Durham Walks Off Charlotte For 2nd Straight Night With 6-5 Win

Tanner Murray singled home Chandler Simpson in the last of the ninth to lift the Durham Bulls past the Charlotte Knights 6-5 at the DBAP on Friday night.

The Bulls (38-29) beat the Knights (32-35) for the second straight game in the bottom of the ninth after Andrew Stevenson beat the Knights with a two-run double Thursday night.

Simpson began the inning with a sliced double to left before Murray eased a two-strike pitch for a single to right-center to seal the win.

Durham led 5-1 into the seventh before Charlotte scored twice. The Knights tied the game in the eighth on a double by Zach DeLoach, but reliever Cole Wilcox struck out the final two hitters of the inning with the bases loaded.

The Bulls scored twice in the first on a double by Bob Seymour and a single from Carson Williams. After a home run by Charlotte's Andre Lipcius trimmed the lead to 2-1, the Bulls scored three two-out runs in the fourth. Simpson grounded a triple down the right field line to score a pair, then came home on a double by Murray.

Joe Boyle worked five solid innings with nine strikeouts and permitted just the solo home run. Austin Vernon (W, 1-0) notched his first Triple-A win after throwing a perfect ninth inning.

Simpson finished 3-5, driving in two and scoring twice. Murray went 2-5 with two RBI, while Andrew Stevenson was 2-3 and also hit by a pitch.

How It Happened: Simpson stroked a 1-0 pitch from Peyton Pallette down the left field line and sprinted to second base to start the game-winning rally. Murray fell behind 0-2 before softly lining a single to right-center leading to Durham's celebration for the second consecutive night.

Boyle Dominates Again: Durham starter Joe Boyle's first pitch was 97mph and his final one in the fifth inning was 99. Boyle's league-leading ERA nudged from 1.50 to 1.53 with the effort. Boyle fanned Chicago White Sox rehabbing infielder Lenyn Sosa with the bases loaded in the fifth to end his outing.

What's Next: Ian Seymour (5-3, 2.95) is slated to start Saturday against former Bull righty Evan McKendry (1-2, 6.26) at 6:35 PM ET.