Bulls' Bauers breaks out on four-hit night

The last time Jake Bauers encountered a rough patch at the plate, he busted out for four hits in Norfolk.
He followed the same script on Friday night to stop a similar slump.
The Rays' No. 5 prospect went 4-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs as Triple-A Durham fell to the Tides, 4-3, on a walk-off hit in the 10th inning at Harbor Park.

Since his last noteworthy performance against Norfolk on July 15, Bauers had gone 17-for-65 (.261) with four multi-hit games in 18 contests. He produced six extra-base hits in that span, including two home runs, and seven RBIs.
Gameday box score
The 21-year-old opened the scoring on Friday with an RBI single to right field off starter Alec Asher in the first inning. After striking out two innings later, he bounced back by roping a run-scoring double to left off Asher in the fifth.
Bauers greeted reliever Richard Rodríguez in the seventh with a two-out double to right after the Bulls chased Asher. The California native completed his night with a single up the middle in the ninth off Matt Wotherspoon, capping the fifth four-hit game of his five-year professional career.

That helped MLB.com's No. 83 overall prospect lift his average to .277. While he compiled a .260/.342/.396 slash line over 26 games in July -- his worst month since going .229/.330/.289 in April -- the 2013 seventh-round pick is off to a .429/.556/.786 start through four games in August.

In his first International League season, Bauers has contributed consistency at the heart of Durham's lineup. The 2013 seventh-round pick leads the Bulls with 10 home runs and 53 RBIs while ranking second in the International League with 27 doubles in 102 games. His .807 OPS is the 14th-highest in the league.
• Get tickets to a Bulls game
Despite Bauers' efforts, Norfolk won on Drew Dosch's walk-off double off reliever Chaz Roe (0-2). The Tides also received solo homers from Orioles top prospectChance Sisco and Mike Yastrzemski.

Stefan Crichton (5-0) allowed one hit and notched the final out in the top of the 10th to get the win for the Tides.