Durham Bulls celebrate home opener at DBAP, but fall to Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp
The smell of food wafted across downtown Durham upon the smoke generated by the grills charged with cooking it. Bright lights pierced the sky, illuminating the iconic bull above the wall in left field and the surrounding repurposed brick-built factory buildings.
The gathered crowd of 7,824 relished its return to Durham Bulls Athletic Park, soaking the sights, the sounds and, yes, the food.
Following Tuesday’s opener, the Bulls celebrated their first home game of the season with a fireworks display, the bright white lights replaced by colors dancing across the sky
In between, there were fireworks on the field, too. Unfortunately for the Bulls and their fans, the visiting Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp provided most of those.
Lewin Diaz, Lorenzo Quintana and Charles Leblanc each had two hits for Jacksonville, and Max Meyer pitched five innings of perfect baseball to lead the Jumbo Shrimp past the Bulls, 7-0.
After plating a single run in the first inning, the Jumbo Shrimp exploded for five in the second. After two quick outs, five consecutive Jacksonville batters reached on a pair of walks, a pair of singles and a double. The final hit in the sequence, a two-run single from JJ Bleday, plated Diaz and Quintana to push the visitors’ lead to 6-0.
Bleday walked and scored in the fifth to push the Shrimp’s lead to seven, and the pitching held from there. Zach Pop allowed a pair of hits and a walk in his 1.2 innings, but also struck out two and did not allow a run. The Bulls didn’t muster a hit in the final 2.1 innings.
The Bulls (2-5) continue their six-game homestand Wednesday against the Jumbo Shrimp, and will be at home through Sunday, April 17.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 5:45 AM.
