9th Inning Heroics; Durham Bulls Are National Champions

 

Durham Bulls 10; Reno Aces 6; Box

If you did not get a chance to watch last night's game, you missed a thriller. At first, it looked like the Bulls were going to run away with the game the way they did on Saturday night. But the Aces caught up. After masterful middle innings by both relievers, the Aces got a home run in the bottom of the 8th and it looked like the end. 

But ... top of the 9th ... Aces reliever goes off-script and walks two batters. Double brings in a run, single brings in a run, homer brings in three runs. Bulls reliever slams the door. The Bulls are the national champions!

Very, very pleased to be able to listen to Patrick Kinas & Scott Pose broadcast the final game. They did a spectacular job of creating the illusion that they were at the game. I turned off the MiLB sound, fiddled with the timing to get them in synch with the feed, and thoroughly enjoyed their insights and commentary. They have done a really, really good job this year. We are fortunate to have them in the booth. Note: is it a rumor that Brady Williams won't be back?

This was a good team this year. In particular, was how they stayed with every game, and behaved as a team (at least as far as I could see). This was a group of young men who obviously like playing baseball. And I certainly enjoyed watching them play.

More game stories here and here.

Matchup: Durham Bulls v Reno Aces; Triple-A National Championship

I would have thought that the Bulls might have trouble adjusting to a desert climate. After last night, I guess not. Here we go against the best team in the Pacific Coast League (with all the caveats I've previously mentioned). 

Keeping in mind all the differences in PCL vs IL, these two teams are very close in performance. There is a big difference in managerial experience, though. Gil Velazquez is in his first year managing at AAA level and only his second year managing at any level. But he did lead his team to the championship. 

TV coverage? We were not happy listening to the Nashville Sounds broadcaster last night and we could not find Kinas on-air anywhere. He did say he was going out to Las Vegas with the team, but 99.9 was more interested in Duke football. Maybe tonight. 

Game time 7:05 according the Bulls website.

Durham Bulls Win International League Championship

 

Durham Bulls 13; Nashville Sounds 0; Box

The Durham Bulls scored a run in the top of the 2nd inning and never looked back. And they never let the Sounds pitchers get on track. The Sounds went through 9 pitchers. Only a few of them did not let runs in.

Meanwhile, Vidal Brujan had an exceptional night, winning MVP honors for his 4 hits, a walk, 3 RBI, and 3 runs scored.

I guessed so very wrong on who might be pitching. And that's certainly OK. Cooper Criswell, Calvin Faucher, Angel Perdomo, and Jimmy Yacabonis did not let a run score, struck out 12 batters, and got out of any number of difficult situations (the Sounds left 7 on base and were 0 for 9 RISP).

Game stories (with video) here, here, and here.

Now for the Reno Aces.

Triple-A Championship Games Begin

Let us stipulate from the beginning that this whole business of a "Triple A National Championship" is outside the norms of traditional baseball competition. Not exactly a sham, but also not a true test of the teams involved. One game should not decide a baseball championship. 

Of the 30 teams in Triple-A baseball, 10 are in the Pacific Coast League and 20 are in the International League. The PCL has East and West Divisions of 5 teams each. The IL has East and West Divisions of 10 teams each. The Durham Bulls are in the IL East Division.

Nuts and bolts of this weekend.

Everything happens out in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Las Vegas Ballpark. 

Las Vegas Ballpark

Games are supposed to be streamed for free on MiLB.TV. I think, but am not sure, that the Bulls game is on local radio as well. The easiest way to reach links will probably be at the Bulls' website.

On Friday, September 30th, a championship game for the Triple-A Pacific Coast League will be played between the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres), who won the PCL East Division,  and the Reno Aces (Arizona Diamondbacks). End of season standings. The game is scheduled to begin at 10:05 EDT.

Bulls v Sounds

On Saturday night, 9:05 EDT, the Durham Bulls will play the Nashville Sounds for the International League Championship. These two teams have actually seen each other a lot this year. They have played 18 times, 6 in Nashville and 12 in Durham. Overall, the Sounds have won 10 of those 18 games. Probably most relevant is the last series August 23-28. The Bulls won just 2 of 6 games but were outscored just 30 to 39.

On paper, the Sounds have an advantage. But, if you drive down to the details, and the fact that it's just one game, it will surely be the pitching. We don't know who will be starting for the Bulls, but they've got a couple of good choices (Keven Herget and Taj Bradley come to mind) and we can hope that the Rays will not be dictating the rotation. That, in turn, means that the real contest might be between Manager Brady Williams for the Bulls and Rick Sweet of the Sounds. Sweet has a lot more AAA experience under his belt. Will it make a difference? I guess we'll see.

Sunday night?  Let's hope the Bulls will be playing.

Durham Bulls Win International League East

Decisive pitching and hitting last night clinched it just one day from the end of the season. Bulls play final game this morning then off to Las Vegas to play the Nashville Sounds on Saturday. Good Luck. No info yet on radio/tv coverage. Standings.

It was quite a year. Full of ups and downs.

Durham Bulls: 2 Games Left; Tonight?

The Bulls prevailed against 9 Charlotte pitchers last night. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders split a doubleheader, slipping to 2 games back. A Bulls win, or a RailRiders loss, and the Bulls win the International League East and head for Las Vegas. Here's hoping we find out if the games will be televised, time, channel, etc. But, it ain't over 'til it's over. Standings.

Durham Bulls: 3 Games Left; Off to Charlotte

The Bulls are 1½ games ahead of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. They have three games in Charlotte to finish the season. The RailRiders have four games, all at home, against the Buffalo Bisons.  Both teams need to keep winning to make it to the playoffs in Las Vegas on October 1st. 

Very, very nice end-of-season run by the Bulls. They need to keep it up for the next couple of days. Standings.