Ninth Inning Rally Falls Short in 4-2 Loss

For the second straight game, the first-place Durham Bulls were shut down by an opposing starter. Making his Triple-A debut, Rochester's Pat Dean held the Bulls to two hits through seven innings in a 4-2 Red Wings win at the DBAP on Monday.

On Sunday, Gwinnett starter Yohan Flande held the Bulls to 3 hits through eight innings. Despite leading the Eastern League in hits allowed before Monday's call-up, Dean held the Bulls without a hit until Kevin Kiermaier bunted for a single to lead off the sixth. Jason Bourgeois' single to right was the only other damage the Bulls inflicted on the Rochester lefty.

Dean's performance wasted a strong effort from Bulls' starter Matt Buschmann (L, 5-1, 3.21), who lost his first game as a Bull despite striking out 9 and allowing just 1 run through 5.2 innings.

The Red Wings broke up a scoreless game in the sixth on Jeff Clement's bases-loaded single. Kiermaier cut down Chris Parmalee at the plate to prevent a second run from scoring. Rochester added a run off of Cory Wade in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, and scored two in the eighth. An outfield assist from Bourgeois got another runner at the plate to prevent further damage.

The Bulls rallied in the ninth though, loading the bases twice against the Rochester bullpen. Tim Beckham, Vince Belnome, and Leslie Anderson singled, giving the Bulls more hits in the ninth than in the previous eight innings. A strikeout and grounder ended the threat, however, sending the Bulls to their second straight loss.

The battle between division leaders continues with the second game of a four-game series Tuesday night. J.D. Martin (14-4, 2.70) looks to break the Bulls Triple-A single season wins record against Rochester's Scott Diamond (0-0, 0.00). First pitch is at 7:05pm.

Bulls game story brought to you by Strayer University, Bringing Home the Bulls in September.