Late Homer Downs Tides
July 29, 2018 - International League (IL1)
Norfolk Tides News Release
Toledo's Christin Stewart broke open a scoreless game with a three-run homer in the eighth inning to power the Mud Hens to a 3-0 win over Norfolk Sunday afternoon at Harbor Park.
Stewart, who is now tied for the International League lead with 18 home runs, connected off of Eddie Gamboa to give the Hens their only extra-base hit of the contest. Stewart homered twice in the series, helping the Mud Hens take two of three in the set.
Artie Lewicki (5-5) earned the win with a dazzling effort, holding the Tides to one hit and one walk over seven shutout innings of work. He struck out nine and faced just one batter over the minimum, throwing 64 of his 93 pitches for strikes.
After falling behind 3-0, Norfolk nearly took the lead in the bottom half of the eighth inning, when the Tides loaded the bases with two outs against reliever Paul Voelker. Cedric Mullins hit a deep fly ball to right field, but Mike Gerber made the catch at the base of the wall as Mullins' grand slam bid came up just short. The Tides then put two runners on in the ninth frame, but Zac Houston pitched out of the jam to record his fifth save of the season.
Norfolk starter Matt Wotherspoon had to settle for a no-decision after a terrific outing in which he allowed just one hit over five shutout innings. Wotherspoon struck out five and issued just one walk, throwing 44 of his 70 pitches for strikes. The University of Pittsburgh product faced just three batters over the minimum through his five innings of work, lowering his ERA to 3.05 through 16 games (four starts) at Harbor Park this season.
Luis Gonzalez (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing a run on two hits over 2.1 innings of relief. He struck out four and walked a batter and now owns a 2.16 ERA through four relief outings with the Tides.
With the win, Toledo pulled within 1.5 games of Norfolk in the IL Wild Card standings. The Tides (57-49) lead Scranton/WB by a half-game, while Toledo and Columbus are just 1.5 games back.
The Tides open up a seven-game road trip on Monday night, traveling to Charlotte to open up a four-game series with the Knights. John Means (5-1, 2.87) is set to start for Norfolk and will be opposed by right-hander Spencer Adams (2-3, 3.33).
Notes: Prior to Sunday's game, LHP Chris Lee was outrighted off of Norfolk's roster and transferred to Double-A Bowie. RHP Eddie Gamboa was transferred to Norfolk's roster to take Lee's roster spot... Garabez Rosa had a ninth inning single to extend his hitting streak to eight games...Luis Sardinas singled twice for his second consecutive multi-hit game...Norfolk finished 6-4 against Toledo this season and is 39-20 against the Mud Hens since the start of the 2012 season.
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