MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The Memphis Redbirds kept the good times rolling on Friday night, grabbing a late lead and never letting go in a 6-5 win over the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A affiliate, Baltimore Orioles) on a comfortable night at AutoZone Park.
Right out of the gate, Norfolk (24-36) grabbed a 2-0 lead on a two-out, two-run home run in the top of the first from Tyler Nevin. However, that advantage did not last long. Memphis (27-36) roared back to take the lead, scoring five times on four hits (plus three walks) in the bottom of the second. The big blow of the frame was a two-out single from Conner Capel that brought home Lane Thomas and Nolan Gorman. Capel finished the game 2-4 at the plate. In his last ten games, Capel is batting .387 with seven runs driven in.
From there, the Tides chipped away and eventually tied the game. They got one run back in the top of the third on a solo shot from Zach Jarrett and knotted the game at five with two runs in the top of the fifth. Jarrett drove in the tying run with a bloop single into shallow center field.
Matthew Liberatore’s final line ended up being a mixed bag. The Redbirds starter did go six innings, but he also allowed five runs (all earned) on six hits. Liberatore struck out six of the first 12 batters he faced, but he didn’t strike out any batters in his final three innings of work.
The ‘Birds grabbed the lead back in the bottom of the sixth via a sacrifice fly from Thomas and put the game away with outstanding bullpen work. Tyler Webb and Connor Thomas pitched the final three scoreless innings, allowing just three baserunners in the process. During the six-game win streak, the Memphis bullpen has allowed just three earned runs in 25.0 IP for an ERA of 1.08.
