Durham sweeps three in series against Tides

Despite belting three home runs, the Norfolk Tides lost 5-3 Sunday at Durham, giving the Bulls (51-42) a three-game International League series sweep in North Carolina.

Tides starter Kyle Bradish, on a rehabilitation assignment from Baltimore, pitched 4 ⅔ innings, giving up two runs, four hits and a walk while striking out six.

Both runs scored on Jonathan Aranda’s homer to left field in the fourth, putting Durham ahead 2-0.

Bulls starter Taj Bradley, a 21-year-old making his Triple-A debut, shut out Norfolk (44-49) on three hits for five innings, striking out eight and walking none.

Kyle Stowers answered with a homer to center in the sixth, cutting the Tides’ deficit to 2-1.

The Bulls pulled ahead 5-1 in the sixth on RBI doubles by Rene Pinto and Ryan Boldt, followed by Tristan Gray’s run-scoring single.

Norfolk again trimmed the deficit on solo homers by Robert Neustrom in the seventh and Gunnar Henderson in the eighth, but Javy Guerra retired the Tides in order in the ninth for a save.

Saturday, Durham’s fifth home run of the night, a three-run blast in the eighth inning by Grant Witherspoon, proved decisive as the Bulls won 9-8 before 9,065.

The Bulls belted three homers in the bottom of the second off veteran Matt Harvey to go ahead 4-1. Harvey struck out five and walked none in two innings.

The Tides responded with a six-run third inning. Stowers doubled home Jordan Westburg and Henderson, and Richie Martin hit an RBI double. Jacob Nottingham’s two-run homer put Norfolk ahead 6-4 and Terrin Vavra hit an RBI single. The Tides made it 8-4 in the fourth on a Stowers homer.

Gray slugged a two-run homer to right in the sixth to trim Norfolk’s lead to 8-6. In the eighth, Gray

and Ruben Cardenas each singled before Witherspoon knocked an 0-1 pitch over the wall in right.