Bulls Back in Town

 

The Bulls did not have a particularly successful post-All-Star trip. They won 4 games, two against St Paul and 2 against Rochester, and lost 5, 1 to St Paul and 4 to Rochester. They now stand 10-11 for the 2nd half of the season. That puts them in a tie for 14th place in a 20-team league, almost 200 percentage points behind the league leaders Worcester and Lehigh Valley. Standings.

Statistically, last week was pretty much a wash. They ended up 10th in OPS and 5th in ERA. They are not helping each other on offense with awful, league-leading strikeout numbers, 974. Roughly a quarter of the time a Bull comes to bat he strikes out. And they are not running bases very well, 16th in total number of bases stolen (74) and they lead the league in number of times caught stealing (40). Stats.

About them Rays

Meanwhile, The Bulls' parent club, the Tampa Bay Rays, are having an awful July. See chart at the top. After leading the American League East (and most of the rest of baseball) since the beginning of the season, they dropped 3 of 4 against the Baltimore Orioles. At home. In their own bandbox-by-the-bay. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Matchup

Matchup: Bulls vs Knights, July 24, 2023
As of July 23	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	Fld%
Durham Bulls (Rays)	10-11	14	9	.803	4.89	1.44	.977
Charlotte Knights (White Sox)	3-17	20	-84	.741	6.32	1.72	.978
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning;

The Charlotte Knights are in town. They are having a much worse second half than the Bulls. They've only won 3 games so far and have stats to match. The last time they were in town, June 13-18, however, they won 3 of 6. 

The Mighty Falls

American League East, 2023, Games above/below .500

 The Tampa Bay Rays, parent club of the Durham Bulls, have fallen in recent weeks. They play 4 games against the Orioles, at Tampa Bay, this week.

Wins in St Paul; Off to Rochester

 

Matchup: Bulls vs Red Wings, July 18, 2023
As of July 17	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	Fld%
Durham Bulls (Rays)	8-7	10	14	.807	4.83	1.44	.977
Rochester Red Wings (Nationals)	7-8	14	-35	.755	5.45	1.59	.981
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning;

The Bulls came off the All-Star break to play a 3-game set way up in St. Paul, Minnesota. They won two games out of three, and both times in the 9th inning. Starting out, the Saints were in 1st place in the International League. They are now a half-game back from Worcester. The Bulls did not move much in the standings. They are in a three-way tie for 10th place in the 20-team league. Standings.

We were surprised at the lack of roster turmoil over the break. The most notable change was infielder Austin Shenton being called up from Montgomery. After woeful first days at bat, he came up with a home run and a single in yesterday's unusual game (the Bulls scored the winning runs in the top of the 9th off of a bases-loaded walk and a bases-loaded passed ball). 

Matchup

The Rochester Red Wings are the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals. These 6 games will be the only time the Bulls see them this year. In the second half the Red Wings are off to a poor start and the Bulls have an edge in all statistical categories except for fielding. However, as usual, who knows what the Rays and the Nationals have in mind for their teams?

Durham Bulls Starts Second Half

The Bulls matched against last week's opponent (Norfolk, currently in 5th place), next Friday's opp (St Paul, in 1st place), and next Monday's (Rochester, currently tied with the Bulls in 3rd)

The International League doesn't have an All-Star game anymore, but it does take an All-Star break along with the Majors. That means we won't have any games until next Friday. How are the Durham Bulls doing in the second half?

After 6 games in Jacksonville (3-3) and splitting 6 games at the DBAP at home against Norfolk. the Bulls are 6-6. That puts them in 11th place in the 20-team International League, but just three games back from 1st place St Paul. Standings. 

Not too much has changed in the stats to begin the 2nd half. The most worrisome is the dismal strikeout pattern. The Bulls are the worst in the league. And they lead the league in getting caught stealing. That leads to some worries about the coaching staff.

On the other hand, if you would like to see/hear some baseball thrills at their finest, you could do no worse than to cue up your MiLB-TV app and replay the bottom of the 9th of the Bulls/Tides 4th of July game. Fast forward to 3:25 or so. The crowd was huge, 11,000, because of the postgame fireworks show. The Bulls were losing 0-5, but folks started chanting because, oh, why the hell not? The Bulls did get a couple of runners on, but also got up to two outs and a 3-2 count. And then ... Well you'll have to watch it yourself. See the link Enjoy.

Matchup

Matchup: Bulls vs Saints, July 14, 2023
As of July 9, 2023	W-L	Rk	RDiff	OPS	ERA	WHIP	Fld%
Durham Bulls (Rays)	6-6	11	11	.808	4.88	1.44	.977
St Paul Saints (Twins)	9-3	1	46	.833	4.67	1.55	.984
RDiff-Run differential;  Rk - Rank in International League; WHIP - Walks/Hits per Inning;

After the All-Star break the Bulls are off to St Paul, Minnesota for their first-ever game against the Twins AAA franchise, the St Paul Saints. The Saints are a very good team. Notable is a roster that includes 6 batters with OPSs over .900. Since Jonathan Aranda got called up, the Bulls are down to 0 batters over .900 (not counting young Blake Hunt). Now, there's no telling how many of those guys will be with the Saints next Friday, but probably most of them.

After three days in St Paul, the Bulls go around a couple of Great Lakes to Rochester, New York to play 6 games against the Rochester Red Wings. They aren't back in town until July 25th. Looks like the DBAP will be getting a long rest.