Norfolk Tides Slip Past the Richmond Braves 4-3 in Intrastate Rival Battle

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com – July 1, 2008 - Chris Waters and two relievers allowed just five hits while striking out 11, pitching the Tides to a 4-3 win over the Richmond Braves Tuesday night from Harbor Park.

Waters (1-5) earned his first Triple-A win, allowing three runs on four hits in 6.1 innings of work. After yielding three second inning runs, the 27-year-old southpaw retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced before giving way to reliever Alberto Castillo, who struck out two in a scoreless inning of relief.

The Braves put runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth, but Greg Aquino induced a flyout by Derrick Arnold to end the threat and pick up his ninth save of the season.

After falling behind 3-0, Norfolk began to chip away in the third inning, as Oscar Salazar put the Tides on the board with a two-run single off of Richmond starter Chuck James (3-3). Salazar, who had hit safely in 10 straight games before being promoted to Baltimore on June 10, has now collected a base hit in 12 consecutive games with Norfolk.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tides plated an unearned run in the fourth to tie the contest, and Mike Costanzo gave Norfolk the lead in the sixth inning with a long home run over the right field bullpen. Costanzo has now hit safely in 20 of his last 25 games, hitting .311 with five homers and 19 RBI over that stretch.

The Tides have won four of their last five contests with the Braves.

Norfolk and Richmond continue their series on Wednesday night, with first pitch from Harbor Park scheduled for 7:15. Hayden Penn (3-4, 5.37) is slated to take the hill for the Tides against Richmond southpaw Damian Moss (3-7, 4.86). Following the game, their will be a fireworks show.

Box Score: http://norfolktides.com/team/index.php?autoload=boxscore&gid=2008_07_01_ricaaa_noraaa_1&sportcode=aaa

Subscribe TODAY and use the code BMR for 50% Holiday Savings off of the $11.99 annual subscription price!!!