Franco Collects 4 Hits, Bulls Fall 7-4

Bulls third baseman Wander Franco recorded four hits and right fielder Ryan Boldt bashed a three-run home run, however Jumbo Shrimp right fielder Jesus Sanchez clubbed three hits and drove in two, and relievers Luis Madero and Brett Eibner combined for four and one-third shutout frames in Jacksonville’s 7-4 win over Durham on Sunday evening in front of 3,678 fans.

After Boldt’s blast propelled the Bulls to an early 3-0 advantage, the Jumbo Shrimp plated a six-spot in the third highlighted by Sanchez’s two-run triple to make it 6-3. A Durham RBI groundout narrowed the margin to two, however Jacksonville answered with a single tally of their own in the seventh.

Franco (4-5, R, 2B) posted his first four-hit effort at the Triple-A level and first overall since August 11, 2019. In 11 games with the Bulls he owns a .348 average (16-46), adding ten runs scored, three doubles, one triple, three homers and ten RBI along with a 1.056 OPS. Boldt (2-4, R, HR, 3 RBI) was the only with Durham hitter with multiple knocks, while SS Taylor Walls drew two walks to extend his on-base streak to 11 games.

Madero (1.1 IP, 2 H, R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K) earned the win to improve to 2-0 on the year, while Eibner notched his first save. Bulls starter Joe Ryan (2.2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) suffered the defeat.

Following a league-wide off day on Monday, Durham returns to Durham Bulls Athletic Park to start a six-game series with the Charlotte Knights on Tuesday, May 18. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm. Starting pitchers have not yet been determined. Tickets with socially-distanced seating for that game and all remaining Bulls home games in May are available at durhambulls.com.