Bulls Drop Series Opener Vs CLT in Extras

Durham, NC – The Charlotte Knights scored twice in the 10th inning to knock off the Durham Bulls 8-6 in the series opener at the DBAP on Tuesday night.

Durham (30-34) rallied from a 6-2 deficit thanks to three in the eighth and one in the ninth, but the Knights (26-37) pushed across two against Erasmo Ramirez (L, 2-1) in the 10th to beat the Bulls for the fifth time in seven games this season.

CJ Hinojosa slugged a two-run homer in the eighth to bring the Bulls within 6-4, then later in the inning Jonathan Aranda drilled an opposite field single to bring home Kameron Misner to make it 6-5. In the ninth, Heriberto Hernandez hit a sac fly to right to bring Rene Pinto with the tying run.

Charlotte jumped ahead on the game’s fourth pitch as Mark Payton connected for a leadoff home run against Bulls starter Jacob Lopez. Lopez worked 2+ innings in his first outing in over a month. Lopez was activated from the injured list before Tuesday’s game.

The Bulls tied the game on a groundout by Hernandez, but the Knights quickly went back ahead with two in the third against Lopez and reliever Joe Record.

Mark Remillard and Wilmer Difo hit home runs to extend the Knights lead to 6-2 by the top of the eighth.

Durham fell to 0-6 in extra inning games in 2024.

The six-game series continues on Wednesday night at 6:35 PM with Jeffrey Springs expected to make a major league rehab outing for the Tampa Bay Rays against Sean Burke (0-0, 3.86).