Gameday Stories
August 29, 2008
TALBOT DENIED 14th VICTORY AS BULLS FALL TO KNIGHTS
The Bulls dropped a 7-5 decision Friday to the visiting Charlotte Knights at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park as Mitch Talbot was unable to pick up his 14th win in his final start of the regular season.
Talbot (13-9, 3.86) went threw 102 pitches in five innings, allowing seven hits, five runs - only three earned - and four walks while striking out four. A victory Friday would have given him the Triple-A Bulls record for wins in a single season, a record he tied last year with a 13-9 mark to equal Dave Eiland's 1998 season.
Charlotte scored two unearned runs in the first inning on an error and added three in the third. The Bulls scored on a dramatic play in which Fernando Perez charged home on a passed ball by Cole Armstrong, evading his tag twice before falling on home plate. Durham then rallied for three in the fourth, highlighted by a two-run home run by Elliot Johnson. Charlotte responded by scoring insurance runs in the sixth and eighth innings. The Bulls did manage a run in the bottom ninth and had the tying run at the plate when Jon Weber grounded out to end the game.
Charlotte used six pitchers on the evening, with Ehren Wassermann (3-0, 1.15) getting the win with two scoreless innings. Jason Childers got his 17th save, allowing a run on two hits with a strikeout in the bottom of the ninth.
The Bulls host the Knights Saturday at 7:05 p.m. for the final regular-season game this season at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Jeff Niemann (8-5, 3.66) will go up against Charlotte's Jack Egbert (4-11, 4.51).
