NORFOLK (WAVY/Tides) – The Norfolk Tides (22-7) defeated the Durham Bulls (16-13), 5-4, on Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park. A back-and-forth battle capped by a clutch eighth inning home run results in a Tides victory as they win their sixth game in a row.

“It just seems like right now we are never out of it, we get down and we come right back,” manager Buck Britton said. “It’s a testament to the character we’ve got on this team and right now we are playing some exciting baseball.”

Both sides had traffic on the base paths early in the game this afternoon, but DL Hall was able to limit damage and keep the Bulls off the scoreboard as he struck out six Durham batters through the first three innings.

The Tides put their first run on the board in the home half of the fourth as Joey Ortiz crushed a solo home run to center field, his second long ball of the year, to give Norfolk the 1-0 lead. The Bulls would not be held at bay for long as a Niko Hulsizer two-out double followed by a Kameron Misner RBI single scored three runs in the top of the sixth to give Durham their first lead of the game, 3-1.

The Norfolk bats fought back in the sixth as Jordan Westburg led off the bottom half of the frame with a home run down the left field line to pull the Tides within one. Lewin Diaz would come up later in the inning to knock in Ortiz to tie the game at three apiece.

A few innings later, Durham retook the lead with a solo homer off the bat of Ruben Cardenas in the eighth. With two outs in the bottom half of the inning, Díaz put a charge into a 2-2 pitch that travelled 430 feet for a go-ahead two run bomb to give Norfolk the 5-4 lead. While Durham made it interesting in the ninth with two runners aboard, Reed Garrett ended the game with a strikeout, earning the save.

Norfolk looks to stay hot against the Bulls tomorrow night. Scheduled to start for the Tides is LHP Cole Irvin (3-0, 4.24). RHP Tyler Glasnow is expected to make a rehab start for Durham. It will be his first appearance of the year.