Pitchers Shut It Down in Tides 80th Win

WORCESTER, MA --- The Norfolk Tides (80-49) defeated the Worcester Red Sox (70-59), 4-3, on Friday night at Polar Park. The Tides take their fourth straight victory backed by strong pitching to become the first International League team to reach 80 wins this year.

Things moved quickly for the Tides as Connor Norby opened the game with a double. After Joey Ortiz found his way on with a base knock to left, Coby Mayo obliterated a 2-1 pitch for a three-run jack that gave Norfolk the early 3-0 lead.

The Red Sox scratched the scoreboard for the first time on the night in the bottom of the third when Bobby Dalbec singled into left field to bring home a run, cutting the Norfolk advantage to two.

Bruce Zimmermann was strong on the hill as the starter this evening for the Tides, twirling five strong innings where he allowed only the one run on four hits, walking three while striking out seven Worcester batters to keep to Norfolk lead intact.

The Tides added a late run with Ramón Rodríguez driving one to deep right for a sac fly that gave Norfolk a 4-1 lead in the eighth.

In their final turn-at bat, Worcester plated a run with a Bradley Zimmer double and grabbed another with a run scoring on a double play that cut the deficit to one, but Garrett Stallings slammed the door and the Tides earned their fourth straight victory by a 4-3 score.

Norfolk is back in action tomorrow night against Worcester with first pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. Scheduled to take the hill for the Tides is RHP Chayce McDermott (3-2, 2.79) while RHP Kyle Barraclough (8-0, 2.43) is expected to make the start for the Red Sox.

POSTGAME NOTES

Extra Mayo: Continuing to stay hot at the plate tonight was Coby Mayo who went 1-for-3 with a three-run home run and a walk...since August 17, he is batting .306 (15-for-49) with 11 runs, two doubles, five home runs, 19 RBI and 13 walks while slashing .460/.653/1.113...in that time frame, his 19 RBI leads the International League.

Here Come The Bruce-Ster: Turning in a strong performance on the hill tonight was Bruce Zimmermann who allowed one run over five complete innings, striking out seven batters along the way...of his 18 starts with Norfolk this year, it is the 12th time he has tossed at least five frames and the fifth time he has struck out at least seven batters, doing it most recently on June 13 when he fanned nine batters in a complete game shutout against Worcester at Harbor Park.

Daz-Manian Devil: Checking in with a base hit tonight was Daz Cameron who went 1-for-4 with a double and a run scored...he is now on a seven-game hit streak and is batting .500 (13-for-26) with eight runs, four doubles, a home run, eight RBI and three walks while slashing .552/.769/1.321 over that span.