Gray, Conine return to Durham and lead Jacksonville by Bulls

DURHAM, N.C. – Tristan Gray homered and Griffin Conine drove in a run and threw out two runners on the bases on Tuesday to lead the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp to a 5-3 victory over the Durham Bulls from Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Jonathan Davis led off the game with a base hit off Durham (1-3) starter Jake Odorizzi (0-1). Two batters later, Dane Myers singled before Gray, in his return to Durham after playing two years for the Bulls, socked a three-run home run to give Jacksonville (2-2) the first blow.

The Jumbo Shrimp added to their lead in the third. Troy Johnston singled with one out before Jacksonville loaded the bases thanks to a Myers walk and Gray hit-by-pitch. After a strikeout, Conine, who played collegiately at nearby Duke University, walked with the bases loaded to widen the gap to 4-0.

A Will Banfield homer in the fifth made it 5-0 Jacksonville.

Jumbo Shrimp starter Patrick Monteverde (1-0) had retired 10 in a row before ceding a double to Logan Driscoll to start the bottom of the fifth. After a walk, Niko Goodrum’s two-bagger brought in a pair to get the Bulls on the board. Tristan Peters followed with a double of his own to make it 5-3.

Tremendous pitching and defense for Jacksonville helped keep the score there for the remainder of the game. Conine threw out Peters trying to stretch a single into a double in the seventh.

In the eighth, the Bulls put two on with nobody out, but Anthony Maldonado came out to induce a nifty 3-6 double play and strike out Ronny Simon to end the threat.

Maldonado ran into trouble, though, in the ninth. He punched out Driscoll, but then hit Alex Jackson and walked Goodrum and Peters to load the bases. Jake Mangum then lined a ball to right. Conine made the catch and then threw out Jackson at the plate to end the game.

Jacksonville and Durham meet in Wednesday’s 6:35 p.m. contest. RHP Darren McCaughan (0-0, 4.50) starts for the Jumbo Shrimp against Bulls LHP Joe Rock (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Coverage begins at 6:20 p.m. on ESPN 690 AM and www.ESPN690.com.

ABOUT THE JUMBO SHRIMP: The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and compete in the International League. The team calls 121 Financial Ballpark home for baseball but also a wide variety of additional community focused events with a goal of providing Affordable, Family, FUN to Northeast Florida. Winners of many marketing and sales awards and recognition since the team was rebranded prior to the 2017 season, the Jumbo Shrimp continually lead the state of Florida in attendance across all minor league professional sports organizations.