Gray Drives Durham To 7-5 Win in Charlotte
Posted September 10, 2023 11:01 p.m. EDT
Bulls shortstop Tristan Gray crushed three hits, including two home runs, while third baseman Curtis Mead mashed a homer and left fielder Ruben Cardenas drove in two runs to lead Durham to a 7-5 victory over the Charlotte Knights on Sunday evening at Truist Field.
The Bulls’ win along with Lehigh Valley’s defeat to Buffalo gives Durham a two-game lead in the International League Second Half standings with 12 games left to play. The Norfolk Tides will host the circuit’s second half winner in a three-game postseason series to determine the International League Champion. The winner will then face the Pacific Coast League Champion in the Triple-A National Championship Game in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, September 30.
Gray gave the Bulls the early 1-0 advantage in the second with his first longball of the night, a solo shot. Durham would then strike for a four-spot in the following frame as Cardenas lashed an two-run single to left before Mead mashed his two-run blast to left to make it a five-run margin. The Knights would then plate three tallies in the fourth and two more in the fifth to even the score before Gray left the yard with a tie-breaking two-run opposite-field blast to left.
Sunday night marked the third straight night a Bulls player recorded a multi-homer game after Mead went deep twice on Friday evening, while OF Kameron Misner smashed three roundtrippers on Saturday. It was Gray’s first multi-homer game of the 2023 campaign and his first blasting two big flies on July 30, 2022 with Durham. He was also the lone Bulls batter to record more than one hit in Sunday night’s victory.
Durham reliever Trevor Brigden (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 SO) earned the win with two scoreless frames of support, while right-hander Javy Guerra (1.0 IP, 2 SO) notched the save. Charlotte reliever Yohan Ramirez (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 SO) suffered the defeat.
Durham returns home for their final six games of the 2023 campaign on Tuesday, September 12 to start a six-game homestand versus the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. First pitch of the series opener is set for 6:35pm at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
