Neustrom and Jones Have Big Nights, But Tides Fall to Durham Saturday
July 31, 2021 - International League (IL)
Norfolk Tides News Release
Second baseman Jahmai Jones launched a two-run homer and right fielder Robert Neustrom drove in three runs, but the Tides let a late lead slip away, dropping Saturday night's contest against the Durham Bulls by a 12-6 score.
Durham jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first. With two outs, left fielder Josh Lowe singled and second baseman Mike Brosseau walked to put two runners aboard for Dalton Kelly. The 26-year-old first baseman promptly launched a three-run home run to right field to put Norfolk in an early hole.
The Tides answered in the bottom half of the frame with a run of their own. Center fielder Stevie Wilkerson ripped a leadoff single and advanced to second on a walk. After a pair of strikeouts put Norfolk's scoring threat in jeopardy, third baseman Kelvin Gutierrez laced a ball through the right side of the infield for a run-scoring single, his third RBI of the last two days.
Two more Norfolk runs scored in the second inning. Catcher Chris Hudgins, making his Triple-A debut after a promotion from Double-A Bowie earlier in the week, worked a two-out walk. Wilkerson then added his second single of the afternoon, and Neustrom followed by crushing a ball down the right field line for a two-run double.
Though Peralta (4.2IP, 6H, 5R, 3BB, 4K) allowed three runs in the first inning, he settled in to post three straight scoreless innings. In the top of the fifth, Bulls shortstop Taylor Walls tagged Peralta for a two-run home run, putting Durham up 5-3. After Brosseau followed with a single, Tides manager Gary Kendall chose to lift Peralta from the game in favor of righty Dean Kremer, ending the 24-year-old flamethrower's Triple-A debut.
Once again, the Norfolk offense refused to go quietly, with Jones leading the charge for the second night in a row. A day after he circled the bases for an inside-the-park homer, Jones crushed a towering fly ball over the left field wall in the fifth inning for a two-run blast that knotted the game at five runs apiece.
The Tides took the lead in the bottom of the sixth. A bloop single sandwiched between a pair of walks loaded the bases with no outs. A one-out fielder's choice off the bat of Neustrom gave the Norfolk right fielder his third RBI and his club its first lead of the evening.
Tides closer Dusten Knight entered the game with a runner on first and two outs in the eighth. A walk and a single loaded the bases with runners for Durham center fielder Vidal Brujan, who worked the count to 3-2 and then hit a soft ground ball up the middle that ricocheted off the second base bag and into right field for a two-run single, once again giving the Bulls the lead.
Three Durham home runs in the ninth inning, highlighted by Kelly's second long ball of the game, extended the Bulls' lead to six runs. Reliever Joey Krehbiel tossed the final two innings, holding the Tides off the scoreboard and securing the Durham victory.
The Tides will look to win for the fifth time in seven games as they wrap up the homestand against the Bulls on Sunday afternoon, with right-hander Konner Wade scheduled to take the hill for Norfolk. Durham is expected to counter with two-time MLB All-Star Chris Archer, who joined the Bulls earlier in the month on a big-league injury rehab assignment. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.
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