McKay, Arroyo Lead Bulls in Blowout Win

DURHAM, NC - The Durham Bulls jumped out to an early first inning lead and never looked back, defeating the Louisville Bats 18-3 Tuesday night at the DBAP in the opener of a nine-day homestand. Brendan McKay (1-0) picked up the win in his Triple-A pitching debut, while José López (2-4) suffered the loss for the Bats.
Christian Arroyo led the offensive onslaught for Durham, finishing 5-for-5 with a career-high seven RBI, a grand slam and three doubles. Mike Brosseau aided the effort with a three-run homer, four RBI and three walks, while Nick Ciuffo finished the evening with a trio of RBI.
On the mound, McKay was near perfect, scattering three hits (two infield hits) across five innings of shutout baseball. The southpaw didn't walk a batter, and struck out four to run his consecutive inning scoreless streak to 25.0 between Double-A and Triple-A.
Bulls bats got off to scorching start against Lopez, beginning with an RBI single from Arroyo to make it 1-0. Nick Ciuffo added on with a two-RBI single to give the Bulls a quick 3-0 lead through the first inning. The Bulls added on in the third inning, with an Arroyo RBI double making it 4-0. Ciuffo added another RBI with a single and Nathan Lukes made it 6-0 on an RBI double.
The Bulls continued to pour on the runs, beginning with Arroyo's third RBI of the game on a double to make it 7-0 in the fifth. The Bulls put the Bats away for good in the sixth inning, thanks to an RBI single by Kean Wong and a bases-loaded hit by pitch from Brosseau to take a 9-0 lead. Arroyo cemented a career-night with a deep grand slam over the Blue Monster to take a 13-0 lead. Emilio Bonifácio added another run for good measure on an RBI double to make it 14-0 in the sixth.
The Bats put infielder Alberti Chavez into the game in the seventh inning and the Bulls continued their offensive explosion by loading the bases and driving in another run on a Jake Smolinski single to make it 15-0. The Bats finally broke through on a Christian Colón RBI single to make it 15-1. A balk scored another run, and Phillip Ervin hit an RBI single to make it 15-3 in the eighth. Brosseau hit a three-run home run for the Bulls in the bottom of the frame to make it 18-3.
The Bulls continue their series against the Bats with game two on Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Aaron Slegers will take the hill for the Bulls and face off against Bats right-hander Rob Wooten.