 3 batters giving up a walk and hit before being relieved by Pat Egan who gave up a double to send one of Castillo’s runners to score with Castillo being chaged with the run.  In the 9th inning Jim Hoey entered the game getting the final two outs allowing no runs and no hits.

The Tides scored their 3 runs in the 6th inning.  Brandon Snyder walked and Michel Hernandez singled. Paco Figueroa laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance the runners.  Matt Angle singled to score Snyder and Jeff Salazar hit a sacrifice fly to score Hernandez. Matt Angle stole second and scored on Robert Andino’s single.  They would not score again and the game and the Tides three game winning streak were over, the Tides going down to the Indians by a score of 5-3.  The Indians had 5 runs on 11 hits with no errors and the Tides 3 runs on 6 hits with 1 error.  Chris Tillman (8-7 3.61 ERA)  got the loss, his third since coming back from Baltimore and Jeremy Powell (8-7 4.79 ERA) the win.  The Tides have Wednesday off and begin a four game series against the Louisville Bats on Thursday.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Go Paco Go! Tides Win on Figueroa’s Walk-off Double with 2 out in Bottom of 11th

Paco Figueroa hits his game winning double

On a beautiful night the fans at Church of Baseball Harbor Park Parish were treated to an outstanding pitcher’s duel and probably the most exciting finish to a game at Harbor Park.  In front of a crowd of 8247 excited fans the Norfolk Tides and the Indianapolis Indians played an outstanding ball game that was full of suspense and excitement.

Tides starter Tim Bascom got off to a rough start walking Kevin Melillo to lead off the inning and with 2 outs give up a home run that banged off of the right field scoreboard to Brandon Moss to give the I-Tribe a 2-0 lead.  After that Bascom settled down giving up only 2 more hits and 2 walks in 6.2 innings work.

Craig Tatum cross home with the winning run

The Indians starter Brian Burres gave up just 1 run on 3 hits in 7 innings work. The Tides got their first run in the 7th inning off of Burres when Nolan Reimold walked and stole second base and with two outs catcher Craig Tatum got his first hit in a Tides uniform a single that scored Reimold.

Tim Bascom pitched 6.2 innings allowing just 3 hits

Alberto Castillo came on with 2 outs in the top of the 7th and retired the side and sent the Indians down in order in the 8th with 2 strikeouts.  Indians reliever Corey Hamman gave up a single to Robert Andino with one out but got out of the inning when Jeff Salazar hit into a double play.  Frank Mata came in at the top of the 9th for the Tides and gave up a walk but allowed no runs or hits.  In the bottom frame the Indians send up Jean Machi to attempt to save the game and secure the win and it looked like he would do it with ease.  Machi retired both Scott Moore and Nolan Reimold but then gave up a single to Rhyne Hughes who stole 2nd base.  Machi then struck out Brandon Snyder on a wild pitch which went to the backstop and Snyder hustled down the line to first base and Hughes alertly took third base.  Craig Tatum then hit a soft grounder to the right side of the infield that Indians First Baseman Jonathan Van Every bobbled for an error allowing Hughes to score and Tatum to take first base.  Still with two outs the Tides sent Paco Figueroa to the plate as the crowd chanted “Go Paco Go!” and on the first pitch Paco hit a sinking line drive that looked as if it would fall for a hit that would score Snyder. Instead Tides fans hopes were dashed for the inning when Right Fielder Mitch Jones made a sliding catch to end the inning.

Armando Gabino notched his 7th win of the season against no losses

The game entered extra innings and the Tides brought in Armando Gabino to pitch in the 10th inning.  Gabino who has been rock solid and the undiscovered gem of the Tides bullpen blew the Indians down in order in the top of the 10th inning.  In the bottom half of the inning the Tides threatened with Robert Andino and Scott Moore on 2nd and third with 2 outs Nolan Reimold plastered a deep fly ball to left which was caught near the warning track by outfielder Kevin Melillo for the 3rd out.

