Chiefs fall short of sweep in Norfolk

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, couldn't complete a four-game sweep Thursday afternoon in a 4-1 loss to the Norfolk Tides. Yunesky Maya's fifth straight quality start wasn't enough as four Tides pitchers shut down Syracuse's bats. Despite the loss, Syracuse still won 3 of 4 games in Norfolk to complete a 3-5 road trip.

Syracuse (12-21) did strike first in the third inning. Chris McConnell and Gregor Blanco singled, the latter for his first Chiefs hit, and Jhonatan Solano's double play ground ball scored a run. Norfolk (13-21) answered quickly in the bottom of the inning with a Brendan Harris home run, before John Hester scored on a Solano error.

Norfolk would tack on single runs in the sixth inning, on a Nolan Reimold sacrifice fly, and eighth, on a Josh Bell single. Maya completed seven and one-third innings, allowing seven hits and four runs (three earned) while walking just one and striking out three.

The Chiefs return to Alliance Bank Stadium on Friday afternoon to start an eight-game homestand. Syracuse takes on Durham for the first of a four-game series at 7:00. Lefthander Ross Detwiler will deal for the Chiefs.