Rainy Win

Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay) 11, Norfolk Tides (Baltimore) 5

Game 86, July 6, Durham Bulls Athletic Park

Season: 47-39; Last 10: 5-5

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun, Indy Week

Midway through the 7th inning it looked like the new guys, pitcher Matt Torra and third baseman Daniel Mayora, were going to be the goats of the game. Torra had let three runs across in the first inning and Mayora's two errors in the 7th had let the Tides get to a 5-3 lead. In the bottom of the 7th, it all changed.

Before getting to the bottom of the 7th, however, I've got to bring up the tag team of Brandon Guyer and Dan Johnson. In the 1st Guyer doubled and Johnson singled him home. In the 5th Guyer doubled, stole third base, and Johnson singled him home. In between, Robinson Chirinos hit a home run. As a result, the Tides and Bulls were tied going into the 6th. Lance Cormier served up a home run ball to Rhyne Hughes and then Norfolk, surely watching storm clouds swirling, went into a full-court stall.

I lost count of how many times catchers, managers, and coaches came out to the mound over the next inning and a half all apparently in hope that lightning would strike and the tarp would get pulled before Norfolk's bullpen got exposed to the stadium lights.

Norfolk was ahead by two runs and had one out in the 7th and it was raining. What could go wrong? Walk, walk, RBI single, fly out, walk (bases loaded), new pitcher, RBI walk (score tied), RBI single, RBI single. Bulls ahead by 2, all was right with the world. Rain lessened.

The four-run 8th was icing on the cake, and included a two run homer by prospective goat, Daniel Mayora. What about the other new guy, Matt Tora? Not bad. Could be what the Bulls need to get through this season. 

Here's an odd number: the current crop of pitchers (starters and relievers) account for only 69% of the innings pitched for the Bulls this year. 

Other odds and ends:

• Rays Index has stirred up a minor storm by suggesting that the Rays might trade Desmond Jennings. |Rays Index|
• Meanwhile, Desmond gets a nice article by Kelly Parsons over at the Bulls website. |Durham Bulls|
• Another blog took a close look at the Rays bullpen. Possible implications for the Bulls if they start moving folks around. |DRaysBay|
• Speaking of moving people around. The folks over at Rays Prospects have some opinions on who in the Rays farm system should be moving up and around. |Rays Prospects|
• With all the threatening weather we've been happening, remember that the DBAP has an always on stadium cam that can be checked to see if the tarp is on the field. For your planning, it's about 30-45 minutes from pulling the tarp to baseball. |Stadium Cam|

Chart of the Day — Hitting

The last time we looked at hitting was June 23. Here's how it looks today. This table is sorted by wOBA, which is a stat that does a better job of showing a hitter's contribution to the team than just about any other.

The big guns continue to be Lobaton, Guyer, and Canzler. Picking things up are Lopez, Chirinos, and Anderson.

click on table for larger image

Sources: Stat Corner and Baseball Reference