Jackson’s Two Homers Not Enough in Durham 

DURHAM, N.C. – Alex Jackson slugged a pair of home runs and tallied three RBIs, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a six-double onslaught from the Durham Bulls (34-17) as the Gwinnett Stripers (23-28) lost 9-7 on Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Decisive Play: A three-run double by Vidal Brujan off Touki Toussaint (L, 0-1) gave Durham a decisive 6-2 lead in the third inning. A two-run double by Cristian Pache and RBI single by Ryan Goins cut it to 6-5 in the fourth, but that would be as close as the Stripers would get.

Key Contributors: Jackson lofted a two-run shot (6) to the Tobacco Road restaurant in left-center for a 2-0 lead in the first, and cleared the famous Bull down the left field line with a solo blast (7) to bring the Stripers within 9-6 in the eighth. Drew Waters doubled twice, finishing 2-for-3 with two runs, and Goins went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles. Brujan and Nathan Lukes combined for three doubles and five RBIs for Durham.

Noteworthy: The game marked Jackson’s second multi-homer effort of the year, his first since a career-best three-homer game on May 27 vs. Memphis. Jackson is batting .289 (11-for-38) with seven homers and 17 RBIs in his last 10 games with Gwinnett. Toussaint, in his second rehab start for the Stripers, yielded six runs on five hits, walked five and struck out five over 2.2 innings.

Next Game (Saturday, July 3): Gwinnett at Durham, 6:35 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. RHP Jose Rodriguez (0-2, 11.81 ERA, MLB Rehab) for the Stripers vs. RHP Shane Baz (1-0, 1.29 ERA) for the Bulls. Radio Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, July 6): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field (Family Value Tuesday, $2 hot dogs and $1 desserts, presented by Coolray Heating & Cooling).