Tides end losing streak at 10 as Heston Kjerstad belts two home runs
Heston Kjerstad slugged two more home runs Friday night as the Norfolk Tides halted a 10-game International League losing streak with a 4-1 victory before a crowd of 6,184 at Jacksonville.
Starter Cade Povich struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings for the victory, scattering four hits and three walks.
The Jumbo Shrimp (11-8) have won three of the six-game series’ first four at 121 Financial Ballpark in Florida.
The Tides (8-11) had gone stunningly cold after a 7-1 start that included prolific offensive numbers. But those woes rarely applied to Kjerstad, nicknamed “Silent J,” whose bats have made plenty of noise this season. According to the Tides, he leads all minor league hitters with 30 RBIs and is tied for the most homers among all pro batters with 10.
Connor Norby singled to start the game, advanced on a Kjerstad single and came home on a Coby Mayo groundout. Kjerstad’s opposite-field home run to in the fifth made it 2-0, and Maverick Handley singled home Daniel Johnson for a 3-0 margin.
Kjerstad’s drive over the short wall in right field, about 317 feet away, increased the lead to 4-0 in the seventh and gave him third two-homer game in the season’s first three weeks.
Jacksonville’s only run came in the seventh when Griffin Conine, who had three of the Shrimp’s eight hits, slugged a home run off Chesapeake native Garrett Stallings.
Saturday’s 6:35 p.m. matchup is set to feature right-handed starters Justin Armbruester (0-2, 10.03 ERA) for the Tides and Max Meyer for the Shrimp. Meyer, who made it to MLB with the Miami Marlins in 2022, is making his Shrimp debut this season after Tommy John surgery last year.