Soroka Stellar as Stripers Win Season Opener

NORFOLK, Va. - The Gwinnett Stripers (1-0), behind the pitching of 20-year-old prospect Mike Soroka and a trio of relievers, beat the Norfolk Tides (0-1) by a 3-1 score in the 2018 International League season opener Friday night at Harbor Park.
Soroka (W, 1-0), the No. 3 prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization according to MLB.com, worked a stellar 5.0 scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut. He allowed three hits and one walk while striking out five.
Soroka was followed by Phil Pfeifer (H, 1) who went 1.0 inning with one hit, one earned run, one walk and one strikeout; Evan Phillips (H, 1) who pitched 1.0 inning with two hits, one walk and one strikeout; and Jesse Biddle (S, 1) who closed out the game by retiring the six batters he faced over 2.0 innings with three strikeouts.

Gwinnett's first run came in the top of the second inning off Norfolk starter Yefry Ramírez (L, 0-1). Dustin Peterson drew a one-out walk, stole second base and scored on a long double to right by Rio Ruiz .
The Stripers added two more in the top of the fifth. Rob Brantly greeted reliever Joely Rodríguez with a double down the first base line. Brantly was bunted to third by Christian Colón and later scored on a passed ball for a 2-0 lead. Danny Santana followed with an infield single and scored all the way from first on a double off the wall in left by Jaff Decker to make it 3-0.
The lone Tides run came in the bottom of the sixth as Joey Rickard doubled off Pfeifer to begin the inning, moved to third when Drew Dosch reached on a fielder's choice, and then scored on a Pfeifer wild pitch for a 3-1 score.
Norfolk loaded the bases against Phillips with one out in the seventh, but could not capitalize.
For the Tides, Ramirez worked 4.0 innings with one hit, one earned run, two walks and three strikeouts. Rodriguez allowed two earned runs on three hits over 0.2 innings.
Offensively for the Stripers, Decker went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI. Santana, Ruiz and Brantly each went 1-for-4, with Ruiz tallying an RBI double. Ronald Acuña Jr. , the No. 2 prospect in baseball according to MLB.com, was 0-for-4.
The Stripers and Tides meet for game two of the three-game series on Saturday night at Harbor Park. Right-hander Matt Wisler (NR) starts for Gwinnett, while Norfolk will counter with right-hander David Hess (NR). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 6:35 p.m.
The Stripers' home opener at Coolray Field is set for Thursday, April 12 at 7:05 p.m. vs. the Rochester Red Wings. For tickets, call 678-277-0340 or visit GoStripers.com/tickets.