All baseball games are unique, but some have more in common with other games and some have less in common with other games. Last night’s Norfolk home opener seemed to be in the latter category, a 1-0 game filled with oddities that I don’t remember seeing.

There were four throwing errors in the game, three by Gwinnett third baseman Joey Terdoslavich and one errant pickoff throw by Norfolk relief pitcher Dontrelle Willis. One of Joey T.’s errors was a throw from near the third-base foul line that was a little short and the first baseman couldn’t handle it cleanly. But both of his other throws and Willis’ wild pickoff attempt were absolutely terrible throws, nowhere close to first base. Willis’ throw ended up in the dugout; the runner on first was awarded third base; and he scored the only run when the batter singled.

There was also one play that, in a work of fiction, would be the pivotal point. The G-Braves put runners on first and third with no one out in the fourth inning. With a 3-2 count on Chris Marrero, Tides’ pitcher Jason Berken stepped off the rubber, looked to third base, and then snapped a throw to first, picking off the runner. Then Berken fired a called third strike past Marrero, turning a 1st-and-3rd with none out to runner on third with two out. Unfortunately for the Tides, they failed to take advantage of the possible momentum swing and the Braves continued to intermittently threaten.