Dingers from the rehabbing Henderson and the dangerous Coby Mayo? That could help an inconsistent big-league offense, perhaps.
Triple-A: Norfolk Tides 8, Durham Bulls (TBR) 2
It’s still true that the Tides’ season has not gotten off to a great start, but they improved the vibes considerably with a decisive 8-2 win over the Durham Bulls, courtesy of two multi-run home runs by Coby Mayo and Gunnar Henderson and a six-inning, two-run (none earned) start by Brandon Young. The offense revived, too, from an early swoon with thirteen hits.
Making his first outing of the season, Brandon Young scattered some early singles to Durham hitters (including Eloy Jiménez—remember him?) before the Bulls got to him with a two-out rally preceded by a throwing error by shortstop Luis Vázquez. The 2020 fourth-rounder Tanner Murray doubled home two runs, neither of which counted to Young’s earned run ledger.
But the Tides answered back immediately. Nick Gordon doubled and with two outs, Coby Mayo hit a no-doubter (aren’t his home runs always no-doubters?).
By this point, Young was handling the Bulls’ offense, and his last three innings were all of the 1-2-3 variety. He exited after six innings with an 0.00 ERA on the season so far.
The Tides weren’t done, however, and teed off for six runs in the eighth inning off a hapless Joey Gerber, a one-time eighth-rounder for Seattle who did not have a good day. After Dylan Carlson singled, a pinch-hitting Samuel Basallo walked and Carlson stole third. He shouldn’t have bothered, because Vázquez, making up for his error earlier, tripled to make it 4-2 Norfolk. Livan Soto drove in Norfolk’s fifth with a sac fly.
Still, the Bulls left in Gerber, and still the Tides hit him. Nick Gordon singled, stole second, Maverick Handley singled, and Gunnar Henderson made this one a romp with a three-run bomb. (I don’t know, but he looks pretty healthy to me.) Mayo singled, too, for the heck of it. A new pitcher, Michael Flynn, came in and walked two more, Carlson, batting around, and Vimael Machín before finally ending the inning.
After Young exited, Nick Richmond, a 26-year-old minor league signing in 2022 who’s pitching at Triple-A for the first time, pitched a clean seventh. Luis González, a 33-year-old veteran reliever from the DR signed in 2023, threw two good innings to close out the game.
This box score looks better than yesterday’s. The rehabbing Henderson finished 2-for-5 with a three-run dinger. Mayo went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Dylan Carlson has also had a red-hot start at the plate, going 1-for-3 today with two walks to pad a .429 average and 1.143 OPS in nine plate appearances in Triple-A. Luis Vázquez, Nick Gordon and Maverick Handley each had two hits. Outfielder Jud Fabian and Dylan Beavers each took an 0-fer. Basallo walked in one trip to the plate as a pinch hitter.
There are no scheduled games for Monday, March 31. The Tides are back in action in Charlotte on Tuesday at 6:35 pm (starter TBD).
Note: The Chesapeake Baysox (Double-A), Aberdeen IronBirds (High-A), and Delmarva Shorebirds (Low-A) all begin their seasons on April 4th.