Daz Cameron gave Norfolk the lead with a two-run homer in the sixth inning, and the Tides held on to edge Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 4-3 before 4,373 on a stormy Sunday afternoon Bark in the Park Day at Harbor Park.
The Tides (57-31 overall, 9-5 in the International League’s second half) went 2-1 in the series and 5-3 for the year against the RailRiders (42-45), the top affiliate of the New York Yankees.
Norfolk next will head to Georgia for a six-game series against the Gwinnett Stripers, the Atlanta Braves’ highest farm team.
After a 58-minute weather delay, Connor Norby’s second leadoff homer of the series and Kyle Stowers’ opposite-field blast to the picnic area in left field gave the Tides a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
The RailRiders answered with two runs in the fourth off left-hander Bruce Zimmermann, who was all but unhittable in the first three innings of his five-inning stint. Andres Chaparro’s double to left field and Jake Lamb’s single to center pulled Scranton even.
In the sixth, Ryan McKenna singled to center and stole second base with two out before Cameron slugged a pitch to left-center for his 12th home run of the year. It eventually dealt a loss to starter Mitch Spence (7-5), who is tied for the league lead in victories.
In the seventh, Scranton’s Estevan Florial grounded a single to right to bring home Michael Hermosillo, trimming the Tides’ lead to 4-3.
Norfolk reliever Ryan Watson, who gave up that one run and four hits in three innings, gained the victory. Logan Gillaspie pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his fourth save of the year, catching Hermosillo looking at strike three to end the game despite an appeal to the automated balls-and-strikes system.
INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE SECOND-HALF STANDINGS
(through most of Sunday’s games; 1H refers to the team’s first-half record)
Team, W-L, Pct., 1H
*Worcester (Red Sox), 9-4, .692, -, 39-36
St. Paul (Twins), 10-5, .667, -, 43-31
c-Norfolk (Orioles), 9-5, .643, 0.5, 48-26
*Nashville (Brewers), 8-5, .615, 1.0, 40-34
Scranton/W-B (Yankees), 8-5, .615, 1.0, 34-40
Iowa (Cubs), 9-6, .600, 1.0, 43-30
Buffalo (Blue Jays), 8-6, .571, 1.5, 34-41
*Indianapolis (Pirates), 8-6, .571, 1.5, 33-41
*Jacksonville (Marlins), 8-6, .571, 1.5, 32-42
Lehigh Valley (Phillies), 8-6, .571, 1.5, 36-37
Durham (Rays), 8-7, .533, 2.0, 40-35
Columbus (Guardians), 7-7, .500, 2.5, 33-41
*Louisville (Reds), 7-7, .500, 2.5, 40-33
Rochester (Nationals), 7-8, .467, 3.0, 34-39
Gwinnett (Braves), 6-8, .429, 3.5, 33-42
Toledo (Tigers), 6-9, .400, 4.0, 33-41
Memphis (Cardinals), 5-10, .333, 5.0, 39-36
*Omaha (Royals), 4-9, .308, 5.0, 38-34
Syracuse (Mets), 4-10, .286, 5.5, 33-41
Charlotte (White Sox), 2-12, .143, 7.5, 35-40
*Does not include Sunday’s result.
c-clinched first-half title and berth in championship series in September.
