Bulls blow out Red Sox thanks to dominant fifth inning

WORCESTER, MA — The Durham Bulls defeated the Worcester Red Sox in a 16-0 rout on Tuesday evening in game one of the six-game series at Polar Park.

Bulls second-baseman Miles Mastrobuoni crushed a grand slam and drove in six runs as Durham tied a season-high with 15 hits on the night. The Durham bullpen struck out nine batters, giving them their 10th shutout victory of the season.

The Bulls got things started in the top of the second as third baseman Jim Haley hit a two-run bomb to left field to give Durham a 2-0 lead.

The Bulls would then score a season-high nine runs in the fifth inning which kicked off with a Ruben Cardenas two-run double. First-baseman Tristan Gray would then hit his 24th home run of the year with a three-run bomb to the left center. Grant Witherspoon, Jonathan Aranda, and Miles Mastrobuoni all brought in runs to close out the inning, giving Durham an 11-0 lead after five.

Durham would keep things rolling in the sixth inning as an RBI single from Ryan Boldt extended the lead to 12-0 before Mastrobuoni drilled a grand slam to right-center field, giving him six RBIs on the evening. The Bulls would go scoreless the the rest of the evening.

The Bulls have now won seven of their last ten games and sit atop the International League East at 55-45. They’re set to continue their six-game series with Worcester on Wednesday as the first pitch is scheduled for 12:15 pm in Polar Park.