BY DANIEL PRICE

Herald-Sun correspondent

DURHAM -- The Durham Bulls battled back to take a brief lead in Friday night's game against Charlotte, but the Knights put it away in the eighth inning with a pair of runs for a 4-3 victory at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

"We just couldn't come up with the big hit," Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo said. "We had the lead in the eighth inning, and we couldn't hold it."

Charlotte took a 2-1 lead in the second inning and held the margin heading into the sixth. Back-to-back one-run innings starting in the sixth gave the Bulls their first lead of the game at 3-2.

But Knights third baseman Josh Fields answered in the eighth, sending a Jason Childers offering well over the Blue Monster in left field to score two runs to put Charlotte ahead to stay.

"I gave him a 2-0 changeup," Childers said of the only hit he gave up. "It wasn't a very good one. ... He played third base for me all year last year [in Charlotte], so he might have been looking changeup.

"I was struggling with my fastball command again. I just thought I could fool him with a 2-0 changeup, hopefully get him to pop it up or roll over it, and you know he got it solid. It was a no-doubter once he hit it."

Childers was one of three Durham relievers who saw action, joining Julio DePaula and Dale Thayer in five innings of relief for first-time Bulls starter Jeff Bennett.

The Bulls had no trouble getting runners on base or even into scoring position. But when it came time to bring teammates home, Durham batters -- who were missing first baseman Chris Richard, who sat out with a wrist injury -- just couldn't get it done.

Whether it was the two inning-ending double plays triggered by Jon Weber with runners in scoring position or Akinori Iwamura being gunned down at home by Knights center fielder Miguel Negron, crossing home plate seemed an all but impossible task for most of the game.

"That's the story," Montoyo said. "Couldn't come up with a big hit, couldn't hold a lead."

After a 17-strike, two-ball first inning from Bennett, the long-time Major Leaguer struggled with control and exited with the Bulls trailing 2-1 but finished without a decision.

Bennett threw 66 pitches, four shy of his limit, and recorded four strikeouts while allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks.

"I don't know how to describe that one," Montoyo said. "It was really strange. He didn't have any command of anything, and he battled and he gave us a chance. I didn't think he was going to make it to four."

The Bulls begin a four-game series with the Syracuse Chiefs in Syracuse, N.Y., tonight at 7 p.m. to open a seven-day road trip. The series with Syracuse likely will prove vital in the playoff picture, as the Bulls and Chiefs are battling for the wild card spot in the International League.

The Bulls trail the Gwinnett Braves by three games in the South Division.