Tides Drop Opener to Charlotte in Extras

NORFOLK, V.A. --- The Norfolk Tides (0-1, 36-40) lost to the Charlotte Knights (0-1, 34-41), 4-2 in 10 innings, on Tuesday night at Harbor Park. Coby Mayo launched a game-tying solo home run in the eighth to send the game to extras, but the Tides fell to the Knights after giving up two runs in the top of the 10th.

Following a scoreless first inning, Charlotte got two men on when Chuckie Robinson singled, and Wilmer Difo drew a walk with one out in the second. Mark Payton followed with an RBI double to right field that scored both runners and gave the Knights a 2-0 lead.

Norfolk finally broke through against starter Sean Burke in the bottom of the third inning, collecting their first hit when Jackson Holliday roped a ground rule double over the left-center field wall. Coby Mayo followed in the next at bat with an RBI single up the middle to score Holliday and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Over the next two innings, Norfolk managed to get two runners to reach scoring position thanks to a stolen base by Anthony Servideo in the fourth and a wild pitch that advanced Holliday to second base in the fifth. However, the Tides couldn’t bring home either runner and did not see a base runner reach scoring position until the bottom of the eighth.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Mayo stepped in and took the fourth pitch he saw 357 feet over the left field wall for his 15th home run of the season to tie the game at 2-2.

On the mound, Chayce McDermott worked 5.2 innings of two-run baseball, fallling one out short of his fourth quality start of the season. He allowed seven hits and a walk while striking out eight Charlotte batters. In his last 11 starts, McDermott, who entered the night leading the International League in strikeouts, has struck out at least eight batters in nine outings.

Both teams were set down in order in the ninth inning, sending the game to extra innings. The first batter, Carlos Pérez, hit a ground ball to second base. Connor Norby tried to throw out Difo, the automatic runner that started at second base, but threw the ball away and allowed Difo to score and take a 3-2 lead. Oscar Colás followed with an RBI double to give the Knights a 4-2 advantage.

Norfolk had two runners on base after Sammy Peralta hit Hudson Haskin, and Connor Pavolony bunted Servideo over to third base. The Tides couldn’t bring either runner home though and fell 4-2 after a game-ending double play.

The Tides will take on the Knights tomorrow night in the second game of their six-game series. The Tides will start RHP Brandon Young (2-0, 3.63), while RHP Touki Toussaint (1-2, 4.93) will take the mound for Charlotte. First pitch is 6:35 p.m.

POSTGAME NOTES

Extra Mayo: As the lone Tide to drive in a run, Coby Mayo finished 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and a run...through seven games this season against Charlotte, Mayo is batting .419 (13-for-31) with a double, a triple, two home runs and five RBI...he extended his hitting streak to five games (since June 19 at Lehigh Valley), his third-longest hitting streak of the season...Mayo is batting .450 (9-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs and four RBI.

It’s Holliday Season Again: In his first game back in 13 days, Jackson Holliday finished 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and a run as the Tides leadoff hitter...his third inning ground rule double marked the 50th of his minor league career and was his 30th career Triple-A extra base hit...Holliday, who began the day tied for second in the International League in walks, worked multiple walks in a game for the 13th time this season and now has 56 on the year.