This baseball season, Chapelboro.com is following the Durham Bulls and sharing recaps of each series played. Check in each Monday for details on how the Triple-A team fared against its opponents, either on the road or in downtown Durham!
The Durham Bulls took on a tough series against the Memphis Redbirds this past week, facing down rain delays and some hard-won victories on the diamond, along with some tough losses. The season continues in a series of away games before the Bulls return home on Tuesday, May 16 to start a six-game series against the Nashville Sounds!
On the road again!
We're off to Norfolk for a 6-game series starting this evening pic.twitter.com/Pljvm6f5rU
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) May 2, 2023
Read the descriptions of the Bulls vs. Redbirds games from the past week below, as they were shared on the Durham Bulls website and MiLB.com.
The Redbirds began the series with a hard-won 7-5 victory, but the Bulls had plenty of fight across the innings.
Bulls shortstop Osleivis Basabe bashed three hits to extend his hit streak to eight and right fielder Ruben Cardenas crushed a two-run home run, however Redbirds designated hitter Juan Yepez homered and drove in three runs and shortstop Masyn Winn clubbed three hits in Memphis’ 7-5 win over Durham on Wednesday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The Redbirds scored first with a single tally in the second before Yepez went deep as part of a three-run third. Memphis would plate three more scores in the following frame to make it 7-0 before Bulls DH Tristan Gray’s RBI single in the last of the fourth got Durham on the board.
Two innings later, Cardenas would go deep for his team-leading seventh big fly of the year to make it a four-run contest. The margin would narrow to two in the seventh thanks in part to 2B Vidal Brujan’s RBI single before CF Kameron Misner came plateward on a double play to make it 7-5. Durham, however, was unable to erase the deficit any further despite putting the tying run on base in the eighth.
The second game was a long one, but ended with the Bulls ahead 2-1.
Bulls starting pitcher Cooper Criswell tossed seven strong innings, while right fielder Ruben Cardenas homered for the second straight night and designated hitter Kyle Manzardo mashed three hits in Durham’s 2-1 victory over the Memphis Redbirds on Thursday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Criswell (7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 SO) earned the victory with his seven solid frames, yielding a lone earned run on three hits, adding seven strikeouts compared to just one walk. Dating back to April 13, Criswell over his last two outings with the Bulls has surrendered one earned run on five hits, adding 11 strikeouts compared to one walk.
Durham relievers Chris Muller (1.0 IP, 1 SO) and Hector Perez (1.0 IP, 2 SO) combined for the final two scoreless innings in support of Criswell, with Perez notching the save. Memphis reliever James Naile (3.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 SO) suffered the defeat.
Game three was another close contest, with the Bulls finally taking home a 6-4 win — thanks, in large part, to the efforts of third baseman Curtis Mead’s three runs!
Bulls second baseman Tristan Gray and left fielder Ben Gamel both homered, while third baseman Curtis Mead drove in three runs in Durham’s 6-4 win over the Memphis Redbirds on Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
After the Redbirds took an early 2-0 lead, Pinto scored in the bottom of the second on Gray’s sacrifice fly before Gamel scored on Mead’s sacrifice fly in the following inning. Gray then homered on a line drive in the fourth inning to give Durham the lead prior to Gamel’s solo homer in the fifth. The Bulls then extended their lead to 6-4 when Mead drove in two more runs with a single to left.
Bulls pitcher Evan McKendry (5.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 SO) earned the victory, while Jose Lopez (1.0 IP, 2 H) notched the save. Redbirds starter Gordon Graceffo (5.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO) suffered the loss.
The Bulls managed to walk off, both literally and figuratively, with another victory, 6-5, in extra innings.
Bulls right fielder Niko Hulsizer crushed a game-tying three-run home run in the ninth inning before left fielder Ben Gamel smashed a game-winning run-scoring double in the tenth inning of Durham’s 6-5 extra-inning win over the Memphis Redbirds in front of a paid attendance of 9,467 on Saturday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Entering the last of the ninth trailing 5-2, Hulsizer blasted his game-tying shot to center to force extra innings. With one out and the bases loaded in the tenth, Gamel would then loft a double off the left field wall to give Durham the comeback victory.
The Redbirds raced ahead to an early 2-0 advantage with a pair of tallies in the second, followed by three more in the fourth. The Bulls would get two runs back in the seventh frame when C Nick Dini scored on a fielder’s choice before Gamel came across on a double play.
Hulsizer (2-3, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI) recorded two hits, including his game-tying blast, and drove in four runs, with Dini (2-3, 2 R, 2 BB) adding a multi-hit effort in addition to reaching base in four of five plate appearances. It was Durham’s second walk-off win of the season, with the other coming on April 16 versus Lehigh Valley when Gamel drew a bases-loaded walk.
The series ended on Sunday with a tough loss, 10-9, to the Redbirds.
Bulls right fielder Niko Hulsizer clubbed three hits, including a three-run home run and drove in a game-high five runs, however Memphis Redbirds catcher Treas Barrera smashed a grand slam and center fielder Oscar Mercardo bashed four hits to support St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright in his Major League Rehab Appearance in a 10-9 win over Durham on Sunday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Barrera’s grand slam was part of a eight-run second frame to put Memphis ahead 8-0. Hulsizer would then smash his three-run shot in the last of the frame to cut the deficit to five before 1B Ben Gamel’s RBI double in the third made it 8-4. The Redbirds would plate two tallies in the fifth to make it a 10-4 advantage, though Durham would fight back in the final frames.
Hulsizer drove in his fourth run of the night to start a four-run eighth that also featured run-scoring singles by CF Kameron Misner and DH Roberto Alvarez to narrow Durham’s deficit to two. Hulsizer one inning later would plate C Rene Pinto with an RBI single to make it a one-run game, however the Bulls were unable to complete their comeback despite placing the winning run on base.
The season continues in a series of away games before the Bulls return home on Tuesday, May 16 to start a six-game series against the Nashville Sounds!
What a homestand, which featured a walk-off win on Star Wars Night (for the 2nd straight year) and so much more
Looking forward to seeing y'all back here again in less than 2 weeks! pic.twitter.com/3JHJ5jWL56
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) May 2, 2023
(featured image via Durham Bulls)
You can follow the Bulls on Twitter and Instagram for updates and news directly from the team, and tickets for all 2023 Durham Bulls home games can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com, or by calling 919.956.BULL
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines