At Last, a Run

Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

Season: 56-35; Trip: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

Merrill Kelly and Josh Lueke combined to shut out the Braves and the Bulls finally scored a run after being blanked for 18 innings. Oddly enough, they got that run without getting a hit..

Looks like Mr. Kelly is the real thing. Three wins in five starts; an ERA of 2.03 over 31 innings; a WHIP of 1.13. A very nice addition to the rotation.

About that run: The Bulls loaded the bases after Cole Figueroa flied out to begin the 8th. Tim Beckham was hit by a pitch, then stole 2B. Vince Belnome was given an intentional walk, but Ryan Roberts got a walk to load the bases. A pitching change didn't help because Leslie Anderson hit a sac fly to center that scored Beckham for the first Bulls run since the 7th inning against the Tides last Friday.

But it was enough for Bulls' to get a split in their first visit to Georgia. Now they are off to Charlotte.

Outside the game —

• C.J. Riefenhauser will be joining Charlie Montoyo and Neil Allen at this year’s All-Star Futures game. Congratulations!
• Three years ago Dan Johnson hit his 23rd home run and 77th RBI. The Bulls were only 86 games into the season. This year the best power hitting Bull has 11 home runs (Anderson) and most productive Bull has 50 RBI (Belnome). Wil Myers led in both categories before he left, 14 and 57. That may help explain why Bulls fans remember Johnson so fondly.
• Brandon Guyer leads the Bulls in HBP with 12, but consider Shin-Soo Choo of the Reds with 20.

Matchup: Knights vs. Bulls

The Bulls match up well against this year’s Knights. The mismatch between their actual win-loss 41-50 and their Pythagorean Expectation of 43-48 implies a weakness in their relief corps.