Lee's effort not enough as Tides fall to Charlotte

Chris Lee turned in six strong innings, but the Charlotte Knights plated a pair of late runs to knock off Norfolk 3-1 Friday night at Harbor Park.

After yielding a first inning run, Lee rebounded to spin five scoreless frames as he turned in his third Quality Start of the season. The 24-year-old southpaw - rated as the #7 prospect in the Orioles system according to MiLB.com - yielded four hits and three walks while matching his season-high with six strikeouts. He threw 61 of his 99 pitches for strikes as he lowered his ERA to 3.17 (12 ER, 34.0 IP) over his last seven starts.
With Lee's effort, Norfolk's starters have now posted a 2.81 ERA (10 ER, 32.0 IP) with three Quality Starts over the first five games of the current homestand.
Lee departed the contest with the game tied 1-1, but the Knights rallied in the seventh frame against Vidal Nuño (1-2). Charlotte plated two runs on four hits in the inning, with Everth Cabrera and Ryan Raburn registering RBI singles to give the Knights the lead.
Juan Minaya (1-0) earned the win with two shutout innings of relief for the Knights, while Brad Goldberg worked the final two innings to earn his fourth save of the season.
Paul Janish paced Norfolk's offense with two hits, including a run-scoring single off Charlotte starter Tyler Danish in the fourth frame. Chance Sisco added a single and a double in the setback, as Norfolk saw its two-game winning streak snapped.
The two teams will continue their four-game set on Saturday night from Harbor Park, with first pitch slated for 7:05. UVA product Tyler Wilson (0-3, 4.87) is set to take the mound for Norfolk and will be opposed by right-hander Chris Volstad (1-2, 6.43).
Saturday is Armed Forces Night at Harbor Park, as the Tides celebrate all the brave men and women that serve our country. There will also be a postgame fireworks show presented by Navy Mutual.
Notes: Outfielder Craig Gentry, activated to Norfolk's roster Friday after being outrighted by Baltimore, singled in four at-bats…Steve Johnson struck out three over 1.2 shutout innings of relief…Mike Yastrzemski singled, walked, stole a base and scored Norfolk's lone run…Johnny Giavotella singled to extend his hitting streak to six games…The start of the game was delayed 11 minutes due to rain.
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