Toledo 6, Tides 5

Mike Costanzo looked around the clubhouse in the late spring at Harbor Park and couldn't quite figure out why the team he played for was losing so frequently.

Occupying the lockers next to his were prospects on their way up and a strong core of veterans who had been around the block. The Norfolk Tides, at first glance, seemed better than they actually were - a last-place team that appeared to be going nowhere.

"I was saying, 'We are better than this,'" Costanzo, an infielder, recalled. "Why is this happening to us?"

On the last day of June, Norfolk hit rock bottom. The Tides' were 31-54 and had fallen 15 games out of first. The epitaph appeared ready to be engraved: "Here lie the Tides. They were bad from the beginning."

But before chisel could meet stone, Norfolk was revived. In July, the Tides put together their first winning month. That success has carried over to August. Since June, they have the third-best record in the International League, winning 31 of their last 48 games.

Even with Toledo's 6-5 victory over Norfolk Friday, the unexpected surge left the Tides 62-71 and in playoff contention - a remarkable feat considering the roster is not much different than the one that suffered defeat after defeat. Seven players who were in the lineup on Opening Day were either in the Harbor Park dugout or on the field Friday.

So how did it happen?

"Timely hitting, starters have been going deep into games, the bullpen doing a good job - it's been a combination of things," reliever Jim Miller said.

The team's trajectory changed when roster movement slowed and players got comfortable taking the field and swapping positions with each other on a daily basis.

Before Friday's game, Costanzo huddled next to Oscar Salazar in the clubhouse while Craig Anderson chatted with Garrett Olson, who returned Thursday after spending four months in Baltimore.

"It's a party here," Olson said with a smile.

Not quite. But Miller said the mood these days is more positive.

"When you win, you're loose," Miller said. "You're more relaxed when you come to work."

And instead of asking themselves what went wrong, the Tides are trying to answer a different question: Can they make the postseason?

"We've got something to play for," Costanzo said. "And we're going to go out and play hard."