Rhyne Hughes tripled, homered and scored two runs, leading the Norfolk Tides to a 3-1 win over the Gwinnett Braves Wednesday night at Harbor Park in Norfolk, Vir.

Hughes got the Tides offense started early as he lined a second inning leadoff triple off the right field wall.  One out later, Michael Aubrey lifted a sacrifice fly to right field that gave the Tides the early 1-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, Hughes launched a deep fly ball over virtually the same spot in right-center field, giving the Tides a 2-0 lead against Gwinnett starter Tim Gustafson (5-4).

The G-Braves pulled to within a run in the fifth frame on an RBI single by Wes Timmons, but Norfolk extended its lead in the bottom of the inning on a two-out single by Robert Andino.  The hit extended Andino’s season-high hitting streak to 10 games, just one game shy of Norfolk’s season-high.

Armando Gabino (3-0) turned in another strong outing to earn the win for the Tides, as he allowed one run on five hits while striking out seven in 5 2/3 innings of work.  Gabino was backed by Mike Hinckley, Ross Wolf and Dennis Sarfate, with Sarfate working around a leadoff double in the ninth inning to register his sixth save of the year.

Matt Young led Gwinnett’s offense with three hits, while Timmons finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

The Tides play host to the Braves will continue their four-game set at 7:15 p.m. tonight.  Tim Bascom will make his Triple-A debut for Norfolk against right-hander Chris Resop (4-2, 2.10).