Pawtucket outlasts Tides in 14 innings
Dariel Alvarez had five hits and Odrisamer Despaigne turned in a strong start, but the Pawtucket Red Sox outlasted the Tides 3-1 in 14 innings Thursday night at Harbor Park.
Alvarez matched his career high as he registered three singles and two doubles in the contest to raise his average to .291. The five hits were the most in a game for a Tides player since Henry Urrutia accomplished the feat on 7/10/13 at Gwinnett, and it was the second five-hit game in Alvarez' career, matching a five-hit night he had with Double-A Bowie during the 2014 campaign.
Alvarez' big night went for naught, however, as Pawtucket escaped several Norfolk threats late in the game en route to pulling out the victory in the opener of the four-game set. The Pawsox finally pulled ahead in the 14th inning on a two-out RBI double by Mike Miller and an RBI single by Ryan LaMarre off of Zach Phillips (3-2).
The Tides repeatedly had opportunities to win the contest, as Norfolk put the leadoff runner on base in seven consecutive innings from the sixth through 12th frame, but could not push across the winning run. Norfolk eventually finished the contest 1-for-24 with runners in scoring position and left a franchise record 19 men on base, surpassing the previous record of 18 set on 4/21/78 at Syracuse.
Despaigne did not allow a run over his first six innings of work before he was removed from the contest after yielding a leadoff double to Sandy Leon in the seventh frame. Leon came around to score on a one-out single by Jose Vinicio off of Pedro Beato, Vinicio's first career Triple-A run batted in.
Despaigne yielded five hits and walked one while striking out three, lowering his ERA to 3.97 through 11 starts this season. Norfolk has plated 19 total runs in Despaigne's starts this year (1.7 per game), including just 10 with him in the game.
Trey Mancini had two hits and an RBI in the contest, while Mike Yastrzemski and Ozzie Martinez both added multiple hits in the game. Mancini has now reached base safely in 10 consecutive contests, over which he has hit .351 (13-37) with two home runs and six RBI.
The two clubs continue their four-game series Friday night at Harbor Park, with first pitch slated for 7:05. Joe Gunkel (1-3, 4.36) gets the start for Norfolk against right-hander Aaron Wilkerson (1-0, 3.18). On Friday, the first 2,000 fans 17 & under will receive a youth replica Tides jersey, courtesy of Pepsi.
Notes: Prior to Thursday's game, the Orioles selected the contract of Tides LHP Brian Duensing and optioned RHP Mike Wright to Norfolk…Pawtucket outfielder Ryan LaMarre made a leaping catch at the center field wall to deny Chris O'Brien of an extra-base hit leading off the second inning…Norfolk's bullpen allowed two runs over eight innings of work, including four shutout innings of relief from Scott McGough…Pedro Beato worked two shutout innings of relief, as he's not allowed an earned run in 11 consecutive appearances.