Stripers Come Up Short in Durham, 6-3

DURHAM, NC – Pat Valaika crushed a long solo home run over the famous Bull sign in left field in the top of the first inning, but the 1-0 lead wasn’t enough as the Gwinnett Stripers (17-17) fell 6-3 to the Durham Bulls (14-20) on Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Decisive Plays: Shortly after Valaika’s cannon blast (6), the Bulls took the lead for good in the bottom of the first on a two-run double by Rene Pinto off starter Huascar Ynoa (L, 1-2). Josh Lowe added a two-run home run (4) for a 4-1 Durham lead in the third. An RBI double by Greyson Jenista and RBI single by Delino DeShields Jr. helped the Stripers get to within 5-3 in the seventh, but Tristan Gray’s solo shot (5) off Michael Tonkin put the game out of reach at 6-3 in the eighth.

Key Contributors: Hernan Perez went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and Braden Shewmake went 2-for-4 with two singles for the Stripers. Valaika, Jenista, and DeShields all tallied one RBI. Lowe and Pinto combined to drive in five of Durham’s six runs, and starter Josh Fleming (W, 1-0) tossed 5.0 one-run innings in his first Triple-A start of the year.

Noteworthy: With the loss, the Stripers drop to 2-4 in games decided by three runs, 14-9 when scoring first, and 11-7 when hitting a home run. Chadwick Tromp, riding a 13-game hitting streak, 11-game RBI streak, and nine-game extra-base hit streak, had the night off.

Next Game (Saturday, May 14): Gwinnett at Durham, 6:35 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. LHP Kyle Muller (2-1, 3.16 ERA) for the Stripers vs. RHP Kevin Herget (NR). Radio Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, May 17): Gwinnett vs. Memphis, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. It’s Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field, presented by Coolray Heating and Cooling. Grab a $2 hot dog and $1 dessert and enjoy the ballgame.