Bulls 4 Game Win Streak Ends With 5-0 Loss at Columbus

[Game Recap Provided by Bull's Neil Solondz]

(Columbus, OH) Dan Johnson went 4-for-4, but the Bulls hit into five double plays on Sunday in a 5-0 loss at Columbus, snapping Durham's four-game win streak.

Johnson collected his first hit in the second, a single to right. Ryan Shealy then ripped a ball on the ground to left, but the ball was called just foul. Shealy, who had homered in four of five games, then flew out to the warning track. Elliot Johnson singled, but the next two batters were retired, ending the inning.

Wes Hodges then homered two pitches into the second off Aneury Rodriguez (2-2), giving the Clippers a 1-0 lead. The homer into the left field bleachers was Hodges' fourth of the year.

Columbus then tacked on two in the third on a sac fly by top prospect Carlos Santana, and a two-out single by last year's IL MVP Shelley Duncan.

Durham had a chance in the fifth against Josh Tomlin (4-1), loading the bases with one out, but Tomlin got Fernando Perez to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. In the bottom of the frame, Jason Donald singled, stole second, and Santana followed with a two-run homer to right, his seventh, to close the scoring.

Durham had the leadoff runner on in seven of nine innings, and had runners on base in every frame, but was shut out for the third time this year. The Bulls hit into double plays in the last three innings, and five of the last six.

In addition to the four-hit game by Dan Johnson, Rashad Eldridge went 2-for-3. Heath Rollins followed Rodriguez with two innings of hitless relief.

The Bulls and Columbus, now tied for the IL's best record at 23-15, will wrap up the four-game series on Monday at 6:35. The Bulls, who can take three of four with a win, will start Richard De Los Santos, a righty, against lefty Mike Gosling. Air time on 620 the Buzz is at 6:20 p.m.