Varona, Pruitt Lead Bulls Past Gwinnett, 5-3

Lawrenceville, GA --- Dayron Varona clubbed a homer and double, while Austin Pruitt pitched seven solid innings to send Durham past Gwinnett 5-3 on Tuesday night at Coolray Field.

Pruitt (W, 3-2) allowed four two-out singles in the first to account for Gwinnett's (19-21) runs, but shut down the Braves the rest of his outing. Pruitt fanned five, walked one as he matched Jaime Schultz for team honors with his third win.

Trailing 2-0 in the second, Varona drove a pitch from Kanekoa Texeira (L, 1-3) over the right field wall, then tied the game at 2-2 in the fourth on a double to left.

Durham (17-23) pieced together a two-run fourth on RBI-singles from Mikie Mahtook and Daniel Robertson to place the Bulls ahead 4-2.  

The Bulls scored an insurance run in the eighth when Patrick Leonard legged out a would-be double play ball, allowing Richie Shaffer to score for a 5-2 lead.

Gwinnett scored a run against Ryan Garton in the bottom of the eighth, but Neil Wagner (S, 1) straned three baserunners to end the frame and closed out the game in the ninth. Wagner's save was his first since May 31, 2014.

The Bulls and Braves play the rubber game of their three-game series Wednesday morning at 10:35 AM with Adam Wilk (1-3, 2.83) opposing Tyrell Jenkins (3-2, 3.03).