Bulls Walk-Off With 2-1 Win Over Charlotte
On the 10th pitch of his at-bat, Andrew Stevenson doubled home the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the night to lift the Durham Bulls past the Charlotte Knights 2-1 on Thursday night at the DBAP. The Bulls (37-29) put the first two batters on in the final
On the 10th pitch of his at-bat, Andrew Stevenson doubled home the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the night to lift the Durham Bulls past the Charlotte Knights 2-1 on Thursday night at the DBAP.
The Bulls (37-29) put the first two batters on in the final inning thanks to a throwing error and a walk to Carson Williams. Stevenson bunted foul on the first two pitches, but battled to a 3-2 count while fouling off four, two-strike pitches before curling a double into the right field corner. Dom Keegan scored from second, with Williams chugging past third as the relay throw was made to the plate. But Williams easily beat the play in an electric finish.
The game featured two starters with a combined 172 major league wins. Kyle Gibson tossed five scoreless for the Bulls, while Mike Clevinger threw six shutout innings. Neither factored in the decision.
The Knights (32-34) had taken a 1-0 lead in the sixth on Brooks Baldwin's seventh home run, coming against Bulls reliever Connor Seabold (W, 3-2). Seabold pitched the final four innings to earn the win.
How It Happened: After drawing four walks across the seventh and eighth innings, but not converting, the Bulls started the game-winning rally thanks to a high throw from Charlotte shortstop Colson Montgomery. Keegan arrived as the throw sailed toward the home plate side of the base. First baseman Nick Maton stretched to catch it, but as he applied the tag against Keegan's helmet, the ball was dislodged. Williams then walked on a 3-2 pitch from Justin Anderson before Stevenson's game-winning double.
Major Matchup: Kyle Gibson has won 112 games in his 11-year major league career, while Mike Clevinger has notched 60 victories over his eight years. They each threw shutout baseball on Thursday night, with Gibson tossing five innings with seven strikeouts and Clevinger working six, fanning five. They faced off as starters three times in the major leagues while Gibson was with Minnesota and Clevinger with Cleveland.
Next Up: Joe Boyle (4-4, 1.50), who leads the IL in ERA, is slated to start Friday night for Durham against Chris Rodriguez (1-4, 4.95) at 6:35 PM ET.