Herald-Sun correspondent
DURHAM -- In what was essentially a mirror image of Game 1, the Durham Bulls took an early lead on visiting Louisville before a middle-innings rally put the Bats on top for good, as Louisville flipped the script for a 5-2 victory in Game 2 on Thursday night.
With the series now tied at one game each, the Bulls will have to take two out of three games at Louisville Slugger Field to advance to the Governors' Cup Finals.
The Bulls sent six batters to the plate in the first inning with the first three reaching first base safely. The first two, Desmond Jennings and Rashad Eldridge, eventually crossed home plate.
But that was all the scoring the home club would do.
After four innings of futility, during which Louisville plated all five of its runs, Durham seemed poised for a comeback in the sixth, as they loaded the bases with a single and two walks to start the inning. But a not-quite-deep-enough Justin Ruggiano fly out to right followed by a fielder's choice and a groundout left the score the same as it had been entering the frame.
"We had the meat of the lineup, so everything was looking good," Bulls manager Charlie Montoyo said. "When the team is down, and all of a sudden their pitcher starts walking, it's perfect. That's what you want. But we just couldn't take advantage of that."
Elliot Johnson, who was 2-for-2 heading into the sixth, hit a sharp grounder to first after Ruggiano's fly out. But a quick throw home by Louisville first baseman Yonder Alonso left Johnson safe at first with no run coming across.
"It's unfortunate. That's the way it goes sometimes," Johnson said. "Even if we do push one across [with a groundout], it's still 5-3. It doesn't matter.
"Maybe we build off of it. But I'm trying to put something in play where potentially where we can get one or two and keep the rally going. But it didn't work out that way."
In the second through eighth, the Bulls sent just 28 men to the plate (including the six-at-bat sixth), with Bats pitchers putting them down in order five times.
"They shut us down after the first inning," Montoyo said. "That's the story."
While the Bats pitching staff was making short order of the Durham lineup, the Louisville offense used big fourth and fifth innings to overtake the Bulls' 2-0 lead, forcing Durham starter Mitch Talbot out of the game.
Talbot breezed through the first three innings, but then the fourth inning -- Talbot's final scheduled frame -- rolled around. Talbot gave up a lead-off single. And other single. Then another. And another.
That was enough.
Two Bats had crossed home plate, two were on the bags and reliever Calvin Medlock was trotting in from the bullpen with no Louisville outs.
"All my pitches were working. The slider was sharp. The change up was good," Talbot said. "As long as I was locating them, everything was going well. I think they were still pretty decent pitches, as far as stuff-wise. They just caught a little too much plate."
NOTES -- Durham's Jason Cromer takes the mound tonight for Game 3 in Louisville, where the Bulls split a four-game series with the Bats on July 16-19. ... Game 4's starter is still in question, Montoyo said, saying that either Rainer Oliveros or Paul Phillips will get the nod, "Whoever doesn't pitch [today]." ... The Scranton-Wilkes-Barre Yankees took a 2-0 lead over the Gwinnett Braves in Gwinnett. That series shifts to Scranton this evening for the final three games of the set.
