Bulls Beat Iron Pigs, Claim 5th Straight Win, 5-1

Allentown, PA --- The Durham Bulls won their ninth consecutive road game, completing a three-game sweep over the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 5-1 on Thursday night at Coca Cola Park.
Arturo Reyes (W, 1-1) fanned a career-tying 10 hitters over seven innings to earn his first victory for Durham (19-14). Andrew Kittredge and Oliver Drake each threw a scoreless inning to close out the Bulls' fifth straight win.
Kean Wong opened the scoring with a two-run double in the first inning against Nick Pivetta (L, 2-1), scoring Jake Smolinski and Jake Cronenworth.
After the Iron Pigs (19-13) closed to within 2-1 on a home run by Deivy Grullon, defense came to the rescue for the Bulls. Leading off the sixth inning, Andrew Romine clubbed a ball into the right field corner, but Smolinski made a leaping, spinning catch to rob Romine of an extra base hit.
After the Bulls advanced the lead to 3-1, Jason Coats clocked a two-run homer in the ninth inning for a 5-1 advantage. The homer, Coats' fifth of the season, was his fourth in his last 27 at bats.
Durham's road mastery began in Louisville, sweeping three games and continuing on the same road trip winning all three at Columbus. With their road streak at nine straight, the Bulls have overtaken the South Division lead and opened up a 1 1/2 game lead.
The Bulls aim for a 10th straight road win Friday night in the series opener at Rochester's Frontier Field at 7:05 PM ET.