Brandon Young dominates Bulls, Norfolk takes series lead with 7-3 win

Brandon Young turned Durham’s lineup into a dead end, and the Bulls spent the night trying to figure out how to dig out of it. The Norfolk right-hander no-hit Durham through 5 2/3 innings, struck out 10 and retired the first 12 hitters he faced in a 7-3 Tides win at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

That is the story Durham has to solve, not just the final score. The Bulls had just put up 19 runs and 20 hits in their previous game, then looked completely out of sync against a pitcher who attacked the zone early and never let them settle in. Young improved to 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA, and by the time Durham finally broke through, the damage was already done.

Dom Keegan spoiled the no-hit bid with an opposite-field home run in the seventh, Durham’s first hit of the game. It at least kept the Bulls from being shut out, but it also underscored how little they created before then. Durham finished with only four hits, and the contrast from the night before was stark enough to make Young’s outing look even cleaner.

The early hole came against Jon Heasley, who was making his first start in Durham’s rotation. Heasley allowed two first-inning runs over three innings and took the loss as Norfolk grabbed control before the Bulls had a chance to settle in. Durham did piece together a brief threat in the fifth when Keegan and Justyn-Henry Malloy walked, moved up on a balk, and scored on Raynel Delgado’s sacrifice fly to make it 3-1, but the Tides answered every time Durham seemed ready to breathe.

Jud Fabian delivered the knockout blows for Norfolk, homering twice and driving in four runs. Both long balls came off Durham reliever KC Hunt, and they turned a manageable game into a one-sided one. Dietrich Enns added a perfect eighth inning with two strikeouts, keeping Norfolk’s lead intact before the Bulls made a final push.

That push came late, with Carson Williams singling and Logan Davidson doubling in the ninth, but Norfolk limited the damage to another sacrifice fly and closed it out. Gavin Lux was unavailable while testing a tweaked ankle from the previous Saturday, though he took early ground balls as part of his work.

The Tides moved ahead in the series three games to two, and Durham dropped to 7-13. Sunday’s finale now comes with a clear question attached: can the Bulls put together a plan that forces contact and pressure earlier, or will another hot starter make their offense look frozen again?