Red Barons take two from Norfolk
Norfolk scored first in the day's opener with four runs by Brian Daubach, Ron Calloway, Benji Gil and Rodney Nye in the second inning. The Tides continued to hit but could not bring anyone else home for the duration of the game.
Jim Rushford, Chris Coste and John Castellano started the Red Barons' comeback in the fourth inning by producing three runs. Leonard Hannahan's run in the fifth tied Norfolk, and Coste's first home run of the season in the sixth gave Scranton the lead. Closer Franklin Perez was able to hold on to the 5-4 lead to get his first save of the season.
In the second contest, the Tides struck early when George Williams scored the only run of the inning. Scranton reponded with one run each by Carlos Ruiz and Juan Sosa to take the lead in the bottom of the second. Both Ruiz and Sosa went 2-for-3 in the second game. In the third inning, Hannahan and Rushford each scored one run, making the score 4-1. Ruiz scored again in the fifth, while Ryan Howard made it 6-1 at the end of six.
The Tides started a rally in the top of the seventh. Eude Brito walked Chris Basak, who later scored on Jeff Keppinger's double. Williams grounded into a force out, and Craig Brazell's three-run home run brought the score to 6-5. Scranton then called upon Martire Franco to replace Brito, and Franco was able to stop the Tides.
The teams played the doubleheader in order to makeup the game originally scheduled Thursday, which was rained out. The series finale will take place Sunday at 2 p.m. ET at Scranton.