Tides surge past Clippers in series-opening win

Norfolk used a five-run sixth inning to sink the Columbus Clippers 8-5 in a rain-shortened contest Friday night at Harbor Park.

All of Norfolk's sixth-inning damage came with two outs, as seven straight batters reached safely to help the Tides surge into the lead. With the score tied 3-3, Norfolk registered six singles and a hit batter over that seven-batter span, with Luis Sardiñas giving the Tides the lead with an RBI knock that chased starter Adam Plutko (5-10) from the contest. Newport News native Kyle Crockett entered in relief of Plutko, but Chris Johnson hit a two-run single and Drew Dosch had an RBI hit to help the Tides take an 8-3 lead.
The Clippers rallied back with two runs in the seventh frame on a two-out, two-run single by Tyler Naquin, but the game was delayed - and eventually called early - after the top of the seventh inning due to persistent rain that made the field conditions unplayable.  
Gabriel Ynoa (4-8) was the beneficiary of the offensive outburst as he earned his third straight victory. He yielded five runs over 6.2 innings of work, although two of those runs came on the two-out single by Naquin off of Stefan Crichton in the seventh frame. Ynoa struck out four without walking a batter, yielding nine hits in his outing. In three starts since the All-Star break, he's now 3-0 with a 3.17 ERA (6 ER, 17.0 IP).
Logan Schafer homered as part of a two-hit night to help pace Norfolk's offense, as the Tides pounded out 12 hits over six innings. Five different Tides registered multiple hits to help Norfolk win for the seventh time in its last nine games.
Naquino homered and drove in four to pace Columbus' offense, while Michael Martinez and Nellie Rodríguez each added two hits and a run scored.
The two clubs will continue their series on Saturday, with first pitch set for 7:05. Alec Asher (2-1, 2.45) will get the start for Norfolk and be opposed by Ocean Lakes High School product Shawn Morimando (10-6, 3.96).  
Saturday is Princess Night at Harbor Park, as several Disney princesses will be on hand to take photos with fans on the concourse. There will also be a postgame fireworks show featuring music from several princess movies.
Notes: The win improved Norfolk to 10-6 since the All-Star break …With two hits Friday, Luis Sardiñas has now reached base safely in 15 straight games, over which he's batted .418 (23-55) with six multi-hit games…Pedro Álvarez went 1-for-4 and has appeared in each of Norfolk's 105 games this season, tops in Minor League Baseball…The three-run margin of victory was Norfolk's largest in a home game since a 7-4 win vs. Syracuse on April 28^th. 
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