7-Run 6th Propels Bulls To 7-1 Win

The Durham Bulls scored all seven of their runs in the sixth inning to defeat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 7-1 on Friday night at VyStar Ballpark.

The Bulls (34-27) sent 11 batters to the plate to break open a 0-0 game. Tristan Peters doubled to lead off the inning, then doubled again later in the inning to knock in two runs. The Bulls drilled seven hits against starter Robinson Pina and Anderson Pilar. Kenny Piper drove in a pair with a single to left to push the Durham lead to 4-0.

Kyle Gibson worked 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball in his second start in the Rays organization. Connor Seabold (W, 2-2) notched the win by throwing the next 3 2/3 frames. Austin Vernon tossed the ninth to close out the win over Jacksonville (36-25) which evened the series.

The Bulls had 17 hits, with Dom Keegan and Peters collecting three apiece. Seymour, Simpson, Williams and Piper had two with Westbrook and Montes each with one. Only Tanner Murray went hitless, going 0-5.

How It Happened: After missing out on premium scoring chances in the second, third and fourth, the Bulls finally broke through in the sixth against Pina. Peters doubles, Carson Williams was hit in the lower back, and a wild pitch would ultimately score Peters with the game's first run. Coco Montes rolled an infield single for a run before Jacksonville went to the pen. Jamie Westbrook doubled ahead of Piper's two-run single to left. Chandler Simpson followed with a bunt single, all before the first out of the inning. One out later, Bob Seymour stroked a run-scoring hit to center, then he and Simpson scored on Peters' second double of the inning.

Gibson's Outing: Kyle Gibson, a 112-game winner across 11 major league seasons, worked his longest outing of the season. Gibson was signed late in spring training by the Baltimore Orioles and after building up in the minors across three games, made four starts for Baltimore before he was released. The Rays signed him last week. Gibson threw three innings against Memphis on Saturday and worked into the fifth tonight. Gibson permitted four hits, just one walk and fanned five.

What's Next: The fifth game of the series will kickoff at 6:35 PM ET on Saturday night. The IL's ERA leader Joe Boyle (4-4, 1.69) is scheduled to start against Freddy Tarnok (2-2, 5.45).