Triple-A: Durham Bulls (Rays) 8, Norfolk Tides 3
A rough outing from starter Carson Ragsdale doomed Norfolk, as the Tides offense couldn’t get enough going to stage a comeback against the Bulls.
Ragsdale opened his evening by allowing a one-out single in the 1st, issuing a walk that moved the runner into scoring position and then giving up a two-out, line-drive single to put Norfolk in a 1-0 hole. The Tides took their only lead of the game in the 3rd, thanks to a combination of power and small ball. José Barrero led off the inning with a game-timing
solo HR to left. After two quick outs, Enrique Bradfield Jr. walked and promptly stole second. Tyler O’Neill then singled Bradfield to third before the speedster scored on a wild pitch. After moving to second on the wild pitch, O’Neill moved to third on a passed ball and scored on a Vimael Machín single to give Norfolk a 3-1 lead.
That lead would be short-lived, however, as Ragsdale gave up a three-run, two-out homer in the 3rd to put the Bulls up 4-3 and on top for good. The Tides starter would then give up four straight singles to begin the 4th, as he saw the Durham advantage balloon to 6-3 before being pulled.
After eventually falling behind 8-3, the Tides didn’t record their next hit until the 8th inning on a one-out single from Machín. Norfolk would go on to load the bases that inning, but with two outs, Barrero grounded out to third to leave them loaded and extinguish any chance at a rally. Livan Soto, Reed Trimble and Bradfield went down in order in the 9th to seal the Norfolk loss.
Double-A: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays) 3, Chesapeake Baysox 2
New Hampshire raced out to an early 3-0 lead and the Chesapeake offense couldn’t claw all the way back as they dropped the series opener.
Baysox starter Zach Fruit got off to a rough start in the bottom of the 1st, giving up a double to the first batter he faced. Things spiraled from there, as Fruit walked the next batter to give the Fisher Cats two on with no one out. Thanks to an RBI single and run-scoring groundout, the Fisher Cats held a 2-0 lead after the first frame.
Things got worse for Chespeake in the 2nd, when Fisher Cat 2B Eddison Paulino turned on a 3-2 pitch from Fruit, blasting it over the right field fence for a solo homer. Trailing 3-0, the Baysox would make things closer with a rally in the top of 3rd. Brandon Butterworth led off the inning with a walk, moved to second on a groundout and scored on a double by Austin Overn. Then with two outs, Creed Willems doubled on a hard hit ball that got past the SS and deflected off the LF, which drove home Overn and cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Baysox never got any closer, as the offense stalled, only registering two hits across the last six innings. Their best scoring opportunity came in the 7th, when Ethan Anderson led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a Butterworth walk. The tying run would stay stranded at second, though, as Douglas Hodo III struck out for the second out and Aron Estrada popped out to the catcher to end the inning.
Overn was the only real standout for Chesapeake Tuesday, finishing the day 2-f0r-4 with a single, double, RBI and run scored. The third-round pick from the 2024 draft is slashing .284/.333/.440 with four HRs and 18 stolen bases since joining the Baysox at the beginning of August.
Wednesday’s Scheduled Games
Norfolk Tides at Durham Bulls, 6:35pm ET (Nestor German vs. Yoniel Curet)
Chesapeake Baysox at New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 6:35pm ET (Trace Bright vs. Bobby Milacki)
