Stripers’ Bullpen Struggles in 16-9 Loss to Durham

DURHAM, N.C. – The Gwinnett Stripers (54-61) held a 3-1 lead midway through the sixth inning, but the Durham Bulls (66-51) exploded for 15 runs the rest of the way for a 16-9 rout on Thursday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Decisive Plays: Forrest Wall led off the game with a solo home run to center field (7) for a 1-0 lead, and Braden Shewmake’s RBI single broke a 1-1 tie for a 2-1 lead in the third. Gwinnett carried a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, but a solo homer by Vidal Brujan (9) and grand slam by Diego Infante (1) highlighted a seven-run frame as Durham went ahead 8-3. The Bulls added four in the seventh and eighth, getting homers from Tristan Gray (23) and Nick Dini (8) in the process. Daniel Robertson (2) went deep for the Stripers as Gwinnett scored six runs over the final two innings.

Key Contributors: Wall (4-for-6, double, homer, RBI) finished a triple shy of the cycle, while Shewmake (3-for-6, double, 3 RBIs) and Robertson (2-for-5, homer, RBI) also had multi-hit games. Darius Vines (L, 2-1) yielded four runs – two earned – on three hits and struck out seven over 5.2 innings. For Durham, Gray, Dini, and Infante combined to drive in 10 of the 16 runs.

Noteworthy: Wall’s homer was his third leadoff clout of the season, and the seventh for the Stripers this year. Shewmake extended his on-base streak to a season-best 19 games with his three-hit night. Jesus Aguilar matched the Gwinnett single-game record for walks with four. Drew Lugbauer has at least one hit and one RBI in each of his first three Triple-A games.

Next Game (Friday, August 18**):* Gwinnett at Durham, 6:35p.m. ET at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. LHP *Dylan Dodd** (3-5, 7.21 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Nathan Wiles (4-1, 5.43 ERA) for the Bulls. Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. ET on 1077TheBreeze.com (high school football airing on MyCountry993.com).