Bulls hit four homers in third inning, take 3-0 series lead vs Knights
The Durham Bulls stretched their home winning streak to seven games with a 7-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights on Thursday, winning their 11th game of the last 13 overall, as well as their seventh straight home game. In the bottom of the third, the Bulls would get red hot
The Durham Bulls stretched their home winning streak to seven games with a 7-3 victory over the Charlotte Knights on Thursday, winning their 11th game of the last 13 overall, as well as their seventh straight home game.
In the bottom of the third, the Bulls would get red hot at the plate as four of seven batters that inning would go yard on solo shots for a 4-0 lead. DH Joe Hudson got the party started with his solo shot, and the very next at-bat RF Miles Mastrobuoni followed suit with a solo bomb of his own. 3B Jonathan Aranda added his name to the home run category two batters later and on the next at-bat, C Rene Pinto rounded out the inning with his solo shot.
Charlotte would respond in the sixth with two runs off of a solo shot from DH Ryder Jones and an RBI single from C Carlos Perez to trim the deficit in half. Pinto used a sacrifice fly to extend the Durham lead to 5-2 in the seventh, and 3B Yolbert Sanchez would answer for Charlotte in the eighth with an RBI single to cut the lead back to two. The Bulls would use another offensive spurt in the eighth to extend their lead again, adding two insurance runs from LF Jim Haley, scoring on a Knights error, while Hudson connecting on an RBI groundout.
Durham starter Kevin Herget, along with reliever Chris Mazza, combined for five hits allowed through eight innings, allowing three runs and ringing up four strikeouts. Chris Bard came in to close the game in the ninth, allowing no hits and ringing up two strikeouts to shut the door on the Knights.
Herget earned the win for the Bulls, pitching six innings and allowing two runs on three hits and ringing up three strikeouts to improve to (3-0, 0.56) on the season. Knights pitcher Andrew Perez picked up the loss.
The Bulls return to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Friday for game four of the six-game set against Charlotte. RHP Easton McGee (2-3, 6.48) is scheduled to start for Durham and Charlotte’s starter is yet to be announced.
Tickets for that game and all remaining 2022 home dates can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com/tickets.