Saturday’s 11-5 victory at Jacksonville before 8,679 fans was a kind of “Turn Back the Clock Night” for the Norfolk Tides — back to the International League season’s first week.
The Tides, who followed a 7-1 start when they scored double-digit runs most nights by incurring 10 consecutive losses, beat the Jumbo Shrimp for the second game in a row. Coby Mayo led the Tides with six RBIs and, like Connor Norby, had three hits. Two of Mayo’s went over the fence at 121 Financial Ballpark in Florida.
Norfolk will try to earn a series split in Sunday afternoon’s 3:05 finale of the six-game series.
Mayo drove a two-run homer in the first inning to set the tone. Jacksonville produced four runs in the fourth inning, most of them on Jonathan Davis’ three-run homer to left-center, to move ahead 5-2. But the Tides answered with nine runs in the next three frames.
In the fifth, Norby’s two-run homer to left drew Norfolk to 5-4 before Mayo grounded a double to score Heston Kjerstad with the tying run.
Noelberth Romero’s sacrifice fly brought home Peyton Burdick for a 6-5 lead in the sixth, and the Tides broke it open in the seventh.Mayo’s three-run homer to left and Daniel Johnson’s two-run blast to right-center put Norfolk ahead by six.
Norfolk starter Justin Armbruester struggled, yielding five earned runs and seven hits in 3 2/3 innings despite five strikeouts. But Tides manager Buck Britton’s bullpen shut out the Shrimp for the final 5 1/3 innings on just two hits.
Nick Vespi worked 2 1/3 innings for the victory, and Bryan Baker, Matt Krook and Wandisson Charles pitched a scoreless inning apiece.
