More Banging; Switch Pitching

Season: 34-26; Home Stand: 2-0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

The Bulls had their second big hitting game and a superb pitching performance by Scott Diamond (who has quietly established the best won-loss record of the Bulls starting crew).

Cory Brown led the wrecking crew with two home runs and 5 RBI, but some base running antics also helped. We’ll get to that.

Hak-Ju Lee was in the game for the first time in over two weeks. Just a bunt single at bat. He handled a bunch of opportunities in the field, but also made a throwing error trying to get a double play started. Overall, he looked fine.

We have to admit that from the stands we sometimes (usually) can’t know what’s really going on, but it sure looked like IronPigs pitcher Phillipe Aumont went through a mild meltdown in the bottom of the 5th and then came fully unraveled in the 6th, helping the Bulls pick up their four runs in that inning.

It started with Taylor Motter getting to first base on a walk with one out. Aumont did his best to keep him on base, but Motter eventually stole second while J.P. Arencibia was batting. Motter did quite a bit of dancing off the base and then Aumont came off the mound and started shouting at him. Arencibia came out of the batter’s box and there was a general yapping among the crowd of players and umpires, but apparently no warnings issued. Might have been, not sure, a dispute over Motter stealing signs/indicating pitch location. At any rate, Aumont struck out Arencibia and got Dykstra on a fly ball.

Next inning Eugenio Velez reached first on a single and immediately stole second base and started dancing. Numerous pickoff attempts/steps off the mound had little effect, but Aumont did get a K and a fly out. But then things crumbled. Leonardo Reginatto got to first on the shortstop’s throw into the dirt and Velez scored. Then Aumont got called on a balk. Lots of yammering back and forth with the home plate umpire. Reginatto went into his dance off second base and Aumont served up a single to Ryan Brett and Reginatto scored. That was it for Aumont, who left the field muttering, loudly, and glancing at the ump. The next batter, Cory Brown, hit his second home run of the day off of Aumont’s replacement, Cesar Jimenez.

As I said, sitting up in the stands you can never know just what's going on, but it sure looked like the Bulls baserunners got inside Aumont's head, to his and his  team's disadvantage.

Kirby Yates, one of WDBB's favorite guys, is back in the Durham Bulls bullpen, officially on a rehab assignment. He is far from being his old self and it was surely handy that the Bulls had a 7-1 lead when he came in. Three doubles, a home run, a wild pitch, and only one out before Jhan Mariñez came in to put out the fire.

In the wings —

• Rays star and former Bull Matt Moore pitched a couple of scoreless innings down in Port Charlotte. Box.

Outside the game —

• If you are intrigued by the idea of an ambidextrous pitcher, as I am, here’s a couple of videos. The first is about his glove. What I find interesting is how long he’s been working on this skill (and having a glove designed) and how natural he is switching the glove around. He’s been doing this since childhood. The second shows the first several batters he faced in his major league debut.