Álvarez powers Tides to comeback win

Pedro Álvarez plated two runs with a two-out double in the bottom of the tenth inning, powering Norfolk to a 6-5 win over the Gwinnett Stripers Wednesday afternoon at Harbor Park. 

Gwinnett had plated a pair of runs in the top of the tenth off of D.J Snelten (1-1) to take a 5-3 lead, but the Tides rallied for three runs in the bottom of the frame off of Chad Bell (2-1). Adrian Marin ignited the inning with an RBI double, scoring Renato Núñez from second base and pulling the Tides within a run. Two outs later, DJ Stewart worked a walk to set the tables for Álvarez, who drilled a fastball off the left-center field wall to plate both runners and give Norfolk a 6-5 walk-off win. 
Álvarez, who had knotted the game at 3-3 in the sixth inning with an RBI single, has now batted .455 (5-11) with two doubles and six runs batted in since joining Norfolk from Baltimore on June 25th. He's hit .800 (4-5) with six RBI with runners in scoring position thus far.
The walk-off win helped complete a four-game sweep of the Stripers, Norfolk's first ever four-game sweep of Gwinnett. The Tides are now 8-4 against Gwinnett this season. 
Cedric Mullins had two hits, two runs, a walk and an RBI to help power the offense, while Mike Yastrzemski added two hits in the victory. 
Norfolk starter John Means continued his strong month of June, allowing three runs on five hits over six innings of work. All three runs he surrendered came in the third frame, but he rebounded to retire 10 of the final 12 batters he faced to post his third Quality Start since being promoted from Double-A Bowie on May 20th. The University of West Virginia product struck out seven without walking a batter, giving him 33 strikeouts and just one walk through 28.2 innings pitched in June. His 33 strikeouts this month rank him second in the International League behind the 37 strikeouts registered by Syracuse's Tommy Milone. 
The win pulled Norfolk (41-35) to within 1.0 game of Durham in the IL South, pending the Bulls Wednesday night contest vs. Charlotte. 
The Tides will welcome in the division-leading Bulls to Harbor Park on Thursday night, with first pitch slated for 7:05. Tim Melville (5-5, 6.04) is set to make the start for Norfolk. 
Thursday is Hokie Night at Harbor Park, as former Virginia Teach stars Tremaine, Terrell and Trey Edmunds will be on hand to sign autographs and take pictures with fans on the concourse, courtesy of HyVal Industries.  
Notes: Prior to Wednesday's game, RHP Eddie Gamboa was transferred to Norfolk from Double-A Bowie, while LHP Reid Love was transferred to Bowie. Gamboa tossed 3.0 shutout innings in Wednesday's contest…The International League announced Wednesday that IF Drew Dosch, OF DJ Stewart and RHP Jimmy Yacabonis were selected to represent the Tides in the Triple-A All-Star Game…The start of the game was delayed 41 minutes due to rain. 
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