Stripers Tripped Up in 10th by Bulls

DURHAM, NC - The Durham Bulls earned a 2-1 walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th inning over the Gwinnett Stripers Friday night in game two of the four-game series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
The Bulls began the bottom of the 10th with a man on second (Jeremy Hazelbaker) as per Minor League Baseball's new extra-inning rules. With Evan Phillips in to pitch, former Gwinnett player Micah Johnson laid down a bunt in front of the plate. Phillips fielded the ball cleanly, but threw the ball in the dirt at first base. The ball got by second baseman Phil Gosselin who was covering the bag, enabling Hazelbaker to trot across with the winning run.

The Stripers had their shot to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the 10th. With Rob Brantly beginning the inning on second base, Danny Santana singled to center off reliever Kyle Bird to put runners on the corners. The Bulls opted for Ian Gibaut out of the bullpen, and he got Dustin Peterson to ground out on a high chopper to short. The play enabled Santana to take second, but forced Brantly to hold at third. Gibaut then walked Michael Reed to load the bases with one out.
Gibaut (W, 3-1) worked out of the jam, however, striking out Carlos Franco and getting Rio Ruiz to ground out to first.
The Stripers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third as Brantly led off with a double to right off Durham starter Forrest Snow, moved to third on a bunt by Santana and scored on a two-out double to left by Reed.
But the Bulls tied the game in the bottom of the fifth, as Johnson delivered a solo home run (1) to right off Stripers' starting pitcher Matt Wisler.
That was the only run allowed by Wisler, who was sharp over 6.0 innings of six-hit baseball in a no-decision. He walked two and struck out a season-high nine in his second quality start for Gwinnett.
Rex Brothers followed Wisler with 1.1 scoreless innings and two strikeouts. Jacob Webb also struck out two over 1.2 scoreless frames. Phillips (L, 3-4) gave up one hit and one unearned run without recording an out in the 10th.
Despite the solid pitching performance, the Stripers' offense went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and matched a season high with 11 left on base. The two clubs combined to strand 19 in the game.
At the plate, Santana was 2-for-3 with two stolen bases and Reed was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Reed has now reached base safely in 13 of 14 games since joining Gwinnett on May 29th, batting .442.
For Durham, Snow tossed 5.0 innings with four hits, one earned run, one walk and eight strikeouts. Relievers Adam Kolarek, Jaime Schultz, Bird and Gibaut combined on 5.0 scoreless, two-hit innings the rest of the way.
Johnson had the hot bat for the Bulls, going 3-for-4 with the solo homer.
The Gwinnett Stripers (29-36) and Durham Bulls (37-28) will meet in game three of the four-game series Saturday night at 6:35 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Right-hander Lucas Sims (3-2, 1.45 ERA) is set to start for Gwinnett. Durham will counter with right-hander Chih-Wei Hu (2-5, 4.86 ERA). Tony Schiavone has the play-by-play call on 97.7 and 93.5 FM The Other Side of the River beginning at 6:05 p.m.