Jacksonville strands Durham, 4-3

A pair of former Durham Bulls paced the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp past Durham 4-3 at the DBAP on Thursday night.

Three-year Bulls infielder Tristan Gray homered for the third straight game, while right-hander Yonni Chirinos (W, 1-1), who spent portions of four seasons with Durham, worked five innings of one-run ball to lead the Shrimp (3-3) past the Bulls (2-4).

Jacksonville jumped on Durham starter Mason Montgomery (L, 0-2) for a pair of runs in the first inning, then added another run on a single from former Duke standout Griffin Conine in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead.

Jake Mangum singled home Ruben Cardenas against Chirinos in the fourth to put the Bulls on the board before Gray’s home run in the fifth restored a three-run lead for Jacksonville 4-1.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Bulls mounted their best offensive chance. CJ Hinojosa blooped a single inside the right field line to start the rally before Mangum singled him to second.  A Shrimp error loaded the bases, but after a popout, Dominic Smith stroked a two-run single to right to draw Durham to within 4-3.

The Bulls stranded the tying run at second in the seventh, and in the ninth put two aboard with one out before Tristan Peters flied out to the right field wall for the second out before Osleivis Basabe struck out as a pinch-hitter to end the game.

Durham stranded 14 baserunners in the defeat.

Durham’s six-game homestand continues Friday, April 7th at 6:35 PM ET against the Jumbo Shrimp. Nathan Wiles (0-1, 12.00) matches up against Shrimp RH Edward Cabrera (0-0, 0.00).