STAFF REPORTS
In their first matchup of the season, the Durham Bulls used a five-run outburst in the first inning and a four-run spree in the fourth to secure a 9-2 victory over the Bisons, Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in Durham, NC.
In his Bisons debut, Nick Kingham was challenged by the Bulls’ batting order from the get-go as Durham’s lead-off batter, Dalton Kelly, hit a solo home run to left field on just the fifth pitch of the bottom of the first. Then with two outs and two men on base, Kevin Padlo kept the inning going with an infield RBI single, which allowed Joe McCarthy to score and moved Jason Coats to second for the 2-0 lead.
But the biggest blow came on the next pitch when Nathan Lukes‘ hit to right center field went out of the park for a three-run home-run and a 5-0 Durham lead.
Acquired from Pittsburgh by Toronto in June and who made 10 appearances in relief with the Blue Jays before being called down, Kingham bounced back in the second inning. A lead-off walk to Kean Wong resulted in three straight retired batters on only 15 pitches. His first loss with Buffalo, Kingham finished the night allowing six hits along with two walks and a strikeout on 46 pitches before handing the ball over to Shawn Morimando.
Morimando, who was making only his fourth appearance since returning from the injured list earlier this month, had a strong 1-2-3 inning in the third – retiring Padlo and Mac James on strikeouts in the process – to keep the deficit at 5-0.
The Bisons got on the board in the fourth inning as Rowdy Tellez turned a 1-1 count towards his advantage with a solo home run to left field to trim the deficit to 5-1. His fourth home run in 11 games with Buffalo, this was the veteran first baseman’s first home run since his two-home run game at Charlotte on July 23. Tellez later provided Buffalo’s other run in the eighth when his sacrifice pop-out brought home Brito after his second single of the night.
But the momentum Tellez brought with his swing was short-lived as the Bulls went to work in the bottom of the fourth.
A lead-off walk to Lucius Fox preceded Wong’s RBI triple down the right-field line, who was then brought home on McCarthy’s RBI shallow single for a 7-1 lead. After a Jesus Sanchez single and a wild pitch from Morimando put a pair of runners in scoring position, Padlo capped off the scoring spree and his third RBI night with a double to right field and the 9-1 lead.