Gabino gave up a hit in the top of the 11th but pitched out of the inning to keep the score tied at two.  In the bottom half of the 11th and reliever Brian Bass came was sent to the hill by the Indians.  He retired Reimold and Snyder before giving up a walk to Craig Tatum.  With each inning the cheering of the crowd had been getting louder and Paco Figueroa came to the plate with fans chanting “Go Paco Go!”  Figueroa worked the count full Figueroa hit a deep drive to the warning track that went for a double, scored Tatum and ended the game.  The atmosphere in the park was electric as the Tides ran onto the field to congratulate Figueroa and fans standing and cheering.

Armando Gabino (7-0, S2 2.18 ERA) got the win and Bass (2-3 4.11 ERA) the loss. The Indians had 2 runs on 5 hits with 1 error leaving 6 men stranded. The Tides 3 runs on 6 hits with no errors stranding 10.  The teams meet tonight with Zach Britton (1-1 2.28 ERA) pitching for the Tides and Charlie Morton (3-4 4.82ERA) on the hill for the Indians.

In personnel moves the Orioles called up Josh Bell to replace Miguell Tejada who was traded to the Padres. Troy Patton was called up to replace Will Ohman who was traded to Florida for minor league reliever Rick Vanden Hurk with Vanden Hurk being assigned to the Tides.

I’m on the way to the ballpark on a soggy Sunday.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tides Scrap Iron Pigs 8-3 Aubrey Hits 14th Home Run in Twice Rain Delayed Game

Michael Aubrey hit his 14th home run and 8th in the last 8 games on Friday night in Allentown

The Norfolk Tides rolled into Allentown where they once closed the factories down and defeated the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs by a score of 8-3 on hot and humid Friday night.  The game was delayed twice by rain for a total of delay of an hour and six minutes.  Troy Patton started for the Tides and pitched 4 innings allowing only 2 hits and no runs striking out 4 Iron Pigs.  He left following the first delay after having faced only 14 batters and throwing only 56 pitches.  Leaving in after 4 meant that though the Tides were ahead by a 3-0 score Patton did not figure in the decision.

Troy Patton started pitching 4 innings and allowing no runs on 2 hits

The Tides struck first scoring 3 runs in the top of the 2nd inning.  Josh Bell led off the inning by taking Brian Mazone’s 3 and 2 offering and putting it over the left field wall. Rhyne Hughes was then hit by a pitch and with Brandon Snyder at the plate stole 2nd base.  Snyder in the order for the first time since he went on the DL in June took a 2 and 1 offering from Mazone and planted it over the left center field wall.  The game would remain 3-0 until the 7th inning. Troy Patton was followed by relievers Pat Egan, Mike Hinckley and Jim Hoey who held the Iron Pigs scoreless allowing only 3 hits.

Brandon Snyder had a 2 run home run and a double in his return from the DL

In the top of the 7th the Tides struck for 3 more runs.  Michel Hernandez singled to lead off the inning and Robert Andino walked with 2 out. This brought Michael Aubrey to the plate and Aubrey hit a laser like blast over the right field wall on a 1 ball 1 strike count off Iron Pigs reliever Oscar Villareal over the right field wall.  The blast was his 8th home run in the last 8 games, his 14th of the season.  In the last 10 games Aubrey is hitting .353 with 8 homers and 21 RBIs and has a slugging percentage of 1.118 which is basically off the chart.

Josh Bell hit his 11th home run of the season

The Tides scored two more runs in the top of the 8th inning.  With one out Brandon Snyder doubled off of Mike Zagurski and Michel Hernandez drew a walk.  Paco Figueroa singled to right to score Snyder and send Hernandez to 3rd base.  This brought Matt “the Right” Angle to the plate and he singled to drive in Hernandez making the score 8-0.

