Stinson solid as Tides win second in a row
Josh Stinson allowed just one unearned run over seven innings while allowing just three base hits as the Tides right-hander earned his first win since June 22, lifting Norfolk to a 4-1 win over the Charlotte Knights Saturday night in Fort Mill, SC.
Stinson (4-4) had gone seven starts between wins as the 25-year-old outlasted a rain delay of 30 minutes in the fourth inning while throwing 53 of his 86 pitches for strikes.
The Tides improved to a league-best 36-7 when scoring the first run of the ballgame as Buck Britton's RBI groundout in the second inning off of Charlotte starter Zach Stewart (5-10). The Knights would plate an unearned run in the third inning on a RBI single from Dewayne Wise who is on rehab from the White Sox.
Rain began to fall in the fourth inning but the Tides were able to score a couple of runs in the inning. Britton added his second RBI of the night when he reached first base and advanced to second on a missed catch error by Stewart, scoring Yamaico Navarro. Following a 30 minute delay, Jason Pridie greeted Stewart with an RBI single to right that scored Britton and the Tides held a 3-1 advantage through four.
That would be all the offense that Stinson needed as he used five 1-2-3 innings en route to seven solid innings. Daniel McCutchen relieved Stinson in the eighth and worked a scoreless frame before Chris Snyder's third home run with Norfolk extended the Tides lead to 4-1.
Jairo Asencio struck out a couple of batters in a perfect ninth inning to earn his league-leading 19th save of the season.
The Tides and Knights wrap up a two-game series Sunday afternoon. Norfolk sends right-hander Freddy Garcia (4-1, 2.79) opposite of Charlotte right-hander Andre Rienzo (5-6, 4.71). First pitch is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. at Knights Stadium in Fort Mill, SC.