Showing posts tagged “Columbus Clippers”
Adam Sobsey ·
1 Jul 2009, 6:00 AM ·
2 Comments
As I write this, the Durham Bulls are on a bus, probably somewhere in West Virginia. Some of them may be sleeping, recharging their batteries after expending major amps in a four-game sweep of the Columbus Clippers. Last night they clubbed four homers and three doubles, all of those hits save one double off of Kirk Saarloos, whom they beat earlier this year, in a 9-6 win at Columbus.
The Bulls’ gun show was essential, because their bullpen backfired: Julio DePaula and Joe Bateman were lit up for four runs on five hits in just two innings, and only the large cushion they were supplied allowed them to crash-land without any casualties. I mentioned a couple of games ago that the Bulls seemed to be on the verge of a hitting binge, and over the last few games, they’ve gone on that bender: they scored 33 runs in the series against Columbus, and they seem to have gotten their home run stroke back. After leading the league in round-trippers for a good portion of the season, the Bulls fell out of the top spot (although they still lead in doubles). But if they keep on keeping on, they’ll have that lead back soon enough. This is a team that looks explosive again. If Chris Richard finds his swing, so much the better: he still leads the team in homers despite having missed about 40% of the season with hamstring problems.
Last night, Durham wasted no time: the very first batter of the game, Jon Weber, went yard.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Andy Sonnanstine, Bullpen, Chris Nowak, Columbus Clippers, Matt Joyce, Rhyne Hughes
Adam Sobsey ·
30 Jun 2009, 2:00 AM ·
2 Comments
The Durham Bulls had such a miserable home losing streak not long ago that for a few days it seemed like they’d never win again. They would, of course, and did, but it’s still something of a surprise that, with Tuesday’s 4-3 win over Columbus, the Bulls have now won four games in a row. It was the 10th Bulls game in the last 11 decided by two runs or fewer. They maintained their one-game lead over second-place Norfolk.
This was another strong start for Wade Davis, who tossed six solid innings. He allowed all three Columbus runs, but one was unearned thanks to the effects of the second error of the game by first baseman Rhyne Hughes. Hughes also struck out three times, but he did make a savvy play in the last of the sixth, cutting off Matt Joyce’s throw after an RBI single to right field by Wyatt Torregas and gunning down Andy Marte trying to advance to third on the hit. That ended the inning and Davis’s night. Calvin Medlock threw two scoreless innings and Dale Thayer followed with one of his own to earn his 11th save. All in all, it was an old-fashioned ballgame: timely hitting, good pitching and, except for Hughes, good fielding. And in the usual Durham fashion, another close game. Apparently the Bulls find blowouts boring.
The hitting star of the night was Reid Brignac, who had three doubles (one of which was an end-of-the-bat, opposite-field cheapie). It was Brignac’s third straight three-hit game, and it raised his batting average to .302, the highest it’s been since May 6. During that time, his average hasn’t fallen below .274 and has hovered generally in the .280s; Brignac’s consistency has been his best quality. Meanwhile, his on-base average has steadily crept up, and seems to be leveling off at around the .350 mark. If he can keep hitting doubles and mix in the occasional home run, he’ll have major-league-ready numbers. While he’s in Durham though, his week-to-week steadiness makes him an ideal No. 2 hitter: you always know what you can expect from him.
Matt Joyce added a two-run homer, his eighth. It appears that Joyce is coming out of his post-demotion funk. If that’s the case, the Bulls will be an immeasurably more dangerous club. Apparently, though, they’re already (still?) formidable. Amazingly, after last night’s win, the Bulls find themselves in precisely the same position they were in when they returned home from their last road trip, which preceded a disastrous 1-7 homestand: no matter what happens in Tueday’s series-ending, adios-Ohio ballgame at Columbus, they’ll come back to the DBAP and start July in no worse than a tie for first place. It’s almost as if the season is starting all over again. Here’s to new beginnings, and more streaking.
