A furious comeback by the Norfolk Tides fell short Thursday afternoon as Memphis won 7-6 before 4,889 at Harbor Park, putting the Redbirds ahead 2-0 in their International League series.
It will continue with a 5:35 p.m. doubleheader Friday, which was necessitated because the field was unplayable Wednesday, leading to a postponement.
An RBI single by Jose Barrero and a two-run single by Matt Lloyd put the Redbirds (12-9) ahead 3-0 in the first inning against starter Kyle Brnovich.
The Tides (8-14) responded in the third when Coby Mayo laced a two-run triple to center field and in the fourth as Jud Fabian launched a tying solo home run to left.
Memphis again moved in front in the fifth against eventual losing pitcher Carlos Tavera (0-1) as Jose Barrero tripled home José Fermín, and the Redbirds increased the margin to 6-3 in the sixth when Fermín grounded a two-run double down the left-field line.
Catcher Andy Yerzy, playing his first game for Memphis, lofted a wind-aided solo homer to right-center in the seventh off Western Branch High graduate Colin Selby — the first run he has yielded this season in five appearances with the Tides.
Down by four runs, though, Norfolk fought back against reliever Roddery Muñoz. In the eighth, Maverick Handley walked, advanced on a groundout and a passed ball, then came home on Dylan Beavers’ groundout to make it 7-4.
In the ninth, the Tides surged with consecutive singles by Mayo, Vimael Machín and Emmanuel Rivera, cutting the deficit to 7-5 and putting the potential tying runs aboard.
But Muñoz short-circuited the rally by forcing Fabian to ground into a run-scoring double play and inducing Terrin Vavra to bounce out to second for the final out.
Andre Granillo (2-0), the second of five Memphis pitchers, threw 1 2/3 innings for the victory despite giving up three hits and a run.
