Win One; Lose One; Take a Break

Game 89: Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 5; Norfolk Tides (Baltimore) 3
Wrap, Box

Game 90: Bulls 4; Tides 5
Season: 55-35
Wrap, Box

The Bulls go into the All-Star break as the best Triple-A team in baseball—the International League or the Pacific Coast League. They should be proud of that. They have worked really hard to put together this remarkable record.

Yesterday Brian Baker did a terrific job of standing in for Jeremy Hellickson. Joe Dillon had his best game since coming back from his hamstring injury, and with some help From Elliot Johnson, Angel Chavez and Dioner Navarro, led the Bulls to their 55th win.

Today Carlos Hernandez seemed to be having a tough time of it, even though it was really only a messy 3rd inning that made the difference.

Atypically, the Bulls offense did not get on track until the 9th. At that point, with the Bulls down by five runs, they picked up four quick ones on a Perez walk, Furmaniak single, Ruggiano home run, Dan Johnson double, and Navarro single. (Why, you may ask, was Omar Luna in for Elliot Johnson as a pinch hitter early in the inning to strike out for the first out? Good question. Haven’t a clue.) It all came to an end with Chris Richard grounding into a double play.

Take a break guys. A very, very well-deserved break.

I’ll put together a couple of charts that take a closer look at the team over the next couple of days.

Might take a look at the Futures Game tonight — ESPN2, 6 PM, just to stay in touch.