Lowe, Padlo Blast Bulls Past Redbirds 13-5

Josh Lowe, Kevin Padlo bash 2 homers each, Bulls now 4-0

Bulls 3B Kevin Padlo smashed two home runs in Durham's 13-5 win in Memphis on Friday night. (Paxton Rembis / Durham Bulls)

May 7, 2021

Durham center fielder Josh Lowe and third baseman Kevin Padlo both smashed two home runs and drove in four runs, while shortstop Taylor Walls recorded his second straight three-hit effort as the Bulls improved to 4-0 with a 13-5 victory over the Memphis Redbirds on Friday night at AutoZone Park.

Durham center fielder Josh Lowe and third baseman Kevin Padlo both smashed two home runs and drove in four runs, while shortstop Taylor Walls recorded his second straight three-hit effort as the Bulls improved to 4-0 with a 13-5 victory over the Memphis Redbirds on Friday night at AutoZone Park.

Lowe got the scoring started with his first blast in the opening frame to make it 2-0. Padlo two innings later would double the advantage to four with a two-run shot. Lowe later led off the fifth with a longball as part of a four-run frame to extend the lead to eight, before Padlo crushed a two-run shot in the sixth to make it 10-0.

After Memphis ended Durham’s shutout hopes with a single tally in the sixth, Lowe one frame later bashed an RBI double off the left field wall to drive in his fourth run of the evening. Following the Redbirds’ four-run eighth, Bulls 1B Dalton Kelly put an exclamation mark on Durham’s win with a two-run roundtripper in the ninth.

Prior to this evening, Padlo (3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI) was also the last Bulls batter to slam two home runs in a game, doing so on August 2, 2019 at Norfolk. Lowe’s (3-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI) last two-homer game came with Double-A Montgomery on June 1, 2019 at Birmingham.

Bulls starter Drew Strotman (5.0 IP, H, 0 R, 4 BB, 5 K) earned the win in his Triple-A debut with five shutout frames. Redbirds starter Angel Rondon (4.1 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 6 ER, BB, 2 K), meanwhile, suffered the defeat.

Durham and Memphis are slated to face off in game five of their six-game series on Saturday evening. First pitch is scheduled for 7:15pm ET. The Bulls’ starting pitcher has not yet been announced, while RHP Zack Thompson is anticipated to get the nod for the Redbirds.

Following Durham’s road series in Memphis, the Bulls are set to return to Durham Bulls Athletic Park to begin their 2021 home slate versus the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Tuesday, May 11. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm. Tickets with socially-distanced seating for that game and all Bulls home games in May are available at durhambulls.com.