In the bottom of the 8th the Tides brought in Frank Mata in relief. Mata struggled in his first appearance after being optioned back to the Tides from the Orioles and struggled again Friday night.  In the 8th he gave up back to back doubles to Domonic Brown and Andy Tracy then hit John Mayberry and walked Chris Aguila to load the bases before getting Neil Sellers and Paul Hoover both to pop and then strike out Brian Bocock to end the inning.  Mata returned in the 9th inning and gave up a leadoff double to Chris Duffy and then a one out home run to Domonic Brown.  Mata then struck out Andy Tracy and got John Mayberry to fly out to left fielder Nolan Reimold.

Pat Egan (1-0 7.30 ERA) got the win for the Tides and Brian Mazone (5-11 3.97 ERA) got the loss. The Tides scored 8 runs on 12 hits with one error and left 6 men on base.  The Iron Pigs had 3 runs on 9 hits with no errors and left 11 runners stranded.  The teams meet again tonight with Chris Tillman (8-4 2.72 ERA) on the hill for the Tides and Nate Bump (7-4 3.15 ERA) pitching for the Iron Pigs.

In Tides and Orioles personnel moves Brandon Snyder was activated from the DL and Jonathan Tucker sent to AA Bowie to make room for Snyder.  Brian Roberts was activated in Baltimore and made his first appearance since being injured in April with the Orioles designating Scott Moore for assignment. Moore was quoted that if he clears waivers he would likely sign to remain in the Orioles organization and come back to the Tides.

In an interesting statistical note the Tides now have 88 home runs compared to a season total of 78 in 2009 and 66 in 2008.

Until the next time,

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Tides Win 7-6 take series from Syracuse

Michael Aubrey had an RBI single as well as a double and a walk in Thursday’s win over Syracuse

On a brutally hot and humid day at Harbor Park the Norfolk Tides defeated the Syracuse Chiefs in what cannot be described as either a pitcher’s duel or defensive gem.  The Tides started Zack Britton who had his worst outing of the year giving up 2 earned runs on 6 hits with 3 walks in 4 innings of work.  Of course in Britton’s favor was the fact that the Tides made two critical first inning errors that led to Chiefs runs  Britton allowed 3 runs in the inning only one of which was earned and he faced the entire Chiefs batting order before retiring the side.

The Tides got 2 runs back in the bottom of the 1st when Matt Angle singled, and advanced to second on a throwing error by Justin Maxwell.  He took third on an errant pickoff attempt and scored on a sacrifice fly by Robert Andino.  Chiefs’ starter Shairon Martis then walked Michael Aubrey and gave up consecutive singles to Josh Bell and Nolan Reimold to load the bases. Aubrey then scored on a Rhyne Hughes sacrifice fly before Martis retired the side.  The Tides scored 2 more runs in the 4th inning.  Jonathan Tucker doubled and scored on a 1 out double by Robert Andino and Michael Aubrey batted in Andino with a single off of Martis to give the Tides the lead.

Rhyne Hughes had a single and RBI sacrifice fly

The Chiefs struck back in the top of the 5th inning when Britton gave up a leadoff double to Justin Maxwell doubled to lead of the inning. Bobby Dickerson brought in reliever Cla Meredith and Meredith promptly gave up a single to Kevin Mench and a triple to Luis Ordaz to score 2 runs and then a sacrifice fly to score Ordaz giving the Chiefs a 6-4 lead.  Meredith retired the side and the Tides got nothing in the bottom frame.  In the 6th inning Meredith gave up a leadoff double to former Tide Chase Lambin but pitched his way out of the jam retiring Jason Botts, Pete Orr and Kevin Mench.

The Tides came back in the bottom half of the 6th scoring 2 runs to tie the game.  Robert Andino got aboard on an error by third baseman Seth Bynum and moved to third on a Michael Aubrey double. Reliever Collin Ballester gave an intentional pass to Josh Bell to load the bases for Nolan Reimold. Reimold took Ballester to a 3-2 count before walking to score Andino.  The Chiefs then brought in Atahaulpa Severino to face Rhyne Hughes who he walked.  The Chiefs were spared further damage when he got Paco Figueroa and Adam Donachie to both hit into force plays to end the inning.

