Bulls v RailRiders in Governors' Cup Finals

This is the matchup that seemed to be coming all year. The RailRiders went through the season with an exceptional won-loss record, although they stumbled just a little bit near the end. Nevertheless, they ended the year leading the entire International League in almost every statistical category.

The Bulls played the RailRiders seven times this year, all in August. In the four games at the DPAC, the Bulls split 2-2. Up in Moosic (the Scranton/Wilks-Barre team plays in neither Scranton nor Wilkes-Barre), the Bulls won 2 of 3. In other words, they are 4-3 on the season. The RailRiders are the defending Governors' Cup champions, which might give them a slight edge.

The biggest intangibles are the impact of September transactions, management skills, sheer luck ... and IRMA, whose impact may delay things tomorrow.

Bulls are working out today. Game time tomorrow is 6:35.

Here's the hit that won Saturday's game.

Bulls Win Game #4; First Round of Governors' Cup

Durham Bulls: 4; Indianapolis Indians: 3
Wrap, Indianapolis Wrap, Box

The Bulls won game 4 to win the first round of the International League Governors' Cup series. Now they come home to face either the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders or the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (SWB leads 2-1).

Durham relievers made all the difference after Justin O'Conner's single drove in two runs in the 8th. Hunter Wood got the first out of the 8th; Adam Kolarek got the second; Diego Castillo got the third. Then Castillo went on to get the save in the 9th.

Up in Moosic ...

Lehigh Valley IronPigs: 1; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: 6
Wrap, Box, Scranton Times

Bulls Shut Out in Game #3

Durham Bulls: 0; Indianapolis Indians: 5
Indy Wrap, IL Wrap, Box

We haven't seen a "wrap" from the Bulls this morning, but listening to parts of the game it was clear that the Indian's pitching was dominant. I have to say that I was a bit puzzled by Sandberg's use of two pitchers in the 6th inning, followed by letting newcomer Brandon Lawson twist in the wind through the 7th and 8th. Another difference last night was some  minor roster shuffling with Jake Hager playing at 2B and Michael McKenry catching.

Brent Honeywell is scheduled to start tonight. He has not pitched since Sep 3 when he put in a fine outing down at Gwinnett. So he should be rested.

In the North:

Lehigh Valley IronPigs: 2; Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders: 4
Wrap, Box, Times-Leader

They are tied 1-1 now and move to Moosic, PA to wind up their series.

Beautiful Game #2

Durham Bulls: 2; Indianapolis Indians: 0
Wrap, Indy Wrap, Box, Play-by-Play

If you're a baseball fan, especially if you're a Bulls' fan, and you missed last night's game, too bad. It was a terrific one.

We saw two very good young pitchers. One of them, Indianapolis' Tyler Glasnow, was in top form. When Willy Adames came to bat in the 1st inning Glaznow threw four pitches: 97, 97, 98, and 99 mph. Adames rolled a grounder to 1B for an out.

The other pitcher, Durham's Yonny Chirinos, wasn't quite as sharp and he gave up 7 hits over his 7 innings. However, almost every ball hit off him was a ground ball, and the infield backed him up with three very pretty double plays.

Then we got to watch Jake Bauers at bat and on the field. He took Glasnow's first pitch of the 2nd inning and put it over the centerfield wall. His 8th inning single drove in Durham's second run. And his glove work was amazing, especially his inning-ending grab and toss to the pitcher to end the 8th.

Plus I have to mention how great it is to be at a game where the stands are filled with nothing but baseball fans (OK, maybe a couple came for the all-you-can-eat come on and fireworks). I've not been to a game this year where the fans were more into the game than this one. And knowledgable. Boy, was it fun. I watched the 9th from the right field stands and even those few folks were jumping and cheering as Diego Castillo struck out the side to get the save.

Meanwhile:

• Lehigh Valley came from behind to win the first game of their series against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the 12th inning. Box, Morning Call
• Here's a rant about roster expansion that doesn't mention my concern: ripping off players when AAA teams are in a playoff. USA Today
• And a fascinating piece on sign-stealing. Slate

Bulls Win Game One

Durham Bulls 10; Indianapolis Indians 3
Wrap, Box, Play-by-Play

The team on the field mostly resembled the team that played in Durham all year. Notably

• Johnny Field (111 games) playing center field and leading off: 2 hits, 1 RBI, and scored 3 runs
• Willy Adames (130 games) playing short and batting third: 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs
• Jake Bauers (132 games) playing 1B and batting cleanup (Casey Gillaspie having been traded a few weeks ago): 2 hits, 1 RBI, 2 runs
• Patrick Leonard (131 games) playing in right field and batting 5th: 2 hits, 1 RBI, 1 run (3 k's, though)
• Kean Wong (105 games) playing 2B, batted 8th: drew a walk and scored a run

The rest of the lineup had seen a good bit of playing time with the Bulls this year. One of them, Daniel Robertson, we saw a lot of last year.

• Daniel Robertson at 3B, 11 games, batting second: 1 BB 
• Shane Peterson the DH, 76 games, batting 6th: 1 hit, 1 RBI, 1 run
• Taylor Featherston in left field, 31 games, batting 7th: 1 hit, 2 RBI
• Justin O'Conner catching, 20 games: 1 RBI

Even though Indy's pitcher looked awful in the first inning, the game was tight with the Indians coming back with solo home runs in 3rd and 4th. But in the 5th the Bulls started off with two singles and a 2-RBI double. Four runs and seven batters later the Bulls had put up a total of 6 runs and had the game in hand.

Other than the two dingers, 2017 stalwart Ryan Yarborough was terrific. Here's hoping he gets a call-up — after the playoffs are done. I'd like to see him pitch one more game.

The game started with a 1-hour delay and the 9th was played in an absolute deluge.

Meanwhile, up Allentown the RailRiders-IronPigs game was postponed due to rain. Good article on roster turmoil on both teams in the Morning Call.

Can't close without noting that none of the local media appear to have covered the game. Not one TV station or newspaper that I've come across. Shame on them!

Starting Rotation for Playoffs

The playoff rotation is set

G1: Yarbrough (13-6, 3.43)
G2: Chirinos (12-5, 2.74)
G3: Smith (2-1, 1.65)
G4: Honeywell (12-8, 3.64)#BULLieve pic.twitter.com/W49S1ieaz3

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) September 5, 2017

On to the Playoffs!

The Bulls wrapped up a great season down at Gwinnett yesterday and have a day off before their first round playoff game against the Indianapolis Indians tomorrow. First pitch: 6:35.

Statistically, these two teams are a wash in essentially everything but the won-loss column and, probably, the performance of their bullpens. We'd expect the Bulls to have a better bullpen. On the other hand, the Bulls offensive performance since mid-season has been nothing special.

Recent days: The Bulls are 9-6 over the last 15 games; the Indians are 9-6 over the last 15 games.

It may come down to call-ups and in that regard, the Bulls' relief pitching may be at a slight disadvantage. On the other hand, the first couple of starters are awfully good (Yarborough, Chirinos, & Honeywell).

The Bulls have an edge on the season against the Indians, 6-4, and just recently won 2 out of 3 at the DBAP.

Meanwhile, a shout-out to the IronPigs who put together a 6-game winning streak to grab the wild card slot on the last day of the regular season!  They get to play Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the first round, the same team they've played for their last four regular season games (and they won them all).