DURHAM, N.C. – Alex Jackson and Austin Riley each homered, Travis Demeritte drove in three runs, and Kyle Wright turned in a 7.0-inning quality start as the Gwinnett Stripers (16-12) defeated the Durham Bulls (14-13) 11-3 on Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.
Scoring Recap: Trailing 1-0 through two innings, the Stripers tied it at 1-1 in the third as Rafael Ortega doubled and scored on a double by Riley. Jackson (2) gave Gwinnett its first lead of the series with a long solo home run to left off Jake Faria leading off the fourth. Later in the fourth, Demeritte laced an RBI double and Luis Marte added an RBI single to make it 4-1. Demeritte smacked a two-run double highlighting a three-run fifth to extend the lead to 7-1, and Jackson notched an RBI single for an 8-1 lead in the sixth. Solo homers by Christian Arroyo (3) and Jason Coats (3) off Wright trimmed the lead to 8-3 in the seventh. Riley (8) answered back with a towering three-run homer down the left-field line off Oliver Drake for an 11-3 lead in the eighth.
Stripers Stats: Wright (W, 2-2) allowed three runs on five hits over 7.0 innings for his first quality start of the season. He walked one and struck out four. Atlanta Braves’ left-hander Jonny Venters continued his rehab assignment with 1.0 scoreless inning. Rafael De Paula struck out all three batters he faced in the ninth. Riley went 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBIs, Demeritte went 3-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Jackson went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs.
Bulls Stats: Faria (L, 2-1) yielded six runs on eight hits over 4.1 innings. Arroyo finished 1-for-4 with a homer and one RBI, and Coats finished 1-for-3 with a homer and one RBI.
Postgame Notes: The win moved Gwinnett a half-game ahead of Charlotte (16-13) for first place in the International League South Division. Adam Duvall (12 games) and Demeritte (9 games) each extended hitting streaks, while Andres Blanco extended his on-base streak to 21 games. Riley blasted his third home run of the road trip. The Stripers now have 40 home runs on the season, including seven in the first three games of May.
Next Game (Saturday, May 4): Gwinnett at Durham, 6:35 p.m. at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. LHP Sean Newcomb (2-1, 2.41 ERA) for the Stripers vs. TBA for the Bulls. Radio Broadcast: 6:20 p.m. on 97.7 and 93.5 FM “The Other Side of the River.”
# # #
The Gwinnett Stripers are the Triple-A International League affiliate of the Atlanta Braves, playing their 11th season at Coolray Field in Lawrenceville, Ga. For tickets, team merchandise or more information, visit GoStripers.com. Follow the Stripers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GoStripers.