Tides Top Bulls 6-3, Durham's Division Lead Now A Half Game
Bulls catcher Rene Pinto bashed two doubles and left fielder Ruben Cardenas crushed a two-run homer while Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow tossed two and two-thirds hitless innings, however Tides starting pitcher Chris Vallimont fired six and two-thirds quality frames and shortstop Jordan Westburg collected three hits in Norfolk’s
Bulls catcher Rene Pinto bashed two doubles and left fielder Ruben Cardenas crushed a two-run homer while Tampa Bay Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow tossed two and two-thirds hitless innings, however Tides starting pitcher Chris Vallimont fired six and two-thirds quality frames and shortstop Jordan Westburg collected three hits in Norfolk’s 6-3 win over Durham on Friday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The loss along with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s victory over Lehigh Valley means the Bulls’ International League East Division lead is just a half game with five games to play.
Glasnow (2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 SO) fanned six of the nine batters he faced, yielding a lone walk over 2.2 hitless innings. In four outings with the Bulls as part of his Major League Rehab Assignment, Glasnow has allowed one earned run on one hit while striking out 14 of the 26 batters he has faced over seven innings pitched.
Vallimont (6.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) earned the victory with his quality outing, with southpaw Nick Vespi (1.0 IP, SO) notching the save with a perfect ninth. Durham righty Cooper Criswell (4.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 SO) suffered the defeat.
Durham got off to a 3-0 advantage with a trio of tallies in the third, with Cardenas smashing a two-run blast before SS Vidal Brujan immediately followed with a solo blast. Norfolk, however, would even the tally with a three-spot in the sixth capped by Tyler Nevin’s RBI single before Westburg would drive in the go-ahead run with a single to left in the seventh. CF Colton Cowser would then club a solo blast and 1B Cadyn Grenier’s would cap the scoring with an RBI double in the eighth.
Westburg (3-5, R, RBI) paced all hitters with his three knocks, with Cowser (2-5, R, HR, RBI) and DH Joseph Ortiz (2-5, R) each tallying multi-hit efforts. Pinto (2-4, R, 2 2B) was the lone Bulls hitter to record two hits.
The Bulls are set to continue their final homestand of the year with Norfolk on Saturday night, with first pitch scheduled for 6:35pm. Durham’s starting pitcher has not yet been determined, while the Tides are anticipated to give the nod to LHP Bruce Zimmermann.
Tickets for all remaining 2022 Bulls home contests are still available and can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com.