John Means pitched 4.1 solid innings in his first Triple-A appearance this season and Daz Cameron hit a grand slam and drove in five runs Friday night as the Norfolk Tides outlasted the Durham Bulls 12-9 before 6,138 fans at Harbor Park.
The Tides (75-48, 27-22 in second half) took a 3-1 series lead after seeing their five-game win streak come to an end Thursday afternoon. The Bulls dropped to 69-45 and 29-20.
Means, the former ace of the Baltimore Orioles who once threw a no-hitter, allowed one run on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks. He threw 72 pitches. It was his fourth rehab start this season as he recovers from Tommy John surgery and a back injury. This was his longest outing of the four starts and his second straight having allowed a lone run.
Norfolk gave Means all the support he would need with an eight-run first inning. Coby Mayo’s two-run single and Cameron’s grand slam were the big hits. Heston Kjerstad added an RBI single and Joey Ortiz an RBI groundout.
Cameron got his fifth RBI in the second inning with a run-scoring single to make it 9-0.
Durham scored its first run in the top of the third, but the Tides made it 11-1 in the bottom of the fifth on Kjerstad’s RBI groundout and Ortiz’s RBI single.
The Bulls made it interesting by scoring two runs in the sixth and three runs each in the seventh and eighth innings, but Tyler Wells closed it out for the Tides by pitching a scoreless ninth for his first save. Wells has made 20 starts for the Orioles this season.
Reliever T.J. McFarland (3-2), who replaced Means in the fifth inning, picked up the victory despite allowing two runs in 1.2 innings.
Durham starter Anthony Molina (1-2) gave up all eight runs in the first inning without recording an out.
Cameron, Connor Norby and Anthony Bemboom each had three hits for Norfolk, which finished with 15 for the game.
The teams will play again at 6:35 p.m. Saturday on a Fireworks Night.
