Encarnacion-Strand Walks It Off, Norfolk Shuts Out Memphis in 10 Innings

Norfolk survived a night built on nerves, not offense, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand turned the first crack in the game into a finish. His bases-loaded, two-out hit in the 10th lifted the Tides to a 1-0 win over Memphis at Harbor Park, capping a game that stayed scoreless for nine full innings and then tightened even more in extra innings.

This was the sort of Triple-A game that looks simple in the box score and feels brutal in real time. Norfolk’s pitching staff, a six-man relay of Cameron Weston, Gerald Ogando, Dietrich Enns, Nick Raquet, Jayvien Sandridge and Josh Walker, combined on a 10-inning shutout. The Tides issued only two walks, and that discipline mattered in a game where every baserunner felt like a threat.

Memphis had its chances and never converted. The Redbirds stranded eight runners and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, the kind of line that usually keeps a team from stealing a road game in a pitcher’s duel. Pete Hansen set the tone for Memphis by throwing 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing three hits and two walks while striking out six. Luis Gastelum, Scott Blewett and Max Rajcic then held Norfolk down for 4.1 more scoreless innings before the game finally broke in the 10th.

Memphis pushed its ghost runner to third in the top half of the inning, but Josh Walker escaped the jam and kept the game in reach. That mattered, because one clean inning was all Norfolk needed. In the bottom half, Encarnacion-Strand drove the decisive hit over the right fielder’s head and ended it with the kind of swing that changes how a lineup is viewed. When a game gets that tight, one at-bat can say more than a week of ordinary production, and this was the sort of late, high-leverage contact that keeps Encarnacion-Strand in the big-league conversation.

The win tied the series at 2-2, gave Norfolk a needed jolt after a rough stretch, and nudged the Tides to 10-15. Memphis entered the night tied for first in the International League with Gwinnett and left still at least tied atop the standings, but it also left Harbor Park with a reminder that a good club can still be beaten in a grind.

The crowd of 5,432 saw first pitch at 6:36 p.m. under clear skies, 77-degree weather and a wind blowing left to right. It was the kind of night Harbor Park has seen before against Memphis, including another 10-inning walk-off on Aug. 2, 2025, when José Barrero ended a 9-8 thriller. This one was quieter, tighter and maybe even more revealing.