Bulls Blank Braves; Montoyo Nets 613th Win

Lawrenceville, Ga --- Three Durham pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout as the Bulls blanked Gwinnett 1-0, sending manager Charlie Montoyo to his franchise-tying 613th win.

Nathan Karns (W, 7-5) retired 13 straight hitters during one stretch, carting the shutout into the seventh inning. Steve Geltz stranded two runners, then saw Hak-Ju Lee turn in a solid defensive gem with the tying run aboard to end the eighth. Josh Lueke (S, 6) induced a pair of popups with the tying run aboard in the ninth to nail down Durham's second straight shutout in the series over the Braves (44-56).

Durham (55-44), which won its fifth straight game, scored the game's only run in the fourth when Vince Belnome came home on a double by Jeremy Moore. Belnome was about to be held at third base, but converted outfielder Edward Salcedo couldn't cleanly glove the double and was charged for an error as Belnome scored.

The Bulls had just four hits in the game, and assumed a whopping 11 1/2 game lead in the South over Gwinnett.

Karns worked 6 2/3 innings, walking two and fanning five.

Montoyo's 613th victory matched International League Hall of Famer Bill Evers for the franchise lead.

Alex Colome (4-2, 3.86) will start Saturday night's game at 7:05 PM ET against Gus Schlosser (5-5, 4.00).