An impressive outing from Josh Rogers, a four-hit day from Ryan Mountcastle and home runs from both Mason Williams and Chance Sisco for the second consecutive day led Norfolk to a 5-1 victory over the Durham Bulls Wednesday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game set at DBAP.
An impressive outing from Josh Rogers, a four-hit day from Ryan Mountcastle and home runs from both Mason Williams and Chance Sisco for the second consecutive day led Norfolk to a 5-1 victory over the Durham Bulls Wednesday afternoon in the rubber match of a three-game set at DBAP.
The Tides recorded 16 hits against Durham pitching on the day, as every batter in the Tides lineup joined the hit parade by notching at least one base hit in the game.
Mason Williams put the Tides on the board first with a third-inning home run over the center-field fence for his fourth home run in his last four games and his fourth homer this season. In the series against Durham, Williams batted .375 (3-8) with two home runs and four RBI.
Ryan Mountcastle added a second Norfolk run in the third, driving in Jack Reinheimer with a two-out single off of Bulls starter Ryan Merritt to put the Tides up 2-0. Mountcastle, the Orioles No. 2 overall prospect, finished the day with a season-high four hits - going 4-for-5 with two RBI - and has now hit safely in eight straight games, batting .386 (15-39) over that stretch.
The Tides extended their lead to 4-1 in the sixth inning when Chance Sisco launched his second two-run homer in two days, this time over the right-center-field fence. Over the road trip, Sisco batted .300 (9-30) with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
Josh Rogers was impressive on the mound in his start, as he did not walk a batter and allowed just one run on five hits over a season-high 7.0 innings to earn his second victory this season. The only run he allowed came as the result of a fielder's choice groundout that scored Jake Smolinski in the fourth inning. In addition to not walking a batter, Rogers also notched a season-high five strikeouts on the day.
After being optioned from Baltimore to Norfolk on April 28, right-handed pitcher Jimmy Yacabonis made his 2019 Tides debut with a strong relief outing. Yacabonis hit triple-digits on the radar gun with a fastball that registered at 100 miles per hour, as he shut down the Bulls in the eighth and ninth, allowing no hits and striking out two to cap off the Tides win.
With today's win, the Tides finish their nine-game road trip with a 4-5 record after playing three-game sets with Columbus, Louisville and Durham. Today's win also marks Norfolk's fifth win in seven games with Durham so far this season. The Tides have won just two season series against the Bulls since becoming an Orioles affiliate in 2007.
The Tides return home Thursday night for a 6:35 contest with the Charlotte Knights to begin a 10-game homestand at Harbor Park, as LHP Luis Ysla (0-2, 5.40) will be faced by LHP Jordan Guerrero (1-2, 8.14). Norfolk will play four games with Charlotte before welcoming Pawtucket and Buffalo for three-game sets.
