Bulls Lose Finale in Charlotte 4-1

Durham still finishes season series with 18-5 record vs. in-state rival

Yonny Chirinos spun six shutout innings as the Bulls downed the Tides 3-2 Saturday at the DBAP (Andy Menarchek/Durham Bulls)

August 31, 2017

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Durham Bulls were unable to take advantage of another solid performance by starting pitcher Yonny Chirinos Thursday afternoon, as the Durham lineup was limited to one, unearned run in a 4-1 loss to the Charlotte Knights at BB&T Ballpark.In what was likely his final start of

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The Durham Bulls were unable to take advantage of another solid performance by starting pitcher Yonny Chirinos Thursday afternoon, as the Durham lineup was limited to one, unearned run in a 4-1 loss to the Charlotte Knights at BB&T Ballpark.
In what was likely his final start of the regular season, Chirinos allowed just one, unearned run on two hits, no walks, and five strikeouts over five innings to lower his ERA to 2.74, the fifth lowest mark in the International League. The Bulls' bats were also held to a single, unearned tally over seven frames by Charlotte starter Chris Volstad. The deciding factor on the afternoon came down to the bullpens, as the Knights were able to rally for three runs on four hits against Durham reliever Chase Whitley over the sixth and seventh innings to hand the Bulls the 4-1 loss.
Both teams were held off the scoreboard over the first three frames, before Charlotte brought home an unearned run on one hit and an error by Durham right fielder Patrick Leonard to take a 1-0 lead. The Bulls answered with an unearned tally of their own in the top of the fifth, when Johnny Field doubled and eventually scored on a throwing error to deadlock the game at 1-1.
The Knights re-took the lead for good in the home half of the sixth, with a two-out, RBI double by Cody Asche bringing home Eddy Alvarez for a 2-1 score. Charlotte then gave themselves some breathing room in the seventh, when former Bull Casey Gillaspie lined a two-run home run to right to put the Knights up by the final 4-1 margin.
Willy Adames went 3-4 to pace the Bulls' bats with his third-straight, multi-hit game, while Field finished 2-4 with a double and a run scored.
Whitley (0-3) took the loss for Durham after allowing three runs on four hits over 1.1 innings pitched, while Volstad (3-10) earned the win for Charlotte with one unearned run allowed on seven hits and three strikeouts during his 7 innings on the mound.
The Bulls (83-54) will now head to Gwinnett for their final series of the regular season, with first pitch on Friday night scheduled for 7:05 pm.
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