This baseball season, Chapelboro.com is following the Durham Bulls and sharing recaps of each series played. Check in each week for details on how the Triple-A team fared against its opponents, either on the road or in downtown Durham!
With Major League promotions and a slew of games in Charlotte against the Knights, it was a busy week for the Durham Bulls! As is the case with in-state rivalries, there was plenty of drama.
Chris Muller has been promoted to The Show!
He would make his MLB debut when he first appears in a game for @RaysBaseball
Congrats, Chris! pic.twitter.com/eO0NT8iQ8z
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) May 12, 2023
Read the descriptions of the Bulls vs. Knights games from the past week below, as they were shared on the Durham Bulls website and MiLB.com.
The Durham Bulls got off to a rollicking start with an impressively-played 5-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights, featuring impressive home runs from three separate players!
Bulls designated hitter Vidal Brujan, center fielder Kameron Misner and catcher Rene Pinto each homered, while first baseman Kyle Manzardo mashed two hits and scored two runs in Durham’s 5-3 win over the Charlotte Knights on Tuesday night at Truist Field.
Brujan began the Bulls’ scoring right away with his solo blast to right-center on the fifth pitch of the game. After the Knights evened the contest in the last of the first, Misner answered with a two-run shot to left to push Durham back ahead 3-1. Pinto would then go deep in the following frame before Bulls RF Ruben Cardenas’ RBI double to left-center make it a four-run advantage. The Knights would later plate single tallies in the sixth and seventh innings to narrow their deficit to two.
Manzardo (2-3, 2 R) was the lone Bulls batter to post a multi-hit effort, while Chicago White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada (3-3, R, HR, RBI) recorded a game-high three knocks for the Knights. Dating back to last season, Durham has been victorious in each of their last eight games against Charlotte.
Bulls starter Elvin Rodriguez (5.0 IP, 5 H, R, ER, BB, 5 SO) earned the victory with five solid innings of work, yielding one run on five hits and fanning five, while Josh Roberson (1.0 IP, H, 2 BB, SO) notched his second save of 2023. Knights righty Jesse Scholtens (5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB, 4 SO) suffered the defeat.
With a strong start for the Bulls in the books, Charlotte evened things up thanks to a dominating 7-1 victory in game two.
Bulls starting pitcher Cooper Criswell tossed seven strong innings, while right fielder Ruben Cardenas homered for the
Knights starting pitcher Nate Fisher tossed five and one-thirds strong innings and right fielder Oscar Colas clubbed three hits, while Bulls third baseman Vidal Brujan singled and scored on designated hitter Rene Pinto’s sacrifice fly in Charlotte’s 7-1 win over Durham on Wednesday night at Truist Field.
The Knights got on the board with a three-run third started by Colas’s run-scoring single to right. Brujan would come across on Pinto’s sacrifice fly in the top of the fourth to narrow Durham’s deficit to two, however Charlotte answered with a two-spot in the bottom of the frame courtesy of SS Erik Gonzalez’s two-run homer. The Knights would then go on to plate single tallies in the fifth and seventh to extend their advantage.
Fisher (5.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 SO) earned the win, yielding a lone unearned run on just one hit while fanning seven over 5.1 frames. Relievers Garrett Crochet (0.2 IP, 1 SO), Tanner Banks (2.0 IP, 2 SO) and Liam Hendriks (1.0 IP, 1 SO) combined the set down the final 11 batters faced, while Bulls reliever Joe La Sorsa (3.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss.
In the third game of the series, the Bulls added enough homers to their season total to make 54, ranking second in the International League. Unfortunately, some stellar performances on the diamond weren’t quite enough to stop the Knights from closing the game with a narrow 9-7 lead.
Bulls first baseman Kyle Manzardo, designated hitter Roberto Alvarez, third baseman Jonathan Aranda, center fielder Kameron Misner and catcher Rene Pinto all homered, however Knights right fielder Victor Reyes and left fielder Clint Frazier each went yard, combining for six hits and six runs driven in as part of Charlotte’s 9-7 win over Durham on Thursday night at Truist Field.
After Charlotte jumped ahead with a two-run first, Manzardo mashed his sixth homer of the year, a solo shot, to cut the deficit to one. The Knights would plate another tally in the second, however Durham in the following frame tied the contest in the third courtesy of solo blasts from Alvarez and Aranda.
Charlotte, however would then take a 4-3 advantage with another single score in the fourth. That margin would later be extended to five after a four-run seventh before adding another tally in the eighth. Misner mashed his fifth homer of the season, the Bulls’ fourth solo homer of the evening, in the ninth, before Pinto smashed a three-run opposite field roundtripper to make it a two-run game.
In game four, the Bulls were back in force, sending balls flying and fighting their way to a 12-9 victory over Charlotte — although the Knights had an eight-run ninth inning to make things interesting.
Bulls second baseman Vidal Brujan, *third baseman *Jonathan Aranda and first baseman Kyle Manzardo each homered and starter Evan Mckendry threw seven scoreless innings in Durham’s 12-9 victory over the Charlotte Knights on Friday evening at Truist Field.
Aranda started the Bulls offense off with an RBI double in the top of the first, followed by Brujan’s two-run homer in the following inning. *Aranda drove in a three-run homer in the fourth before Manzardo’s two-run homer extended the Bulls’ lead 8-0. Short stop *Tristan Gray, right fielder Ruben Cardenas and left fielder Kameron Misner each drove in a run to solidify the victory.
Mckendry (7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 S0) earned the win with seven strong innings, adding six strikeouts while allowing only two hits. Knights starter *Sean Burke *(3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 2 SO) suffered the loss.
Game five in the series continued the drama, although with much fewer runs. In a Mother’s Day showdown, the Knights walked off the Bulls in the 10th inning to win 3-2.
The Knights struck first in the second inning courtesy of shortstop Erik Gonzelez‘ RBI single to left, before Lenyn Sosa’s homer extended their lead to 2-0.
The Bulls answered when Osleivis Basabe and Jonathan Aranda drove in two runs in the top of the eighth to tie the game, but the Knights earned the victory with Gonzalez’ RBI in the tenth inning.
Charlotte’s Jesse Scholtens (6.2 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO) earned the victory, while Bulls’ Elvin Rodriguez (4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 SO) suffered the loss.
The Durham Bulls will return to the DBAP this week with a slate of fun promotions — including Bark in the Park, ACC Night and Wool E. Bull’s birthday!
We'll see y'all this week!
— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) May 15, 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
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