Saturday, August 29, 2009

Durham Bulls Beat Norfolk Tides 11-2

Durham Bulls[Via email from the Durham Bulls' broadcaster Neil Solondz.]

Chris Richard became Durham's Triple-A career home run leader on Friday, as the Bulls rolled to an 11-2 win over Norfolk on Friday. The Bulls remain tied for first in the South Division with Gwinnett heading into a four-game series in Durham on Saturday.

Richard's two-run homer to right off Chris Lambert (6-9) in the second inning gave Durham a 2-0 advantage. It was Richard's 23rd homer this year, and 63rd as a Bull. That surpassed Scott McClain's total of 62. Richard had hit a game-winning homer the night before to tie McClain.

Durham then two in the third on a single by Akinori Iwamura and a Reid Brignac single for a 4-0 lead before the rains came.

The game was delayed 54 minutes, ending Wade Davis' night early. He had retired his first nine batters on just 31 pitches.

Durham then picked up where it left off when the game resumed, as Matt Joyce hit a three-run homer in the fifth, his 15th, for a 7-0 advantage. Elliot Johnson later homered, his 10th, as Durham collected 16 hits and drew eight walks in completing a 6-1 road trip, and a fifth straight victory.

Calvin Medlock (4-1) followed Davis and threw four scoreless innings before allowing three straight hits in the eight. Jason Childers retired all six hitters he faced, with two runs scoring on groundouts.

Durham (76-58) now has a magic number of seven to clinch a playoff spot with 10 games left. The Bulls and Gwinnett start a four-game series in Durham on Saturday with RHP Andy Sonnanstine on the mound against veteran lefty John Halama. Coverage on 99.9 the Fan ESPN Radio begins at 6:45 with first pitch at 7:05.

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