Bulls Rally Falls Short as Tides Spoil Opener
Published on April 15, 2010 under International League (IL1)
Durham Bulls News Release
Durham, NC - A late rally fell short when Joe Dillon's blast to left field dropped into the leftfielders glove as the Norfolk Tides spoiled the Bulls home opener 6-4 on Thursday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Bulls dropped to 5-3 and into a first place tie with the Charlotte Knights.
Right-hander Jeff Bennett took the loss, but faced just two batters before leaving with tightness in the top of the first inning. Bennett walked the first two hitters of the game before being replaced by right-hander Brian Baker. The Tides took advantage with an RBI-double by Lou Montanez and an RBI-single by Scott Moore to put two runs on the board with nobody out in the first. A passed ball by Bulls catcher Alvin Colina brought another run across before Rhyne Hughes blooped a two-out, RBI-double to stake the Tides to a 4-0 advantage after half an inning of play.
Baker settled down after the shaky first inning, retiring eight of his next ten batters and allowing just the one earned run in 4.1 innings of relief.
The Bulls got on the board with a single tally in the third and fourth innings. Elliot Johnson snapped a 1-for-25 start to his season with a perfect bunt single to start the third inning. After moving to second on a ground out, Johnson advanced to third on a wild pitch by Norfolk starter Alfredo Simon. Third baseman Hank Blalock brought him home with an RBI-single to shallow right field.
In the fourth inning, Dan Johnson connected on a frozen rope over the wall in right-center off Simon to cut the deficit to 4-2. The home run was Johnson's third of the season, leading the team and moving into a tie for second place in the International League.
The Tides got two more in the sixth off right-hander Richard De Los Santos to extend their lead. Robert Andino brought home a run on his first triple of the season, and Adam Donachie quickly brought him home with an RBI-single to make the score 6-2. De Los Santos tossed 4.0 innings in relief, striking out three and walking two.
The Bulls put together a valiant comeback in the ninth, coming within an eyelash of tying the game or even bringing across the winning run. Justin Ruggiano got things started with an RBI-single to left which brought home Chris Richard and chased Tides reliever Frank Mata after 0.2 innings. The Tides went to left-hander Alberto Castillo, who was greeting by a Hank Blalock RBI single, keeping the bases loaded as Dillon stepped to the plate. The Bulls second baseman took a hefty cut and drove the ball deep into left, but Montanez pulled the ball down at the base of the wall to preserve the Tides 6-4 victory.
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