Jacksonville Tops Durham 9-4

Bulls designated hitter Rene Pinto crushed a home run and second baseman Miles Mastrobuoni clubbed three hits, however Jumbo Shrimp first baseman Lewin Diaz drilled two roundtrippers and drove in five runs in Jacksonville’s 9-4 win over Durham on Friday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The Jumbo Shrimp jumped ahead with a three-run third punctuated by Diaz’s first big fly, a two-run blast, before adding a tally in the fourth to make it 4-0. After Bulls C Joseph Odom lined an RBI single to center in the fifth, Durham evened the contest with a three-run sixth courtesy of 1B Mike Ford’s run-scoring double and Pinto’s two-run blast to left. Jacksonville, however, responded with a five-spot in the seventh, with Diaz’s second longball of the evening, this time a three-run shot, putting the exclamation mark on the frame.

With his three knocks this evening, Mastrobuoni (3-4) through his first four games with the Bulls has recorded eight hits in 14 at-bats, including three multi-hit efforts. Pinto’s homer was his second of the year after bashing a big fly in his first Triple-A at-bat on July 7at Norfolk.

Jumbo Shrimp reliever Tommy Eveld (1.2 IP, 5H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 K) earned the win, while Bulls righty Brent Honeywell Jr. (0.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 5 ER, BB) suffered the defeat. Durham right-hander Sean Poppen (2.2 IP, BB, 2 K) set down all but one of the nine batters he faced in his 2.2 scoreless frames.

The two sides are expected to continue their six-game series on Saturday evening, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35pm ET. Tampa Bay Rays RHP Chris Archer (NR) is scheduled to pitch for Durham as part of his Major League Rehab Assignment, while LHP Shawn Morimando (2-3, 4.87) is slated to start for Jacksonville. Tickets for that game and all remaining contests are available and can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com.