The Durham Bulls took Game 2 of the Governor's Cup Thursday night at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, beating the Richmond Braves 5-1 to square the best-of-five series at one game apiece.
After Tuesday night's gut-wrenching loss to the Braves in Game 1, Durham manager Charlie Montoyo said 21-year-old Evan Longoria would do something special before the series was over. The third overall pick in the 2006 draft did not wait around very long to prove his manager correct.
In the bottom of the first inning, Longoria put the Bulls ahead 1-0 with an opposite-field two-out single. The Braves got the run back in the third on a home run by Gregor Blanco, but in the sixth, Longoria laced an RBI double to the left-field corner to put Durham ahead for good.
As Longoria spurred rallies for the Bulls' offense, fellow youngster Jeff Niemann kept up his end of the bargain on the mound. The fourth overall pick in the 2004 draft dominated the Braves over eight innings, striking out nine and allowing just one run on six hits.
The final three games of the series will be held in Richmond starting tonight.
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