To say the Norfolk Tides are struggling would be an understatement.
They have lost seven of their last 10 and have not won a series since they played the Stripers from June 28 to July 3.
After dropping their most recent series against the Nashville Sound, the Tides find themselves 48-56 and 10.5 games out of first place. They currently have a -45 run differential and are 30-38 against sub-.500 teams.
At the forefront of the struggles is pitching. Once again, pitching was a factor in this series, as the Sound scored six-plus runs in all but two games, both those games losses.
On the other hand, the offense struggled this past series as well, scoring three or fewer runs in four of the six games. The two games they scored four or more, they went 1-1.
Kyle Stowers keeps doing his best to showcase his talent and try and force his way up to the big league roster. For the series, Stowers would go 7-for-22 (.318 BA), collecting four extra-base hits and nine RBIs.
In Saturday’s 3-2 Tides victory, Stowers literally led his team to victory with his bat alone. He would collect three of the Tides’ seven hits, including two doubles, while driving in all three runs on the day.
For thr season, Stowers is now batting .267 with 18 home runs and 68 RBIs. His OPS is currently at .898, and it’s just a matter of time before Stowers is back in the bigs with the Orioles.
Robert Neustrom showed out this series for the Tides, as he would bat .316 in the series, picking up a double and a home run.
In the Tides’ 7-2 victory Friday, Neustrom wound up 2-for-2 at the plate with a home run, two runs scored, two RBIs, two walks and guide the Tides to victory.
For the season, Neustrom is now hitting .243 with 13 round trippers, 44 RBIs and 11 stolen bases.
Mike Baumann had a strong weekend on the pitching side, as he was given the ball to start Saturdays contest.
Pitching in his 17th game for the Tides, only his fifth start, Baumann would toss five strong innings of two-hit, one-run ball, while striking out eight.
Though Baumann didn’t factor into the decision, this was a glimpse into why the Orioles made him a third-round draft choice in 2017. The big righty is now 1-5 on the season with an ERA of 4.57, with 58 strikeouts across 43.1 innings of work with the Tides.
The Tides head to Rochester to take on the Red Wings, who currently are in the midst of a 17-game losing streak. It’s a prime chance to take advantage of a team struggling.
Will the Tides rise up? Tune in tonight, August 9, at 7:05 p.m. EST to find out.
Who stood out to you for Norfolk this week? Let us know in the comments below! And make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook and Twitter, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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