Baseball, Durham Bulls Calvin Medlock, Columbus Clippers, Dale Thayer, Matt Joyce, Reid Brignac, Rhyne Hughes, Wade Davis
Adam Sobsey ·
29 Jun 2009, 2:42 AM ·
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Catching is hard enough on the human body as it is. You have to put on all that heavy, oppressive gear, squat on those aching knees, take foul tips off the fingers and shoulders, crab around for balls off the plate and in the dirt, leap up and down constantly to make high-pressure throws, and run down the line on every infield grounder to back up first base—not to mention, you know, have guys throw baseballs at you as hard as they can. It’s also your job to suggest what sort of baseball they should throw: Fastball? Splitter? Curve? Rose-breasted grosbeak? And by the way, you also have to get your act together and hit a few times each game, too.
So I’ve been having sympathetic pains on John Jaso’s behalf. The Durham Bulls’ catcher has not only done all of the regular duties behind the plate, he has also now caught every single pitch of three extra-inning games in the Bulls’ last six contests. And these weren’t nice little nine-inning ties tidily resolved in the 10th: two have gone 13 innings, and one went 15. These were long, complicated epics, replete with minor characters killed off early, unexpected reversals unexpectedly reversed, great heroism and great failure, scenes of tremendous, lightning-bolt excitement, and even cavernous stretches of yawning boredom.
And the Bulls have won two of these wars of attrition, both on enemy territory, the latest a seesawing 8-7 victory at Columbus. With the win, the Bulls also happen to have first place all to themselves.
Just another day for the Bulls, no?
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Chris Richard, Columbus Clippers, Dale Thayer, Jason Childers, Joe Bateman, John Jaso, Jorge Julio, Julio DePaula, Justin Ruggiano, Luck, Matt DeSalvo, Neil Solondz, Paul Auster, Rhyne Hughes, The Roodge
Adam Sobsey ·
28 Jun 2009, 2:00 AM ·
1 Comment
A week and a day ago at the DBAP, the Bulls jumped on Pawtucket Red Sox’ starter Michael Bowden for six runs in the first inning and appeared to put a quick end to both the game and their five-game losing streak. But that contest came during a horrendous stretch in which Durham kept finding ways to lose: the Bulls didn’t score again, and Pawtucket chipped away at the lead and finally came from behind to win, 8-6.
On Saturday night against the Columbus Clippers, the Bulls charged out of the gate again, this time even more quickly: Henry Mateo hit the second pitch of the game from Jack Cassel out of the park for a leadoff solo home run. The Bulls tacked on three more in the top of the first with generous help from the Clippers, who donated three infield errors.
Still, you could be forgiven for wondering whether the Bulls would find a way to make their hefty first-inning lead stand up. Not only had they choked on their last one against the PawSox, but Durham starter James Houser, who has been struggling badly, was on the mound.
Wouldn’t you know it, Houser turned in probably his best start of the year, and the Bulls sank Columbus, 12-5.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls airborne toxic event, Columbus Clippers, Craig Albernaz, Dewon Day, H1N1, Henry Mateo, James Houser, Justin Ruggiano, Matt Joyce, Mitch Talbot, Reid Brignac
Adam Sobsey ·
3 May 2009, 9:45 PM ·
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DBAP / DURHAM—After a pair of disastrous, er, colonizations at the hands of Columbus on Friday and Saturday, Durham rebounded with a crisp 4-2 win today. The game took just 2:11 to play. The Bulls relief corps was back to its April form, throwing four scoreless, one-hit innings in relief of winner Wade Davis.
(n.b. If you check the box score, don’t believe Davis’ pitch count of 73. In fact he threw many more — 91 by my count, 50 for strikes. The guy manning Dave Levine’s play-by-play computer today got tied up trying to untangle and then record the synopsis of the Bulls’ complicated three-run second inning ex post facto, and he wasn’t able to record most of Davis’ pitches in the third. I don’t know if Levine is gone for the summer — classes at Duke have ended — but if not, come back soon!)
Anyway, one of those scoreless relief innings came courtesy of Jason Isringhausen, making his first appearance in a Bulls uniform.
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Baseball, Durham Bulls Columbus Clippers, Jason Isringhausen, Kirk Saarloos, Wade Davis
