E-TWINS BULLPEN DOMINANT, FIRST INNING PIRATE RUNS CARRY BRISTOL TO 6-2 WIN

Elizabethton, Tenn. - Frandy Torres, Louie Varland and Nate Hadley combined for 8.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, but the Bristol Pirates tagged Elizabethton Twins starter Tyler Benninghoff for six runs in the first inning, as the Pirates topped the Twins 6-2 Thursday night.
Torres took over for Benninghoff after the Pirates struck for six runs on four hits and two walks, then combined for Varland and Hadley for over eight innings of scoreless relief one five hits and one walk with eight combined strikeouts.
Elizabethton didn't record a hit until the fifth inning, when Matt Wallner and Trevor Jensen singled. Wallner scored the E-Twins' first run of the game that inning, crossing the plate on a wild pitch.
Wallner also scored the Twins' second run of the game, as the first-round draft pick crushed his first home run of the season in the ninth inning, a solo shot that brought the game to a 6-2 score and ended up being the final.
The series lost to Bristol was Elizabethton's first since July 2016 in Bristol.
The Twins kick off a six-game road trip Friday night in Greeneville, for three games against the Reds before three in Pulaski against the Yankees beginning Monday.
For tickets and more information, visit elizabethtontwins.com.