Late Lead Slips Away from Gwinnett in 7-6 Loss to Durham
DURHAM, NC. – The Gwinnett Stripers (11-12) surged to a 5-3 lead after six innings but could not close the door on a Durham Bulls (10-13) offense that scored four runs over the final two innings, including a walk-off RBI by Bob Seymour in the ninth inning, to snatch a
DURHAM, NC. – The Gwinnett Stripers (11-12) surged to a 5-3 lead after six innings but could not close the door on a Durham Bulls (10-13) offense that scored four runs over the final two innings, including a walk-off RBI by Bob Seymour in the ninth inning, to snatch a 7-6 victory away from the Stripers on Wednesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Decisive Plays: A home run in the first inning by Logan Driscoll and a two-run blast by Austin Shenton in the third inning shot Durham out to a 3-0 lead after three innings. Skye Bolt laced an RBI double down the left field line to get the Stripers on the board in the fourth. Down 3-1, Gwinnett erupted for a four-run sixth inning that featured a two-run double by J.P. Martinez. The 5-3 lead held until the eighth, when Shenton cranked a three-run home run to put Durham back in front 6-5. An RBI single by Luke Waddell in the ninth extended the game to the home half, where Seymour lined a walk-off RBI single through the right side to give Durham a 7-6 win.
Key Contributors: Alejo Lopez (3-for-5, 2B, 3 SB) set a new season high with three stolen bases. Bolt collected the only multi-RBI game for Gwinnett while Yuli Gurriel and Eli White also had two-hit nights. For Durham, Shenton (4-for-4, 2B, 2 HR, 5 RBI) went on a rampage while Driscoll (1-for-4, HR, RBI) and Seymour (1-for-4, RBI) had the other RBI.
Noteworthy: Drake Baldwin went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts to see his 20-game on-base streak snapped. Lopez is batting .429 (21-for-49) with six doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI, and seven stolen bases in 13 games against Durham this season. Gurriel now has nine multi-hit outings over his last 16 games dating back to June 26.
Next Game (Thursday, July 25): Gwinnett at Durham, 6:35 p.m. ET at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. Starting pitcher is TBD for Gwinnett while LHP Drew Jeffrey Springs (0-2, 4.32 ERA) will start for Durham.
Next Home Game (Tuesday, July 30): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. It's Coolray Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field, as fans can get $2 hot dogs and $1 desserts.