Denis Sarfate got his second win in relief

Alberto Castillo came on in the 7th and pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief before yielding to closer Denis Sarfate with 2 outs in the 8th inning.  With two men on base Sarfate struck out Kevin Mench to end the inning.  The Tides got the go ahead and what turned out to be the winning run. Rhyne Hughes singled and stole second. Paco Figueroa walked and Adam Donachie singled to load the bases. Jonathan Tucker grounded in to a force out to third baseman Seth Bynum who threw to home to cut down Hughes but catcher Jamie Burke attempted to double up the speedy Tucker at first but the ball struck Tucker and went into the outfield allowing Figueroa to score.  Sarfate set the Chiefs down in order in the top of the 9th striking out Luis Ordaz and Jamie Burke in the process.

Sarfate got the win his second of the season while Jason Bergmann took the loss.  The Chiefs had 6 runs on 11 hits but made 4 errors and their pitchers allowed 10 walks. They left 12 men on base.  The Tides had 7 runs on 13 hits with 2 errors and left 16 men aboard.  The Tides go to Allentown Pennsylvania to face the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs at Coca Cola Field for a 4 game set tonight.  The Iron Pigs have a 4 game win streak going into the series and the Tides have won 5 of their last 8. Troy Patton (6-9 4.91 ERA) who had the bungee jump trip to the majors this week will start for the Tides and face Brian Mazone (5-10 3.90 ERA).

In Orioles news which will likely affect the Tides roster, 2nd Baseman Brian Roberts on the DL since April was activated and will start against the Twins in Baltimore tonight.  It is also expected that Catcher Matt Wieters will come of the DL soon.  The Orioles designated infielder Scott Moore for assignment and if Moore clears waivers he may be resigned by the Orioles to a minor league contract.  Brandon Snyder was activated from the DL and will start for the Tides tonight.

Until the next time, peace

Padre Steve+

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Tides Blanked by Braves as Resop Pitches One Hitter: Arietta Wins ML Debut against Yankees

Tim Bascom pitched well in his AAA Debut in Norfolk

After a hitting frenzy in the first five games of this home stand there have bee two pitcher’s duels at the Church of Baseball, Harbor Park Parish with the second being even more impressive than the first. What had been scheduled as a match up between the two leading pitchers in the International League, Tides right-hander Jake Arietta and Braves right-hander Chris Resop changed when Arietta had his contract selected by the Orioles and at game time in Norfolk was on the mound in Baltimore pitching in his Major League debut against the World Champion New York Yankees.

Frustration at the plate: Nolan Reimold bounces a pitch foul

Instead of this highly anticipated match up the Tides started Tim Bascom who had been called up Thursday from AA Bowie and Bascom performed magnificently in his AAA debut for the Tides.  However it was Resop that stole the show last night pitching to the minimum 27 batters allowing just one hit with eight strikeouts and no walks to shut down a Tides offense that had been running roughshod over opposing pitching most of this home stand.  Bascom went 7 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits with 6 strikeouts and tendered just one walk.  He would be followed by Jim Miller who pitched well but had problems with his throws to first on two bunts which resulted in errors and allowed runners placed on board by Bascom to score.

