Durham holds off late Jacksonville rally

Bulls LF Ruben Cardenas tallied two hits and four RBI, Including a two-run homer on Wednesday.

August 10, 2022

Bulls 3B Tristan Gray crushed his league-leading 26th homer, while LF Ruben Cardenas went yard and drove in four runs as Durham (59-48) took a 2-0 series lead over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (59-48) with a 10-9 win on Wednesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. With the win, Durham

Bulls 3B Tristan Gray crushed his league-leading 26th homer, while LF Ruben Cardenas went yard and drove in four runs as Durham (59-48) took a 2-0 series lead over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (59-48) with a 10-9 win on Wednesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. With the win, Durham moves into a three-way tie with Jacksonville and Lehigh Valley for first place in the International League East Division.

Jacksonville 1B Jerar Encarnacion put the Jumbo Shrimp on the board in the opening frame with an RBI single, and DH Willians Astudillo, who went 5-for-5 at the plate, lined an RBI single of his own in the next at-bat for the 2-0 lead. In the second, Bulls SS Xavier Edwards found a gap in left field to put Durham on the board with an RBI single.

In the third, 1B Jonathan Aranda tied the game on an RBI groundout, while another RBI single by C Rene Pinto put the Bulls in front. Gray would round out the four-run inning with his International League leading 26th homer of the season on a two-run bomb to stretch the Bulls lead to 5-2. In the sixth, Cardenas bashed a two-run double, and CF Vidal Brujan lifted a sacrifice fly RBI in the ensuing at-bat.

Jacksonville would not go away, however, as they responded with a four-run frame in the seventh, though Cardenas in the eighth would tattoo a two-run shot for Durham to stretch the lead back to four. In the ninth, Astudillo went yard on a two-run homer to trim the deficit to two. Jumbo Shrimp 2B Luis Aviles Jr. lined an RBI single to trim the Durham lead to one.

Bulls relief pitcher Chris Muller earned the win after two innings of work, allowing no runs on three hits and ringing up one strikeout. Jumbo Shrimp starter Josh Sanders suffered the loss.

The Bulls are set to continue their six-game homestand on Thursday night against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 pm. RHP Taj Bradley is expected to start for Durham and be opposed by LHP Matthew Kent.

Tickets for that game and all remaining 2022 home games are still available and can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com.