Stewart, Westburg Lead Tides to Series Finale Win

NORFOLK, Va. --- The Norfolk Tides (32-34) defeated the Syracuse Mets (25-40), 8-6, on Sunday at Harbor Park, earning a series finale victory on Father’s Day.

With the ballgame all tied up a 6-6 in the seventh, Terrin Vavra led off the frame with a walk and Jordan Westburg drove him home with a double, giving the Tides the lead for good. Kyle Stowers would later bounce into a double-play that would score Westburg, providing an improtant insurance run.

The 6,212 fans in attendance witnessed a dramatic finish to the game, as the Mets loaded up the bases with no outs, but Rico Gar­cia managed to escape the jam, striking out Daniel Johnson and Travis Blankenhorn before getting Nick Meyer to pop out in foul territory to Rylan Bannon to end the game.

The Tides gave Triple-A debutant Alec Kisena a warm welcome to Harbor Park by scoring three runs in the first. Vavra reached on an error, Westburg singled and Gunnar Henderson walked, setting up Jacob Nottingham’s three-run double to open the scoring.

The Mets were undeterred by the early deficit, scoring twice in the following inning on a two-run home run from Johneshwy Fargas and would later score four unearned runs in the third, capped by a three-run shot from Travis Blankenhorn to take a 6-3 lead.

Bannon put Norfolk on the comeback trail with a solo blast in the fourth, his third long ball of the series and his eighth of the season. Bannon collected eight RBI total in this series. DJ Stewart would then bring the ballgame level in the sixth with a mammoth two-run shot to left-center, his fourth of the campaign.

Norfolk enjoys an off day tomorrow before returning to action on Tuesday night to begin a six-game set with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The starters for both teams are to be announced. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES

• NOT SO CLEAN FIELDING: The Tides committed two errors in today’s contest, which led to four unearned runs being scored...in this six-game series against Syracuse, Norfolk committed eight errors, which led to 13 unearned runs being scored, the most in the International League during that span...one of those unearned runs was due to the extra inning runner placement rule.
• FAST STARTS AT HARBOR PARK: After scoring three runs in the first inning of today’s contest, the Tides have scored in the opening frame in three-straight games...Norfolk has scored 51 runs in the first inning this season, tied with Lehigh Valley for the most in the International League this season.
• BAM-BAM BANNON: Rylan Bannon went 2-for-4 with two runs, a double, a home run and two RBI in today’s game...along with extending his hitting streak to six games, he finishes the series going 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBI...he now has 41 RBI on the season, the most on the Tides.