Bulls Blanked In Charlotte, 3-0

Charlotte, NC -- Three Charlotte pitchers combined on a five-hitter as the Knights blanked the Durham Bulls 3-0 on Monday night.

Shawn Haviland worked five scoreless innings in his Triple-A debut, with Erik Johnson (W, 1-0) and Eric Surkamp collaborating on the final four innings of Charlotte's first shutout of the season.

Scott Diamond pitched five innings of five-hit ball in his organizational debut for the Rays. Diamond fanned two and didn't walk a batter. He signed late in spring training with Tampa Bay and pitched in only one game in spring training before Monday night's start.

The Knights (3-2) broke the 0-0 stalemate in the sixth against CJ Riefenhauser, scoring all three runs in that frame. Jared Mitchell led off with a triple, then scored on a grounder. Riefenhauser permitted consecutive doubles for the second run, then a pinch-single by Engel Beltre brought home the third.

The Bulls' (2-3) only threat occurred in the ninth against Surkamp. Jake Elmore singled and advanced to second on an error by Mitchell in left field. Two outs later, Surkamp walked a pair to load the bases ahead of Taylor Motter. On a 1-0 pitch, Motter poppoed out to Surkamp to end the game.

Jim Patterson tossed two perfect innings for Durham.

The Bulls' six-game season-opening road trip ends on Tuesday night with International League pitcher of the week Dylan Floro (1-0, 0.00) opposing Charlotte's Brad Penny at 7:05 PM ET.