Bulls eke out doubleheader split

Monday evening was muggy, and the effects of Tropical Depression Gaston could still be felt. Only a few thousand fans showed up for the weekday contest at Durham Bulls Athletic Park and even fewer were left by the evening’s conclusion. Perhaps nothing could be more unappealing to the members of the Durham Bulls than the words “Let’s play two.”

Yet that is exactly what transpired in downtown Durham Monday night, as the fans were treated to an exciting doubleheader between the Bulls (74-63) and their division rivals, the Richmond Braves (73-58). The two squads split the games, with the Bulls losing 5-3 in extra innings in the first game and winning 4-3 in the nightcap.

After the split, the Bulls remain two games behind the division-leading Braves and four games ahead of the idle Scranton-WB Red Barons in the wild card race. Durham gained a half game on the Pawtucket Red Sox, who lost 21-5 to the Rochester Red Wings, in the wild card race.

“That second game was definitely a big game for us,” Durham manager Bill Evers said. “We came back and got some big timely hits.”

The biggest hit of all was Paul Hoover’s go-ahead double in the sixth, which all but clinched the Bulls’ evening victory. After third baseman Jared Sandberg reached first on an error, Hoover hit a ball into deep right-center field. The ball slammed off the wall, and the relay throw came straight to second. No one on the Richmond squad was able to field the throw cleanly, and Sandberg came in to score the go-ahead run. Franklin Nunez pitched a 1-2-3 seventh to pick up the save.

The opening contest went into extra innings—regulation doubleheader games last seven innings in the International League, but a 3-3 tie forced the two clubs to play a pair of additional frames.

The Indians took the lead in the top of the ninth. After third baseman Wilson Betemit led off the inning with a base hit against newly-inserted reliever Chad Gaudin, first baseman Mike Hessman failed in two attempts to bunt the runner over to second. Hessman then ripped a 1-2 offering to the left-center power alley, where it disappeared over the wall and gave Richmond a 5-3 lead. Matt Whiteside went on to save the game for the Braves.

Richmond pitcher Jose Capellan was in complete control for most of the game. Capellan, the premier pitching prospect who has skyrocketed through the Braves’ minor league system, displayed a devastatingly high-90’s fastball that kept the Bulls hitters in check for most of the game.

The nightcap also started with early trouble for the Bulls. Starter Jose Veras began the game by giving up a base hit and a walk. When it appeared as if Veras would get out of the jam after inducing flyouts from the next two batters, Betemit ripped a double to the base of the left field wall to give the Braves an early 2-0 advantage.

“I’d rather [our starting pitchers] not give up runs in the first inning,” Evers said. “It makes it difficult to battle back into the game.”

The Bulls trailed 3-0 in the fourth when they began to claw their way back into the game. With no runners on base, Cummings sent a 3-2 offering to dead center for his 27th home run of the year.

The very next inning the Bulls tied the game. Leadoff hitter Joey Gathright followed Luis Ordaz’s single by pulling a low 2-0 fastball into left field. The ball skipped by the leftfielder, and the two runners advanced to second and third. After a sacrifice fly to center that scored Ordaz, Matt Diaz stroked a game-tying single to left for his 92nd RBI of the year.

The Bulls end their home season tonight with their final game against the Richmond Braves.