Bulls Lose 2-1 in a Heartbreaker Versus Gwinnett

DURHAM NC – The Durham Bulls (32-17) fell victim to a pitcher’s duel on Wednesday night as they were defeated by the Gwinnett Stripers (23-26) 2-1. The loss was not an ideal way to finish the calendar month of June, but the club still managed to go four games over .500, supporting a 14-10 record. 

Drew Strotman (ND, 5-2) recorded his ninth start of the season for the Bulls. He tossed 5 one-run innings while surrendering two hits, one earned run, four walks, and five strikeouts. The righty struggled to throw strikes, racking up just 42 in his 82 total pitches, but fortunately, it did not come back to haunt him. He made one bad pitch versus Orlando Arica, who has been a problem for pitchers all season long. He smashed his 13th home run of the season sending a Strotman pitch over the blue monster hitting the Tabacco Road building.

Despite getting himself into some jams, Strotman realistically pitched well enough to earn his sixth win of the season, but his offense could not give him any run support. He remained at a 5-2 record following the outing and managed to bring his ERA down to a 4.26 mark. Chris Mazza, Adam Conley, and Sean Poppen (L, 1-3) followed strongly out of the bullpen and were able to keep them in the game. However, an RBI single from Cristian Pache after a Terrance Gore double in the 9th ultimately gave the Stripers the edge. 

Bryse Wilson (ND, 4-2), who has bounced back and forth from Atlanta to Gwinnett, made his eighth start for the Stripers. The 23-year-old right-hander was outstanding as he fired 7 shutout innings allowing three hits, one walk, and struck out seven. Singles from Josh Lowe, Brett Sullivan, and Dalton Kelly were all that the Bulls could get. 

The Bulls had an opportunity in the 3rd inning having two runners on with no outs, but Wilson settled in, logging in a strikeout and forcing a double play. After that point, he was completely dialed in, sitting down 13 of the final 14 Bulls he faced, including 12 in a row until Kelly singled off of him in the 7th. Despite his dominance, the bullpen immediately blew his win in the 8th. Ryan Boldt smashed his fifth dinger of the season off of relief pitcher Dylan Lee (W, 2-0) to tie the ballgame 1-1.

Lee would ironically end up being the winning pitcher even though he surrendered the Bulls one and only run. The Bulls will be eager to bounce back on Thursday, July 1st, at Durham Bulls Athletic Park after the 2-1 loss.