Durham Bulls defeat Reno Aces 10-6, win Triple-A Championship
Another wonderful minor league season has come to a close Sunday night. The Triple-A Championship was played between the Reno Aces and Durham Bulls, resulting in the Bulls winning 10-6.
The Bulls are now back-to-back Triple-A champions, taking their total championship total to four. Their MLB team Tampa Bay Rays are no strangers to developing talent, so it’s no surprise to see their affiliates succeed.
Durham attacked early, scoring four runs in the first two innings. That lead quickly diminished, as the Aces jumped for three runs in the second and two in the third. Right-hander Yonny Chirinos came in relief and dominated through four innings. Only two hits were allowed by Chirinos as he kept the Aces scoreless.
Edwin Uceta for the Aces matched Chirinos, throwing 4 1/3 scoreless innings. Giving up two hits, one walk, and five strikeouts, Uceta kept the Aces in the game.
The Aces and Bulls were going back and forth all game. A 4-0 lead for the Bulls quickly turned into a 4-4 game. A 5-4 Aces lead starting in the third became a 5-5 score in the seventh. With the Aces as the home team, all they needed was a lead heading into the ninth inning.
The Aces did exactly that. Dominic Canzone hit a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth, and all of a sudden the Aces were three outs away from their first championship since 2012.
Obviously, any level of baseball is hard to close out and win. With a 6-5 lead, former Oakland Athletic J.B. Wendelken came in to close the door.
The Bulls late-inning heroics
As I said, this game is never easy. Even for major leaguers, playing in Triple-A can still be tough. With runners at first and second and no outs, Bligh Madris hit a tying double of Wendelken to even it out 6-6. Shortly after that, Rene Pinto hit a go-ahead single with the bases loaded to give the Bulls a 7-6 lead. Wendelken left the game after only recording one out, but the damage he left came back to hurt the Aces.
Tristan Gray, who’s been leading the Bulls offensively, hit the dagger with a moonshot.
All of a sudden, it was 10-6 Bulls heading into the bottom of the ninth. Right-hander Dusten Knight came in and threw an easy 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts to close it out.
With the win, the Bulls seem to be becoming a Triple-A dynasty. They were the 2021 champs with a 9-5 win over the Charlotte Knights, the White Sox affiliate. It’s now their fourth title in franchise history, and their third in the last five years.
That will officially wrap up the 2022 Triple-A season. The Rays have a bright future with their minor league success, as they hope their success can transfer to the big leagues and win themselves their first-ever World Series.
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