Manzardo Homers, Basabe Records Three Hits In 7-4 Defeat

Basabe tallies 3 knocks, Manzardo mashes 1st Triple-A homer

Bulls 1B Kyle Manzardo mashed his first Triple-A home run on Sunday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. (Kelly Teseny / Durham Bulls)

April 2, 2023

Bulls shortstop Osleivis Basabe bashed a game-high three hits and first baseman Kyle Manzardo mashed his first Triple-A homer, however Tides second baseman Connor Norby, shortstop Jordan Westburg and left fielder Ryan O’Hearn all went deep in Norfolk’s 7-4 win over Durham on Sunday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Bulls shortstop Osleivis Basabe bashed a game-high three hits and first baseman Kyle Manzardo mashed his first Triple-A homer, however Tides second baseman Connor Norby, shortstop Jordan Westburg and left fielder Ryan O’Hearn all went deep in Norfolk’s 7-4 win over Durham on Sunday evening at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Westburg went deep in the opening frame, giving the Tides an early 2-0 advantage. Bulls 2B Jonathan Aranda cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly in the last of the first, yet O’Hearn left the yard with a two-run blast to extend the Tides’ advantage to 4-1. Basabe’s RBI triple to center in the fifth would narrow the margin to two with an RBI groundout from Manzardo making it a one-run contest.

Norby would then club the third Norfolk longball of the evening with a two-run shot in the sixth to make it a 6-3 Tides lead. Manzardo, rated by Baseball America as the 60th-best overall prospect before the season, would then smashed a solo blast to right in the seventh to cut the Tides lead to 6-4, before 1B Josh Lester’s run-scoring single in the ninth capped Norfolk’s scoring.

Basabe (3-5, 2 R, 3B, RBI) and Manzardo (2-5, R, HR, 2 RBI) were joined by RF Ben Gamel (2-4) in posting multi-hit efforts for the Bulls. Norby (2-4, 3 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB) and Westburg (2-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB), meanwhile, each clubbed two knocks for the Tides.

Norfolk starter Spenser Watkins (5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO) earned the victory, while southpaw Nick Vespi (1.0 IP, H, SO) notched the save. Durham starter Luis Patino (4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 SO) suffered the loss.

Following a Monday off day, the Bulls travel to Jacksonville for their first road trip of 2023 to start a six-game series on Tuesday, April 4 versus the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. First pitch on Tuesday evening is scheduled for 7:05pm.

Durham returns home on Tuesday, April 11 to begin a six-game homestand versus the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. First pitch of that series’ opener is scheduled for a special Education Day 11:05am start.

Tickets for that game and all 2023 Durham Bulls home games are available, and can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com, or by calling 919.956.BULL.