In his first game with the Tides, Renato Núñez plated Jaycob Brugman with a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth to lift Norfolk to a 4-3 win over the Indianapolis Indians Wednesday night at Harbor Park.
In his first game with the Tides, Renato Núñez plated Jaycob Brugman with a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth to lift Norfolk to a 4-3 win over the Indianapolis Indians Wednesday night at Harbor Park.
With the score tied at 3-3, Brugman opened the ninth frame with a single off of Indy reliever Bo Schultz (0-1). After a sacrifice bunt by Adrian Marin moved Brugman to second, the Indians elected to intentionally walk Mike Yastrzemski, setting the stage for Núñez in his first game with the Tides. The 24-year-old infielder, who was outrighted to Norfolk from Baltimore Tuesday, lined a 3-1 pitch down the left field line, easily scoring Brugman and giving the Tides their fifth walk-off victory of the season.
Núñez had given the Tides an early lead in the third frame, as he doubled home a pair of runs to give Norfolk a 2-0 advantage. The Tides then pushed their advantage to 3-0 in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Brugman.
The early offense looked to be enough for Norfolk starter Yefry Ramírez, who cruised through seven innings of work. Ramirez allowed just one hit, an infield single off the bat of Kevin Newman leading off the first frame. He struck out seven while walking just one, facing two batters over the minimum while needing only 81 pitches to navigate his outing. The 24-year-old right-hander has now struck out seven or more in four consecutive starts, and his 48 strikeouts this season are the most among any Orioles minor leaguer.
Ramirez was in line to pick up the win as the Tides entered the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead, but the Indians rallied against the Tides bullpen to tie the game. Andrew Faulkner yielded a pair of singles in the ninth before being replaced by Matt Wotherspoon (2-2), but Jordan Luplow greeted Wotherspoon with a game-tying three-run homer into the left field picnic area, knotting the score at 3-3 and setting the stage for Núñez's heroics.
With the win, Norfolk snapped a two-game skid and avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season.
The two clubs will meet in the rubber match of their three-game set on Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park, with first pitch set for 12:05. Jimmy Yacabonis (0-1, 4.95) will make the start for Norfolk and be opposed by right-hander Clay Holmes (1-2, 5.33).
Notes: DJ Stewart doubled, singled and walked in three plate appearances…Drew Dosch went 0-for-3 with a walk, snapping an eight-game hitting streak…Mike Yastrzemski singled, walked twice and scored a run, giving him a .478 average (11-23) over his last six games between Norfolk and Bowie…The Tides are averaging 4.94 runs per game, tops in the International League.
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