Durham Bulls Joe Scurto reporter Spectacular Magazine
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Bulls Shane Baz Fires 4 Strong Innings in Triple-A Debut

Joe Scurto

NORFOLK VA – Shane Baz enjoyed a promising debut with the Durham Bulls (25-12) in their 7-5 victory over the Norfolk Tides (14-21) on Wednesday evening. 

Baz received the call up to Triple-A on June 14th after posting a 2-4 record with a 2.48 ERA in 32 2/3 innings with Double-A Montgomery. Baz, the Tampa Bay Rays fifth overall prospect, features a mid to upper 90’s fastball mixed in with a deadly slider. The sky is the limit for the 22-year-old, and he could very well get a crack at the big leagues late in the season if he adjusts accordingly at the Triple-A level. 

Baz worked around trouble on Wednesday and finished his night firing 4 innings, surrendering four hits, one earned run, one walk, and five strikeouts. The only damage that was done came in the bottom half of the 1st inning as Domingo Leyba roped an RBI single that knocked in Ryan Mckenna.

Despite the earned run, Baz struck out the side in his first frame. In the bottom of the 3rd inning, he loaded up the bases with no outs, forced Tyler Nevin to ground into a double, and struck out Chance Sisco to escape the jam. Baz threw 46 of his 70 pitches for strikes and should be a valuable asset for the Bulls moving forward.  

The Bulls offense went back to their old ways racking up seven runs off nine hits and smacked around Tides starter Kevin Smith (L, 0-2). Smith allowed five runs, as three of them were earned. Wander Franco stayed red hot, connecting on his second triple in two nights in the 1st to score Vidal Brujan to go up 1-0. It was Franco’s 32nd RBI, and he is now batting an insane .326 batting average and continues to improve on a nightly basis. The Bulls broke a 1-1 tie in the 4th thanks to Deivy Grullon launching a two-run blast for his third of the campaign. The scoring was concluded from a Josh Lowe RBI and an Esteban Quiroz (5) two-run home run to finalize the Bulls seven runs.

The Bulls will stay on the road and take on these same Tides on Thursday, June 17th, at Harbor Park with the series evened up at 1-1.