Bulls Fall 5-4 in Front of Record Crowd
DURHAM, NC - In front of 11,871 fans - a Durham Bulls single-game paid attendance record - the Bulls fell to the Norfolk Tides 5-4 Saturday night at the DBAP.
Durham (43-39) squandered an early 4-0 lead, as four relievers combined to allow five runs in four innings of work.
In the second inning Richie Shaffer got the Bulls on the scoreboard, lining a solo homer that just cleared the centerfield wall for a 1-0 lead. The lead grew in the third inning, as Taylor Motter drilled a two-run dinger over the Blue Monster, before JP Arencibia made it back-to-back with a homer of his own that cleared the Monster to put Durham on top 4-0.
After right-hander Bradin Hagens held the Tides (46-34) scoreless over five innings, the visitors scored a pair of runs in the sixth inning to cut the deficit to two. In the seventh Norfolk made it a one-run game, before tying the contest in the eighth on a two-out single by Julio Borbon. The Tides then took the lead in the ninth on a two-out single by Dariel Alvarez, before Durham went down in order in the bottom of the frame.
Righty Eddie Gamboa (7-5) picked up the win with four innings of one-hit relief, before Oliver Drake picked up his 13th save of the campaign. Jim Miller (3-2) suffered the loss, allowing the go-ahead run to score in the top of the ninth.
The series continues Sunday at 5:05 p.m., when the Bulls send RHP Dylan Floro (7-7, 4.87) to the mound against LHP Chris Jones (4-3, 2.37) for Norfolk.