Kelly, Bulls Crush Tides 12-6

Bulls first baseman Dalton Kelly crushed two home runs and drove in five, while shortstop Taylor Walls, designated hitter Mike Ford and catcher Rene Pinto all went deep as well, as Durham scored seven unanswered runs in the final two innings of a 12-6 victory over the Norfolk Tides on Saturday night at Harbor Park.

Kelly got the scoring started when he smashed his first big fly of the evening, a three-run shot, in the opening frame. Norfolk would even the score at 3-3 before Walls slammed a two-run blast in the fifth to put Durham ahead 5-3. The Tides would then tie the game again in the fifth before taking a 6-5 advantage in the sixth, however the Bulls countered with their late-inning surge.

LF Vidal Brujan bounced a go-ahead two-run single off the second base bag in the eighth as part of a three-run frame that put Durham ahead 8-6. The Bulls the put the exclamation mark on the night with three longballs in the ninth, including back-to-back shots from Kelly and Ford before Pinto capped the scoring with a solo homer of his own.

Bulls 2B Mike Brosseau (3-4, 2 R, BB) recorded a game-high three hits while reaching base four time, with Kelly (2-4, 3 R, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB), Ford (2-5, R, HR, RBI) and Brujan (2-5, R, 2 RBI, BB) adding multi-hit efforts of their own. It was the second career multi-homer game in Kelly’s career after clubbing two roundtrippers with Double-A Montgomery on July 3, 2017. He now leads Durham with 15 home runs this season.

Right-hander Shawn Armstrong (1.0 IP, H, K) earned the win in his Bulls debut after being acquired by the Tampa Bay Rays from Baltimore, while Joey Krehbiel (2.0 IP, H, 5 K) notched his second save with two scoreless frames. Tides reliever Dusten Knight (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, BB) suffered the defeat.

Durham and Norfolk are set to complete their seven-game series on Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 4:05pm. Tampa Bay Rays RHP Chris Archer (0-0, 3.24) is expected to toe the rubber for the Bulls are part of his Major League Rehab Assignment, while RHP Konner Wade (3-1, 2.63) is anticipated to get the nod for the Tides.

The Bulls are scheduled to return to Durham Bulls Athletic Park starting Tuesday, August 3 to begin a six-game series versus the Memphis Redbirds. First pitch of the series opener that evening is scheduled for 6:35pm. Tickets for that game, as well as all remaining Bulls home games are available and can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com.