The Norfolk Tides are having a tougher time in the second half of the season, but they are up to the task as they moved within a half game of first place after winning their series against the Charlotte Knights, five games to two.
The Tides, who won the International East Title in the first half of the season, have improved to 20-13 over the course of the second half. They also improved their run differential to +54 for the second half.
Norfolk pitching allowed three runs or less in five of the seven games, including a shutout in game two. The offense also got in on the action, scoring four or more runs in five of the contests as well.
Let’s see who stood out this series for the Norfolk Tides.
JOEY ORTIZ – INF
You can’t spell Norfolk without an “O,” and that “O” stands for Ortiz, who just won’t stop. The Orioles’ No. 5 / MLB Pipeline’s No. 59 prospect continued to rake against the Knights.
For the series, Ortiz would slash .400/.444/.560, picking up five RBIs and scoring six times. His best performance came in game two of Wednesday’s doubleheader, an 11-7 Tides loss. Mind you, these games are only seven innings, which makes Ortiz’s day even better.
Ortiz would go 4-for-4, including a double, while scoring once and driving in two runs. The double was his 23rd of the season, and one of four he hit in the series.
Ortiz is slashing an astounding .354/.404/.572 while hitting eight home runs and driving in 45 runs. He also has scored 53 runs and has stolen nine bases while nearly 40% of his hits have gone for extra bases.
KYLE STOWERS – OF
The once promising and former Co-Prospect of the Year for the Orioles has become the forgotten man on the totem pole. That doesn’t mean he has disappeared from showing what he is capable of.
After struggling in the bigs in limited playing time, Stowers has improved his batting eye and has been torching Triple-A Norfolk to the tune of a home run every 13.6 ABs. For the series against the Knights, Stowers would slash .400/.545/1.000 across six games and would pick up four extra base hits, drive in nine runs and walk six times while only striking out once.
Stowers’ best game came in Saturday’s 6-2 Tides victory. Batting clean-up, Stowers would go 3-for-3 with a home run and a double while driving in two and scoring once himself.
The young outfielder is now slashing .257/.390/.529 across 42 games in Norfolk. He has accumulated 35 hits, including 10 home runs, 33 RBIs and scored 35 runs. What has been a huge turnaround for the powerful lefty is his strikeout to walk numbers have moved closer together, as he 37 strikeouts to 28 walks.
CHAYCE MCDERMOTT – RHP
Returning to stand-out performers is last week’s International League Pitcher of the Week, Chayce McDermott. Improving upon last week’s performance was not an easy task unless you were McDermott.
After allowing no runs across five innings with only two hits a week ago, McDermott would be better than that this week, earning his second straight International League Pitcher of the Week honor.
In the Tides’ 4-0 win on August 2, McDermott (W, 3-0) would complete six innings in the first game of the doubleheader. He would allow just one hit, walk two and strike out seven as he dropped his ERA to 1.89 in Triple-A.
McDermott improves to 8-6 across 20 games between Bowie and Norfolk and has a 3.19 ERA in 87.1 innings while striking out 113 to 55 walks. He has a WHIP of 1.19 while holding opponents to a .162 batting average.
The Tides will head to Jacksonville to face the Jumbo Shrimp starting Tuesday. Will the Tides leave the Shrimp out to dry, or will Jacksonville keep the Tides at bay?
Who stood out to you for Norfolk this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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