CATCHING UP WITH THE DURHAM BULLS

This Week’s Schedule: The Bulls will return to action after the International League's all-star break tomorrow, when they'll start on an eight-game road trip through Syracuse and Lehigh Valley. The Bulls return home on July 25 to take on Louisville

Ticket Information: Call (919) 956-BULL or order online at durhambulls.com

Bulls Update: The Bulls reached the all-star break with a four game lead over Charlotte in the IL's Southern Division with a record of 51-47. Durham pulled out of an extended slump that had seen them lose six in a row and seven of eight before they took two of the final three games from Rochester to earn a split of that series.

The Bulls' losing streak finally came to end thanks to an outstanding effort on the mound by the trio of starter Mitch Talbot and relievers Juan Salas and Scott Dohmann. After the Bulls' offense scratched out a couple of early runs against the Red Wings, Talbot, Salas and Dohmann took it from there. Talbot cruised through the first six innings, holding the Red Wings to only two hits, before running into trouble in the seventh. After a solo home run made it 2-1, Rochester put two men on with two outs before Salas came in and fanned Rochester's Ryan Jorgensen to end the threat. Salas then pitched a perfect eighth and Dohmann a perfect ninth to preserve the win.

Three Bulls participated in last night's Triple-A All-Star Game in Louisville, Ky. in which the Pacific Coast League all-stars made a late rally to knock of the IL 6-5. Chris Richard started at first base for the IL but went 0-for-2 at the plate. Pitchers Dale Thayer and Jeremy Cummings each worked a scoreless inning of relief. Cummings recorded two strikeouts during his inning of work, including one of PCL batting leader Terry Tiffee.

Bulls Bits: Keeping the opposition off the board was nothing new for Salas. The 29-year-old righthander hasn't allowed a run since June 16 and has made seven straight scoreless appearances out of the Durham bullpen. During the streak, Salas has pitched 9 1/3 innings and allowed only four hits while striking out 10. As a matter of fact, since allowing five runs in his season debut on May 9, Salas has permitted only three runs in 18 appearances since.

CATCHING UP WITH THE CAROLINA MUDCATS

This Week’s Schedule: The Mudcats returned to the field last night after enjoying the Southern League's all-star break. They have four games left in a five-game series at Mississippi before returning home for a 10-game homestand against Huntsville and Jacksonville starting on July 22.

Ticket Information: Call (919) 269-2287 or order online at gomudcats.com or etix.com.

Mudcats Update: The Mudcats notched a 9-5 victory over Mississippi last night to begin the unofficial second half of the season. Carolina evened its second half record at 13-13, four games behind first place Tennessee in the Southern League's Northern Division.

The SL's all-star game came to Five County Stadium on Monday, and the home crowd wasn't disappointed as Mudcats second baseman Chris Coghlan took home MVP honors. He went only 1-for-4 on the night, but Coghlan's three-run home run in the fifth inning off Jacksonville righthander Jesus Castillo opened up a 5-1 lead for the Northern Division. Mudcats closer Chris Mobley came on in the top of the ninth with the North holding a 6-1, but allowed the South to load the bases with two outs before getting a groundout to shortstop to close out the proceedings.

Coghlan and left fielder John Raynor have both been tearing it up in July. Raynor is riding an 15-game hitting streak that includes seven multi-hit games and is hitting a torrid .442/.510/.814 in 43 at-bats for the month. He homered in three consecutive games on July 7, 8 and 9, giving him nine for the year. Meanwhile, Coghlan is hitting .348/.464/.457 in 46 at-bats this month, is on a five-game hitting streak himself and his 53 RBIs for the year rank second on the team behind only Gaby Sanchez's 57.

Prospect Watch: Huntsville is an affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. The Stars' lineup is still the best in the SL, but it's undergone a major change since their last visit to Five County Stadium a few weeks ago:

• Mat Gamel, 3b: Gamel was regarded as good prospect entering the year, but he's taken his game to an elite level in 2008. Gamel and outfielder Matt LaPorta had formed one of the minor leagues' deadliest tandems in the first half of the season. But LaPorta has been shipped to the Cleveland Indians for ace lefthander CC Sabathia, a trade that was partly made possible since Gamel's emergence allowed Milwaukee to accept losing LaPorta. With LaPorta gone, Gamel is now the centerpiece of the Huntsville lineup, and he's got a chance to win the Southern League's triple-crown. He leads the circuit in both average and RBIs by wide margins, but his home run total of 15 is five behind league leader Michael Wilson's 20.

Mudcats Musings: Raynor's 15-game hitting streak is the second longest in the SL this season, behind only Mat Gamel's 16-game streak from April 15 through May 1. Raynor has hit .393 during the streak and hasn't had back-to-back hitless games since May 22 and 23.