Wednesday night at Harbor Park: Tides 5, Durham 4

A day after the Tides were eliminated from playoff contention, they defeated the team that stood between them and the postseason. With the bases loaded and one out in the 10th inning, Durham pulled its outfielders in and seconds later Mike Costanzo hit the ball to the warning track in leftfield. Tike Redman scored and Norfolk celebrated.

"We still have a job to do," Costanzo said.

Mojo rising

Long before Costanzo produced the winning hit, the Tides (64-73) were buoyed by a strong pitching performance from Garrett Olson, who seems to have benefited from his recent demotion to Triple-A.

The Baltimore Orioles sent Olson back down to Norfolk to recapture two things he seemed to lose during the course of the season: the confidence that helped him emerge as one of their most reliable starters earlier this year and his command of the fastball.

If his performance Wednesday was any indication, Olson appears to have accomplished both objectives. He gave up four hits in seven innings.

“I felt I threw my pitches with conviction,” he said. “I felt I was more aggressive with the fastball.”

With the exception of a three-run blast surrendered to Durham first baseman Dan Johnson in the third inning, Olson befuddled the Bulls. He retired 13 of the next 14 batters and by the end of the night he had nine strikeouts.

“He did an outstanding job,” Tides manager Gary Allenson said. “He had a nice rhythm.”

Price is right

It was only 16 months ago that David Price was staring down college hitters as the ace of Vanderbilt’s pitching staff. Flash forward to today and he will be on the mound facing the Tides.

Price, who was the top pick in the 2007 First-Year Players Draft, has experienced a rapid ascent through Tampa Bay’s minor league system.

Before he arrived in Durham, Price put up impressive numbers at the Devil Rays’ Double-A and Single-A affiliates, where he went 11-0 and had a 1.87 ERA. Since his promotion to Durham, Price’s only loss has come against the Tides. He gave up three runs and seven hits in four innings on Aug. 13, but also recorded six strikeouts against Norfolk.

“He’s got good stuff,” Allenson said. “He’s going to be a pretty good big-league pitcher.”

All-Star performance

Seven clubs didn’t have a representative selected to the International League postseason All-Star team.

Norfolk wasn’t among them. Tides first baseman Oscar Salazar made the cut, despite only playing in 32 Triple-A games before this season began.

“He deserves it,” Allenson said. “He’s a great influence on his teammates off the field.”

Salazar, 30, is hitting .316 with 13 home runs and 85 RBIs. He has been Norfolk’s most consistent hitter and has had a remarkable rate of success against southpaw pitchers, batting .421 against them.

“It feels great,” he said. “But I wasn’t trying to make an All-Star team.”

Rainer Sabin, 757-446-2367, rainer.sabin@pilotonline.com