LAWRENCEVILLE — Catcher Wil Nieves lined a one-out single into center field in the 11th inning to drive in Adonis Garcia and give the Gwinnett Braves a 5-4 victory over the Norfolk Tides (33-26) Wednesday at Coolray Field.
The “walk-off” hit by Nieves ended a game that had been tied at 4-4 since the seventh inning and gave the G-Braves two wins in the three-game series with Norfolk. The game-winning run was charged to Patrick McCoy (L, 1-1) because Garcia reached on a fielder’s choice groundout against the lefty reliever, although right-hander Ben Rowen allowed the final hit to the only batter he faced.
Gwinnett (29-29) held a 4-3 lead after six innings, but a one-out walk by G-Braves’ right-handed starter Sugar Ray Marimon turned into the tying run when Audry Perez came around to score on a groundout to second base by Henry Urrutia off right-handed reliever Ryan Weber (BS, 1). Marimon went 6.1 innings with four runs allowed on nine hits and a walk with one strikeout in 104 pitches, including 66 strikes.
Weber pitched 1.2 innings and did not allow anything more than a two-out single to Dariel Alvarez in the eighth inning. Right-hander Ryan Kelly got through the ninth and 10th innings with one hit and two walks allowed, and righty Aaron Kurcz (W, 2-2) tossed a scoreless top of the 11th with no damage beyond a two-out single by Perez.
The G-Braves initially trailed 2-0 when Norfolk began its attack against Marimon at the game’s outset. Urrutia led off the game with a single, Chris Parmelee moved him to third with a single of his own and Christian Walker drove Urrutia home with a sacrifice fly to right field. Parmelee later scored on a two-out double by Alvarez.
Tides’ right-handed knuckleballer Eddie Gamboa retired the first seven Gwinnett batters in order until Barrett Kleinknecht broke through with an infield single in the third inning that began the G-Braves’ comeback.
Kleinknecht moved to second on a wild pitch by Gamboa and scored on a single by Jose Peraza. That kicked off a stretch of three consecutive two-out RBI singles that turned the G-Braves’ 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead.
Gwinnett tacked on their fourth run when Sean Kazmar led off the fourth inning with a single, took second when an attempted pickoff throw sailed past first base and scored on a single to left field by Kleinknecht.
Gamboa completed 6.0 frames with four runs (three earned) allowed on six hits, a walk and two strikeouts. Norfolk used right-hander Pedro Beato for 3.0 hitless innings, and McCoy worked around two infield singles in the 10th before a walk, a fielder’s choice groundout and a single in the 11th.
Kleinknecht finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Peraza and Kazmar both went 2-for-5 with a run scored. Peraza also picked up an RBI in the third inning.
Alvarez again led Norfolk (33-26) with a 3-for-5 afternoon that included an RBI. He had three hits in both of the final two games of the series and finished the visit to Gwinnett 6-for-12 with a double, two RBIs and three runs scored.
The G-Braves now head out on a seven-game road trip with visits to Indianapolis and Louisville. The trip begins with a 7:05 p.m. game Thursday to open a four-game series against the Indianapolis Indians, the Triple-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, at Victory Field. Left-hander Manny Banuelos (5-0, 2.11 ERA) will get the start for Gwinnett. Indianapolis will go with right-hander Chris Volstad (4-2, 3.77 ERA). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 FM and WSBRadio.com beginning at 6:30 p.m.
Gwinnett will return home for a 7:05 p.m. game Friday, June 19 to face the Pawtucket Red Sox, the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. It is a “Fireworks Friday” night that includes a spectacular post-game fireworks display. To purchase tickets, call the Coolray Field Ticket Office at 678-277-0340 or visit GwinnettBraves.com/tickets.
