Bulls Fall to Tides in Series Opener 4-1

NORFOLK VA – The Durham Bulls (24-12) dropped their second consecutive contest in the series opener to the Norfolk Tides (14-20) 4-1 on Tuesday night at Harbor Park. The Bulls hitting woes over the last two games continued recording one run off of four hits. They have scored just one run off of six hits over the previous 18 innings in that span. The struggles are unlikely to continue considering they have been a top-five offense in scoring and batting average all season long.

The Bulls lone run came in the top half of the 6th inning from a sacrifice fly hit by Josh Lowe that sent in Wander Franco. The RBI was Lowe’s 26th of the campaign. Franco, who had three out of the four hits, smacked his third triple of the season, leading to Lowe knocking him in.

Tides starter Alexander Wells (W, 4-2) pitched shutout baseball through 5 innings, allowing two hits and striking out four. His command was impressive, not walking a single batter and throwing 47 of his 72 pitches for strikes. He came in supporting a 6.35 ERA but was able to bounce back dramatically after a slow start to the season.

Dietrich Enns (L, 1-1) suffered his first defeat for the Bulls in his seventh start of the season. He surrendered three runs, off four hits, four walks, and two strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings of work. The Tides opened up the scoring in the bottom of the 3rd, with Brett Cumberland launching a two-run home run for his fifth season. Jahmal Jones finished the scoring off of Enns, connecting on an RBI single in the 4th inning that scored Ramon Urias. Sean Poppen, Joey Krehbiel, Ryan Sherriff, and Louis Head all made appearances out of the bullpen, allowing one run in 4 2/3 innings pitched.

Despite the defeat, the Bulls remain in second place in the Triple-A East SouthEast Divison. The two clubs will meet again on Wednesday, June 16th, for game two of their six-game series.