Kipper, Johnson lead Tides past Louisville

Norfolk got an outstanding start from Jordan Kipper and a big afternoon from Chris Johnson in a 3-1 win over the Louisville Bats Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park.

Johnson got the Tides on the board in the third frame, when he connected on a two-run single off of Bats starter Sal Romano (1-3). Johnson also singled in the sixth frame and later came around to score on an RBI double by Adam Brett Walker to give the Tides a 3-0 advantage.
The offense was more than enough for Kipper (3-4), who worked a season-high 7.1 innings while limiting the Bats to just five hits. The TCU product walked two and struck out four, throwing 58 of his 98 pitches for strikes to help the Tides salvage a split of the four-game set. Kipper induced 11 ground ball outs in the outing and faced just five batters over the minimum.
Andrew Faulkner and Logan Verrett followed Kipper and recorded the final five outs, with Verrett working around two hits in the ninth to earn his fourth save of the season.
Romano took the tough-luck loss as he turned in an 8.0-inning complete game effort. He yielded three runs (two earned) on six hits, walking one and striking out one while needing just 89 pitches to navigate his outing.
Johnny Giavotella singled and scored a run in the contest to extend his hitting streak to 10 games, although David Washington went 0-for-3 as he saw his hitting streak snapped at 16 games. Washington did draw a walk, however, and has now reached base safely in 25 consecutive games.
The Tides will continue their homestand on Friday when they welcome in the Durham Bulls for the start of a four-game set. Chris Lee (3-4, 6.35) will get the start for Norfolk and be opposed by Old Dominion product Ryan Yarbrough (7-4, 4.10).   
Friday is Air Force Night at Harbor Park, as the Tides will honor the brave men and women that serve in the Air Force. Active duty and retired U.S. Air Force personnel, as well as dependents, can show their ID at the box office to get discounted tickets.
Notes: Earlier Thursday, three Tides were named to the International League All-Star Team, as IF Johnny Giavotella, C Chance Sisco and RHP Jimmy Yacabonis were selected to the squad…Chance Sisco, along with Bowie LHP Tanner Scott, will also represent the Orioles in the MLB Futures Game…The game was played in two hours and eight minutes, the fastest nine-inning game the Tides have played this season.
June 28th highlights