Tides lose second straight despite late surge

The Durham Bulls won their second game in a row against the Norfolk Tides, winning 6-4. Francisco Peña and Johnny Giavotella both homered, but it wasn't enough to lift the Tides over the Bulls.

The Bulls got on the board first in the bottom of the 2^nd, when Casey Gillaspie singled to score Jake Bauers. Later in the inning, Curt Casali grounded out to score Gillaspie. Kean Wong followed up with a bunt single that scored Shane Peterson, putting Durham up 3-0 early.
In the bottom of the 4^th, Wong hit two more in on a single to right field scoring Gillaspie and Peterson. In the bottom of the 5^th, Peterson knocked one in of his own, scoring Gillaspie. The Bulls led 6-0 after five innings.
Norfolk was able to respond in the top of the 6^th with a solo home run by Peña, his third of the season. The Tides still trailed 6-1.
In the top of the 7^th, the Tides scored some more runs. With two outs and the bases loaded, Peña walked to score Mike Yastrzemski. Diego Castillo then came in to replace Brad Boxberger, who was able to retire Pedro Álvarez. Tides cut the lead to 6-2.
The Tides threatened a comeback in the 9^th when Giavotella hit a 2-run homer over the left-center field wall to score Sharlon Schoop, putting the Tides down just 6-4. But Norfolk couldn't score after that, resulting in their second straight loss.
Blake Snell (5-0, 2.66) earned his fifth win of the season, striking out eight in 6.0 innings. Jayson Aquino (1-7, 4.89) was dealt the loss. Giavotella, Álvarez, and Schoop each had two hits to lead Norfolk's offense.
Tomorrow, the Tides (30-42) finish their 4-game series against the Bulls (43-28) at 7:05. Tyler Wilson (1-4, 5.27) will be facing off against Yonny Chirinos (5-2, 3.16).