Gwinnett Stripers
DURHAM, North Carolina – Led by the solid pitching of Lucas Braun and a four-run third inning highlighted by a go-ahead two-run double from Carlos Santana, the Gwinnett Stripers (16-13, 54-49) defeated the Durham Bulls (19-9, 47-56) 7-3 on Thursday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Gwinnet leads the series 2-1.
dubya in durham.@NorthsideHosp | #GetHooked pic.twitter.com/gb09ol6WDm
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) July 31, 2026
Decisive Plays: After Durham took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second, the Stripers responded with the four-run third to go up 4-2. RBI singles by Rowdy Tellez and Andrew McCutchen and a two-run double by Santana accounted for the scoring. The Bulls cut it to 4-3 on a solo homer from Jacob Melton (5) in the bottom of the third, but Gwinnett got the run back on a solo shot from Brewer Hicklen (17) in the fifth. In the eighth, Hicklen led off with a double and scored on a single by Kyle Farmer, who then scored on a single by Patrick Clohisy to widen the lead to 7-3.
BREW BLASTS ARE SO BACK. @GeorgiaAccess pic.twitter.com/07KLysNYsh
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) July 31, 2026
Key Contributors: Braun (W, 5-2) turned in his first quality start for the Stripers this season, going 6.0 innings (6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO). Rolddy Muñoz (H, 8), Hayden Harris, and James Karinchak combined for six strikeouts over 3.0 scoreless, one-hit innings to finish the game. Santana (1-for-3, double, 2 RBIs) had the lone multi-RBI effort for Gwinnett, while Hicklen (3-for-4, double, homer, RBI) and Farmer (2-for-5, RBI) also had multi-hit efforts with an RBI.
CARLOS FOR DOS pic.twitter.com/fSPJPFmhgg
— Gwinnett Stripers (@GoStripers) July 30, 2026
Noteworthy: Sean Murphy (2-for-5, run) and Ha-Seong Kim (0-for-3, run) both played full games for Gwinnett as they continued rehab assignments for the Atlanta Braves. Braun threw a career-high 105 pitches, the most by a Striper in a game this season (previous high was Herick Hernandez with 103 on July 10 vs. Memphis). McCutchen has hit safely in six straight games for the Stripers, batting .455 (10-for-22, 3 doubles, 1 homer, 4 runs, 5 RBIs, 1 steal, 1.182 OPS) in that span.
Next Game (Friday, July 31): Gwinnett Stripers at Durham Bulls, 6:45 p.m. ET at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Radio Broadcast: 6:30 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. Live Video Stream: Bally Sports Live.
Credit: gostripers.com

