Anthony Santander capped a four-hit night with a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth, lifting the Tides to a 7-6 win over the Durham Bulls Tuesday night at Harbor Park.
Anthony Santander capped a four-hit night with a walk-off single with two outs in the ninth, lifting the Tides to a 7-6 win over the Durham Bulls Tuesday night at Harbor Park.
The game was tied at 6-6 entering the ninth, and Stevie Wilkerson opened up the inning with a single off of Cole Sulser (0-2). A wild pitch moved Wilkerson to second, but Sulser rebounded by getting DJ Stewart to pop out and Ryan Mountcastle to strike out. After Chance Sisco worked a walk, Santander sliced a shallow fly ball to left field that just eluded the dive of Nick Solak, plating Wilkerson and giving Norfolk their first walk-off win of the season.
Santander tied his career-high with four singles in the contest, and he's now hit safely in five of his last six games. Over that six-game span, the 24-year-old switch-hitter has batted .357 (10-28) with a home run, three doubles and eight runs batted in. He also threw out a runner at home plate in the eighth inning.
Jace Peterson hit a two-run homer in the win, while Mountcastle added a solo shot - his second round tripper in as many games. Zach Vincej and Wilkerson each added two hits and an RBI for the Tides, who have won three straight games and four of their last five.
Gabriel Ynoa turned in his first Quality Start of the season for Norfolk, allowing three runs on five hits over six innings of work. He yielded three runs in the second frame, but rebounded to keep the Bulls off the board over his final four innings - including a stretch in which he retired 10 of the final 11 batters he faced. Ynoa struck out five and walked two while throwing 56 of his season-high 93 pitches for strikes, giving Norfolk's starters 28 strikeouts and just six walks over the first six games of the current homestand.
Branden Kline (1-1) earned his first Triple-A victory in the contest after allowing a run on three hits over 1.2 innings of relief.
The Tides and Bulls will continue their four-game set on Wednesday night at Harbor Park, with first pitch slated for 6:35.
Notes: A night after setting a season-high with 13 hits, the Tides posted a new season-high with 15 hits on Tuesday…Norfolk entered the contest leading the International League in fielding percentage with just five errors through 12 games, but the Tides made three errors in Tuesday night's contest…Mason Williams singled, walked and scored a run, and he's now hit safely in six of his last seven games.
