Tides roll Syracuse for seventh straight win

Jake Arrieta threw seven strong innings and Trayvon Robinson homered twice and drove in three as Norfolk cruised to an 8-2 win over the Syracuse Chiefs Thursday night at Harbor Park.

Arrieta (2-0) allowed two runs on six hits as he helped the Tides pick up their seventh consecutive victory. The 27-year-old right-hander, who now owns a 1.38 ERA in two starts with Norfolk, walked one and struck out seven while throwing 61 of his 92 pitches for strikes. He carried a three-hit shutout into the sixth inning before Syracuse strung together three hits and two runs in the frame.

Arrieta was the beneficiary of an early offensive outburst, as Norfolk sent nine men to the plate en route to scoring four runs in the second inning off of Chiefs starter Ryan Perry (0-2). Jonathan Schoop got the Tides on the board with an RBI single, and Chris Robinson followed with an opposite-field run-scoring double. One batter later, Jason Pridie extended the lead to 4-0 with a two-run single to center field.

Trayvon Robinson added to Norfolk's lead in the fourth as he led off the frame with a long home run to right field. After adding an RBI single in the fifth, he belted another solo homer in the eighth frame to become the first Tides player to homer twice in a game this season.

With the win, Norfolk now has a seven-game winning streak for the first time since the 2009 season. The Tides also moved into a first place tie with Durham in the IL South division after the Bulls were defeated at Pawtucket 10-1 Thursday. With a win and a Durham loss Friday, the Tides would move into sole possession of first place in the division for the first time since they were 54-43 on July 23, 2009.

The two clubs will continue their four-game set on Friday night at Harbor Park, with first pitch set for 7:05. Jair Jurrjens (2-1, 2.64) will take the mound for Norfolk against left-hander Danny Rosenbaum (2-1, 1.14).

Notes: Yamaico Navarro singled and walked twice and has now reached base safely in 16 straight games…Over the last seven games, Norfolk's starting pitchers have gone 5-0 with a 1.91 ERA…Jason Pridie had two hits and has now hit safely in 15 of the 18 games in which he's batted in the leadoff spot…After homering twice over its recently completed 11-game road trip, Norfolk has hit eight home runs in the first five games of the current homestand…Daniel Schlereth struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief to lower his ERA to 1.13.