Bulls Rally Again, But Fall in Extras to Indians
Published on June 14, 2013 under International League (IL1)
Durham Bulls News Release
DURHAM, NC - The IL South-leading Durham Bulls and IL West-leading Indianapolis Indians gave 9,565 fans at the DBAP a possible playoff preview on Friday night, battling for four hours and 10 innings before two extra inning homers gave the Indians a 6-4 win.
For the second straight night, the Bulls rallied from a steep deficit. On Thursday, Durham trailed 7-2 before scoring 8 in the fifth inning to earn their biggest comeback of the season. On Friday, they fell behind 4-0 in the sixth before rallying to tie the score.
RHP Merrill Kelly, called up from Double-A Montgomery to fill a hole in the Bulls' rotation, made his first Triple-A start and struck out a season-high 10 batters in 5.1 innings. Kelly threw 101 pitches, one shy of his season high, and allowed four runs in his final seven batters to take some of the shine off of his solid Bulls debut. The big blow was a two-run homer by Matt Hague in the sixth.
The Bulls, meanwhile, managed just four hits in five innings against Andy Oliver, but Oliver's pitch count mounted rapidly, and he left after 109 pitches in five frames.
Durham fared better against the Indianapolis bullpen. Cole Figueroa hit a two-run single with two outs in the sixth to cut the lead in half. In the seventh, Vince Belnome hit an RBI triple and scored on a passed ball to tie the game.
In the 10th though, Indianapolis' Brett Carroll hit an 0-1 pitch from Steve Geltz (L, 3-2, 3.26) over the Blue Monster for his twelfth home run of the year. One out later, Jerry Sands bounced a Geltz 2-1 pitch off the awning of Diamond View II in left for his sixth homer of the year.
The Bulls had chances to break the game open, leaving runners in scoring position in the fifth through eighth innings. They stranded 12 runners for the game and went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Tim Alderson (W, 3-0, 2.88) earned the win in relief. Duke Welker retired the Bulls in order in the tenth for his second save.
The four-game set continues Saturday night at the DBAP at 7:05pm. Durham's RHP Matt Buschmann (1-0, 2.25) is scheduled to face LHP Kris Johnson (5-3, 3.23).
International League Stories from June 14, 2013
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