Tides drop pitcher's duel against Jacksonville Friday night

Zach Jarrett had two hits in his Triple-A debut and Tides starter Conner Greene continued a string of excellent outings by the Norfolk pitching staff, but the Tides (3-13) dropped a pitcher’s duel to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp by a 1-0 score.

Jarrett, who hit .302 in 11 games with Double-A Bowie to begin 2021, picked up right where he left off in his first game with Norfolk. He roped a sharp single to left field in his first at-bat before ripping a double off of the right field wall in his second time at the plate, finishing the night with a 2-for-3 line. Friday night’s game was the second contest in a row in which a Tides hitter making his Triple-A debut notched two hits, as second baseman Wilbis Santiago had a single and an RBI triple on Thursday afternoon.

Greene (7.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, BB, 7 K) was razor sharp through five innings in his second start with Norfolk, striking out seven Jacksonville hitters and touching 96 mph with his fastball. After three hits netted the Shrimp a run in the top of the first, Greene allowed just two more baserunners: a second-inning walk and a single in the seventh inning, retiring 14 consecutive hitters between them. He received help in the sixth inning from third baseman Mason McCoy, who dove to his left to grab a ground ball before leaping to his feet and firing to first base to retire Jacksonville’s Jorge Alfaro.

The Tides, who rank third in all of Triple-A with 12 runs scored in the ninth inning, refused to go quietly in their final chance at the plate. With one out, center fielder Ryan McKenna singled and promptly stole second base. Designated hitter Brett Cumberland then reached on an infield single, putting runners on first and second with Norfolk down a run. However, Jumbo Shrimp closer Brett Eibner came back to strike out Austin Wynns and retire Rylan Bannon on a groundout to finish off the game.

Over the last 14 innings thrown by Norfolk hurlers, four pitchers – Mickey Jannis, Greene, Brandon Waddell and Dusten Knight – have combined to give up just one earned run and seven total baserunners.

With Harbor Park still at 38% capacity for the time being, the Tides hosted 4,718 fans tonight. Jacksonville (12-4) and Norfolk will play the fifth game of their six-game series at Harbor Park tomorrow night at 7:05, with left-hander Josh Rogers scheduled to take the ball for the Tides.