Nashville Drops Bulls in Extras to Open Series

Durham, NC – The Nashville Sounds claimed a back-and-forth series opener, defeating the Durham Bulls 9-8 in 10 innings at the DBAP on Tuesday afternoon.

Leading 6-5 in the ninth with the Sounds (16-18) down to their last strike, Brewer Hicklen drove a two-run homer against Justin Sterner (L, 1-1) for a 7-6 lead. Rene Pinto socked a game-tying home run in the last of the ninth to pull Durham (13-21) even 7-7. But the Sounds scored twice in the 10th against Sterner to move ahead 9-7. Ruben Cardenas singled home Ronny Simon with two outs in the 10th, but Yu Chang fanned against Enoli Paredes (S, 4) to end the opener of the six-game series. Rob Zastryzny (W, 4-0), who surrendered the game-tying bomb, earned the win for Nashville.

The Bulls trailed 4-0 into the third, but struck to tie on two swings. Cardenas hit a three-run home run, followed by Chang’s first home run with Durham to pull Durham even 4-4.

Jonathan Aranda singled home the tie-breaking run in the sixth inning, part of a 4-5 afternoon. Later in the inning, Pinto stroked an RBI-single to bring Aranda home for a 6-4 lead.

Mason Montgomery permitted four runs, all in the second inning, but otherwise was solid for Durham. Montgomery matched a season-high by working six innings, fanning six.

In a Rays’ major league rehab, reliever Pete Fairbanks threw a scoreless eighth inning, permitting two hits, but escaped damage on a 4-6-3 double play. Brandon Lowe was 1-2 with a double and a walk in his first game of a major league rehab assignment.

The Bulls continue their six-game homestand Wednesday night at 6:35 PM ET against Nashville.