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Tides and Stripers split Tuesday Twinbill

Means, Joseph lead Tides to game one win
John Means struck out eight over six shutout innings Tuesday. (Les Treagus/Norfolk Tides)
June 12, 2018

The Tides and Gwinnett Stripers split a doubleheader at Harbor Park Tuesday, with Norfolk taking game one 1-0 before Gwinnett edged the Tides 2-1 in the nightcap. 

The Tides and Gwinnett Stripers split a doubleheader at Harbor Park Tuesday, with Norfolk taking game one 1-0 before Gwinnett edged the Tides 2-1 in the nightcap. 

In the opener, John Means and Jhan Mariñez combined on a three-hit shutout in a 1-0 victory. 
Means (2-1) was tremendous, allowing just three hits without walking a batter over six innings of work. Coming off a 10-strikeout performance in his last outing, Means struck out the side in the first frame and registered eight punchouts in the contest to help the Tides earn their fourth shutout victory of the season. The 25-year-old West Virginia product now ranks second among Orioles minor leaguers with 68 strikeouts this season, three shy of Double-A Bowie's Keegan Akin. 
Mariñez followed Means effort with a scoreless seventh inning to earn his seventh save of the season. 
Caleb Joseph gave Norfolk all the offense it would need with an opposite-field solo home run in the second frame. Joseph has now hit safely in seven of his last eight contests, batting .379 (11-29) with two home runs and even runs batted in. 
In the nightcap, Gwinnett pushed across two late runs to top the Tides 2-1. 
The game was scoreless until the sixth frame, when Danny Santana opened the inning with a home run off of Ryan Meisinger to give the Stripers the lead. The run snapped a stretch of 12 consecutive scoreless innings for Meisinger, who owns a 1.23 ERA through nine appearances with the Tides this year. 
Norfolk answered right back, as Cedric Mullins and Steve Wilkerson opened the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back doubles to knot the game at 1-1. 
The Stripers pushed across the winning run in the seventh, when a sacrifice fly from Santana plated former Tide Xavier Avery. That run came against Tanner Scott (0-1), who surrendered his first run at the Triple-A level after a nine-game scoreless run to open his Tides career. 
Norfolk put two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, but Josh Ravin escaped the threat to earn his fourth save of the season. Evan Phillips (3-3) earned the win for the Stripers with a scoreless inning of relief. 
The Tides and Stripers will square off again on Wednesday afternoon at Harbor Park, with first pitch set for 12:05. Asher Wojciechowski (3-2, 3.47) is set to start for Norfolk and be opposed by left-hander Max Fried (1-3, 4.88). 
Notes: Prior to Tuesday's twinbill, the Orioles recalled LHP Donnie Hart from Norfolk and transferred RHP Matt Wotherspoon to the Tides from Double-A Bowie…Playing in his first game since being reinstated from the disabled list, went 1-for-3 with a double in game one…The start of game two was delayed 40 minutes due to rain…Cedric Mullins doubled three times in the doubleheader…Paul Fry, the 11th different starting pitcher Norfolk has used this season, worked three shutout innings in a spot start in game two…Drew Dosch hit his team-leading 15th double of the season in game two.