Norfolk Outlasted by Scranton/WB in Loss

NORFOLK, Va --- The Norfolk Tides (7-4) fell to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (6-4), 7-3, on Wednesday night at Harbor Park. Coby Mayo collected the lone multi-hit effort for the Tides, while Heston Kjerstad worked two walks and scored twice in the loss.

The Tides broke open the scoring in the bottom of the first, taking a 1-0 lead when Mayo drove in Kjerstad on an RBI double. The two-bagger, his seventh extra-base hit of the season, came off the bat at 114.9 MPH, which ranks as the fourth-hardest hit in Triple-A thus far this season.

After Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took a 2-1 lead in the top of the second, the Tides loaded the bases in the bottom of the third, and Peyton Burdick knotted the score with a sacrifice fly out that brought home Kjerstad. Maverick Handley followed Burdick with an RBI single to close out the inning and give Norfolk a 3-2 advantage.

After the RailRiders tied the game once again in the top of the fourth, the game stayed locked at 3-3 until a two-run home run from Josh VanMeter in the top of the seventh. Norfolk would go on to collect just one more hit and see one base runner advance into scoring position for the remainder of the game. Meanwhile, Scranton/WB tacked on two more insurance runs in the top of the ninth, cementing their second straight win over the Tides.

Starter Chayce McDermott worked 4.1 innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits and five walks while striking out four batters. In relief, Nick Vespi gave up just one hit and a walk to keep the game tied up while striking out four batters.

LHP John Means (0-1, 18.00) will start on the hill for the Tides tomorrow, while the RailRiders will throw RHP Yoendrys Gómez (0-0, 6.00) in the third game of the series. First pitch at 12:05 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES

Mayo Puts Some Mustard on it: Tides third baseman Coby Mayo extended his hitting streak to seven games with a 2-for-4 day at the plate where he collected a double, an RBI, a walk and a run...his first inning RBI double came off the bat at 114.9 MPH, which ranks as the fourth-hardest hit at the Triple-A level thus far this season...since the start of his hitting streak on April 3, Mayo is hitting .466 (14-for-30) with eight runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, five RBI and five walks.

Making Batters Chayce: In his third start of the season, Chayce McDermott fanned four batters through 4.1 innings...dating back to June 22, 2023 (Game 2), at Gwinnett, McDermott has punched out at least four batters in his last 12 outings with the Tides...since his Triple-A debut on June 15, 2023, McDermott leads all Tides pitchers with 79 strikeouts in 13 games (11 starts).

Mid-Game Thumping: Working 2.2 scoreless innings in relief of Chayce McDermott was Nick Vespi...the southpaw allowed just one hit and a walk while striking out four batters through 2.2 innings of relief, keeping the game tied through the fifth, sixth and seventh innings...Vespi collected his most strikeouts in an outing since July 25, 2022 against Tampa Bay with Baltimore.

Errol Keeps Rocking: Extending his hitting streak to seven games tonight was Errol Robinson, who finished 1-for-4 on the night...this marks Robinson’s longest hitting streak since August 6 - 12, 2019 with Tulsa, where he also hit safely in seven games.