Even the best offenses have their down days, and that was the case for Norfolk, who dropped the series opener against the Railriders. The Tides fell behind early when the Railriders jumped on starter Justin Armbruester for three runs in the top of the third. The leadoff hitter Luis González walked and then immediately stole second, eventually coming around to score on a one-out single. After that initial run-scoring hit, Armbruester gave up a double and single to the next hitters and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre raced out to an early 3-0 lead.
Jackson Holliday—in what would prove to be his last game at Triple-A—got the Tides’ first hit of the day, doubling to right in the bottom of the third.