Bulls continue rolling for fourth straight win

DURHAM, N.C. — The Durham Bulls defeated the Charlotte Knights 7-3 on Thursday evening en route to a fourth consecutive victory.

The Bulls have now won 10 of their last 12 and sit above .500 at 23-22 for the first time since opening week. A huge reason for their recent success is the consistency of the bullpen.

Charlotte struggled to get on base early on as they went three and out for four consecutive innings. Bulls RHP Kevin Herget pitched a shutout through five innings, throwing 54 strikes and striking out three Knights batters. Closer Luke Bard finished out for the Bulls allowing no hits and two strikeouts to close out the victory.

The Bulls got on base early and turned it up a notch in the bottom of the third. Joe Hudson, Miles Mastrobuoni, Jonathan Aranda and Rene Pinto hit four straight solo home runs in the third inning, giving Durham a 4-0 lead after three. Knights LHP Andrew Perez pitched the entire third giving up six hits and four runs while being yanked at the start of the fourth.

The Knights made it interesting at the top of the sixth with a solo homer to left field from third baseman Ryder Jones. Following a single from catcher Carlos Perez, shortstop Danny Mendick scored another run, bringing the score to 4-2.

All Charlotte momentum came to a halt after suffering another three and out in the next inning, while Durham scored again off another RBI from catcher Rene Pinto. The Bulls would score two more runs in the final inning off a sacrifice bunt and an error.

The Bulls look to extend their win streak to five games as they continue their series with the Charlotte Knights tomorrow at 6:35 pm in Durham Bulls Athletic Park.