Chris Resop was just about perfect in Thursday’s game

There was not much offense for either team. The Tides had just the one hit by Rhyne Hughes which was negated when Braves outfielder Mitch Jones made an incredible defensive play to rob Brandon Snyder of extra bases and then caught Hughes who had passed second base off of first for a double play the Tides were robbed by Jones twice late in the game on sharply hit fly balls that looked as if they would fall for singles or extra base hits.  The Braves got a run in the top of the 3rd inning which Elliott the Usher and I both felt should not have happened had Left Fielder Nolan Reimold caught what appeared to be a very catchable fly ball off the bat of Matt Young. Reimold did not make the play and one has to wonder what is going on with last year’s hot rookie.  Reimold has struggled with injury to his heel and I wonder if he is still having problems with it or if there is something going on in his life that is hurting his game.  Anyway, Young would score on a sacrifice fly by Freddie Freeman and the score would remain 1-0 until the 8th inning.  In the 8th Bascom who had not allowed a run or for that matter not much else gave up an infield single to J C Boscan and an infield single to Matt Young.  Reliever Jim Miller came into the game with two on and no outs and faced Wes Timmons.  Timmons also bunted a beauty; Miller did a great job getting to the ball but hurried his throw which got past First Baseman Brandon Snyder allowing Boscan to score and Young to advance to third base.  Freddie Freeman then hit a sacrifice fly which scored Young. Miller picked off Timmons and retired Mitch Jones to end the inning.  The Braves got an insurance run in the 9th when Joe Thurston bunted and for the second time Miller fielded the ball well but his throw went awry allowing Thurston on base.   Jordan Schafer then bunted sharply past the mound and Robert Andino made a great play to get Schafer but Thurston was running hard for third.  Brandon Snyder saw this and made a strong throw to third which had it been on target would have nailed Thurston, but the throw went high over the head of Paco Figueroa and Thurston scored.  Victimed by three errors in two innings the Tides lost 4-0.Chris Resop (5-2 1.84) got the win and Tim Bascom (0-1 3.86) got the loss.  The Tides had no runs on one hit and three errors and left no men on base.  The Braves had 4 runs on 8 hits and no errors leaving 6 men on base.  The teams will conclude their series tonight at Harbor Park with Jo-Jo Reyes (0-3 5.94) on the hill for the Braves facing Chris George (1-1  3.71)

Jake Arietta notched his first Major League win against the Yankees in Baltimore Thursday

In Baltimore Jake Arietta was the story pitching 6 innings and getting his first Major League win against the New York Yankees by a score of 4-3 with some help by some of his Norfolk Tides team mates.  Scott Moore who went to Baltimore last month from the Tides who hit his first Major League home run, Frank Mata came in to shut down the Yankees in the 7th and David Hernandez notched his first Major League save as the closer.  The O’s broke a 10 game losing streak against the Yankees with the win.

See you tonight at Harbor Park,

Peace,

Padre Steve+

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Moves and Rumors of Moves…Well Not the Rumors Part…Orioles and Tides Make Some Moves

Scott Moore was called up to Baltimore on Friday

The player personnel departments of the Baltimore Orioles and their farm system have been busy in the past two days.  With the worst record in baseball the Orioles are searching for answers to their woes in the hitting department and in their bullpen.  On Thursday they optioned relief pitcher Alberto Castillo to the Norfolk Tides.  Today they called up infielder Scott Moore who has been hitting very well lately including two home runs on Wednesday and a three RBI night Thursday from the Tides to join the team in Washington to play the Nationals.

Also on Friday the Tides brought Left Hand Pitcher Chris George off the 7 day disabled list and Chris will pitch tonight against the Pawtucket Red Sox.  Infielder Justin Turner who has been cold at the bat this season and was on the Orioles 40 man roster was designated for assignment which means that he was removed from the 40 man roster which means that the Tides have 10 days to from the date of designation to return the Justin to the 40-man roster or to trade, release, or outright the player to Minors. As a note a player may only be designated for assignment if the 40-man roster is full and a player needs to be added which in this case is Scott Moore.

Also at Norfolk Paco Figueroa was called up from the Aberdeen Ironbirds.  Figueroa an infielder had a .306 average at AA Bowie before being called up.

It will be interesting since we are coming to the end of May just what other moves might be made. If I was a betting man I would look for more in Baltimore that will affect the Tides.

Peace

Padre Steve+

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Filed under Baseball, Batlimore Orioles, norfolk tides