Matchup: Durham Bulls vs Norfolk Tides

Given the relentless pace of a minor league season, it just doesn’t seem fair that the Bulls had to take a day off while on the road. But that’s what happened. Today’s game starts at 1905.

If it seems like the Bulls just finished playing the Norfolk Tides, Baltimore’s AAA team, you’d be right. A few days ago they played two games in Norfolk and two games in Durham. The Bulls split the series 2–2. Since then the Bulls have gone 2–4 against two North Division opponents and the Tides have gone 2–4 against Gwinnett and Charlotte. Both teams are back where they were on June 6th when we posted this matchup.

As might be expected, the Tides are very well-matched with the Bulls being 14th in hitting and the Tides being 13th. The Bulls are 7th in pitching and the Tides 12th. If you crank their run differentials through the Pythagorean Expectation formula, the Tides “should” be much better (26–41 instead of 23–44) and the Bulls “should” be even worse (27–41 instead of 30–38).