Anyone looking for relief from this oppressive heat might want to curl up beside the Durham Bulls’ bats.
The Bulls’ scoreless streak reached 19 innings Friday night in a 5-0 loss to the Gwinnett Braves in the finale of their four-game series, marking the second straight shutout and only the second time this season the Bulls have been shut out at home.
The result, the Braves’ third win in the four games, left the teams tied atop the International League’s South Division.
“They could have scored one and we wouldn’t have won,” Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo said. “Our offense is nonexistent right now. I don’t want to give their pitching that much credit because I think it was us. We didn’t make an adjustment, which was bad offense. We chased stuff in the dirt. We’ve had 44 transactions this month, and when you lose (traded Felipe) Lopez, (injured Brandon) Guyer and (new Tampa Bay Ray Desmond) Jennings, somebody’s got to pick them up. And right now nobody’s doing that.
Yohan Flande (7-5) was the winning pitcher, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing three hits with eight strikeouts and a pair of walks. He was good enough to drop the loss on Andy Sonnanstine (1-2), who had a quality start by going eight innings and allowing four runs – three earned – on seven hits with three strikeouts and no walks.
The big blow came in the fifth inning, after Sonnanstine had earlier retired the first 11 Gwinnett batters in order. The Braves put together a one-out rally, with Jeff Fiorentino launching a 2-1 offering into the right-field bleachers for a three-run homer.
“I was pretty good,” Sonnanstine said. “I was happy with how deep I went. If you took back that fifth inning it would have been a great outing. I’ve always been trying to get as far into a game with the fewest amount of pitches, getting them out three or less. I’ve always tried to do that. The main thing I need to do is get innings under my belt.”
Gwinnett added single runs in the sixth on Mauro Gomez’ sacrifice fly and in the ninth on another sac fly from Fiorentino.
Stephen Vogt had two hits for Durham in his club debut while Leslie Anderson added a double.
Durham’s 10-game homestand concludes with a pair of games against the Charlotte Knights. Saturday’s 7:05 p.m. opener will pit Ryan Reid (1-0, 4.47) against the Knights’ Deunte Heath (2-5, 4.93).
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