Ks Are Not King

Game 33, May 8	R	H	E
Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals)	5	9	2
Durham Bulls (Rays)	3	6	2

Season: 20-13; Home Stand: 0-3

Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Durham Bulls’ pitchers combined for 17 strikeouts yesterday morning and afternoon. How is it that they lost the game? Well, it turns out that among the hits they allowed were two home runs and three doubles.

The 17 Ks were the most of any game this season. Alex Colome got 10 of them in his 5⅔ innings (and his fifth loss). Jeff Beliveau got three in only 1⅓ innings, and Kirby Yates got 4 in his 2 innings. If it weren’t for those pesky home runs and doubles …

Nevertheless, you can’t blame the pitching for this one. The Chiefs came into this series with the worst team ERA in the International League, 5.21. They are still the worst in the league at 4.83, but that modest improvement has come at the expense of the Bulls. If it were updated, yesterday’s hitting chart would show an even more negative trend. Opportunities to come back in 8th and 9th innings didn’t happen.

Meanwhile the park was seething with kids on the last of this year’s education days. I have mixed feelings about those days. Good idea, I suppose, if they were actually watching the game. Sure glad I’m not among the chaperones. Gotta be a thankless job.

Today is the last time the Bulls will see the Chiefs this year. The Chiefs lead the 8-game series 4-3. Here’s hoping the Bulls can even it up.