Britton, Tides roll past Braves

Zach Britton threw six strong innings to lead the Tides past the Gwinnett Braves 5-1 Thursday night from Coolray Field. 

Britton (1-0) allowed one run on five hits as Norfolk earned its third straight win over the Braves.  Britton walked two and struck out two, throwing 43 of his 85 pitches for strikes. 

The Tides trailed 1-0 entering the sixth inning before rallying for three runs on one hit in the frame. Norfolk took advantage of four walks in the inning, including back-to-back bases loaded walks to L.J. Hoes and Yamaico Navarro that gave the Tides the lead. 

Norfolk extended their lead later in the contest on RBI singles by Russ Canzler and Jonathan Schoop. 

The Tides continue their 12-day, 11-game road trip on Friday night as they travel to Durham to start a three-game set with the first place Bulls.  Josh Stinson (1-0, 0.77) takes the mound for Norfolk against right-hander Alex Torres (1-0, 0.00).