Asher pitches Tides to series-opening win

Alec Asher fired seven shutout innings to help pitch Norfolk to a 2-0 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs Tuesday night at Harbor Park

Asher (3-2) surrendered just three hits in the outing as he helped lift Norfolk to a win in the opener of the three-game set. The 25-year-old right-hander, who pitched for the IronPigs in both 2015 and 2016, walked one and struck out five against his former team while throwing 61 of his 95 pitches for strikes. He's now allowed three earned runs or less in eight of his nine starts with Norfolk this season while posting a 3.51 ERA.
Andrew Faulkner followed Asher's effort with a scoreless inning of relief before giving way to Richard Rodríguez, who struck out two in a perfect ninth inning to earn his eighth save of the season. The shutout was the fifth of the season for Norfolk, which improved to 17-8 over its last 25 games.
Each of Norfolk's runs came in similar fashion, as both scored on an RBI single one batter after a triple. In the fourth frame, Logan Schafer tripled and then scored on a single by Chris Dickerson, and Norfolk made it 2-0 in the seventh inning when Dickerson tripled and scored on a single by Chris Johnson.
Dickerson finished with three hits to lead Norfolk's offense, while Johnson singled twice in the win. Johnson has now hit safely in 14 consecutive starts and has upped his average to .316 in 47 games this season.
Ben Lively (7-5) was the tough-luck loser in the contest, as he allowed two runs on eight hits over 6.1 innings of work. Lively walked two and struck out six.
The two teams will continue their three-game set on Wednesday night at Harbor Park, with first pitch slated for 7:05. Jayson Aquino (3-7, 4.48) will take the ball for Norfolk and be opposed by right-hander Tom Eshelman (8-3, 2.78).  
Notes: The Tides wore throwback Norfolk Tars uniforms as part of Turn Back The Clock Night…Over the last 25 games, Norfolk's starting pitchers have now gone 9-3 with a 3.43 ERA…40 of Norfolk's 57 home contests have now been decided by two runs or less…Since opening the year 41-19, Lehigh Valley has gone 28-34…Pedro Alvarez has played in all 122 of Norfolk's games this season.
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