NORFOLK, Va.- Jayson Aquino worked seven strong innings and Norfolk used a three-run third inning to top the Louisville Bats 3-1 Monday night at Harbor Park. Aquino (2-7) picked up his first victory since April 14th by yielding one run on three hits while striking out five. He threw 70 of his 102 pitches for strikes and retired 13 of the final 14 batters he faced to help pitch the Tides to a win in the opener of the four-game set. Aquino’s Quality Start was his fifth of the year, tying him with Chris Lee for the most among Tides starters. He’s also now posted a 2.72 ERA (14 ER, 46.1 IP) in seven home starts this season.
Shairon Martis followed Aquino with a scoreless eighth inning before giving way to Logan Verrett, who worked around an error in the ninth to earn his third save of the season. Norfolk did all of its offensive damage with two outs in the third frame, as Chance Sisco doubled home a pair of runs before scoring on an RBI single by Pedro Álvarez. All three runs in the frame were unearned, as the Tides took advantage of a pair of miscues by Louisville in the inning.
Johnny Giavotella doubled twice and walked in the contest to extend his hitting streak to eight games, his fourth hitting streak of at least seven games this season. The two hits extended Giavotella’s league-leading hit total to 92, while he upped his average to .309, 5th-best in the International League.
Tyler Mahle (0-1) took the tough-luck loss in his Triple-A debut, as he allowed three unearned runs on four hits over six innings of work. Mahle, who had posted a 1.59 ERA with Double-A Pensacola and is rated as the 12th-best prospect in the Reds system, struck out nine while walking one.