From WRAL.com
Richard’s slams give Bulls win
Chris Richard’s second grand slam of the night, a walk-off shot to centerfield, was the finishing touch on a night that the Bulls recovered from an 8-1 deficit to defeat the Louisville Bats, 13-9 on Friday, May 15, 2009, at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Chris Richard’s second grand slam of the night, a walk-off shot to centerfield, was the finishing touch.

Richard ended the day with eight RBIs while going 3-5 from the plate. His two grand slams are a Bulls’ Triple-A record while his RBI total was one shy of tying the Bulls’ Triple-A record, set by Scott McClain in 1998.

The come back started in the bottom of the fourth after the bats plated five runs in their half of the inning to take their largest lead of the game. Durham answered back with a two-run home run from Ray Olmedo, cutting Louisville’s lead to 8-3.

Richard’s grand slam in the eighth cut Louisville’s lead to one and a double from John Weber in the bottom of the ninth tied the game at nine apiece. Both teams traded runs in the tenth frame, before Richard’s second grand slam won the game.

Both teams used a total of 13 pitchers, with seven of them coming from Durham’s bullpen. Reliever Joe Bateman picked up the win, his second in a row, after a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the eleventh.

Durham has rallied four times in the four games this series with Louisville. Down 2-0 in game one, the Bulls went ahead 6-2 before falling 7-6. On Wednesday, Durham trailed 3-0 and rallied to win 4-3. Thursday, Durham overcame a 5-0 deficit to win 11-6. Tonight, the Bulls overcame their biggest deficit of the year, rallying back from a seven run deficit.

Richard & His Double Grand Slams Make Headlines

• VIDEO: Bulls’s Richard launches two grand slams
• From Raleigh’s News & Observer: Durham Bulls Player hits two grand slams
• From Burlington’s The Times-News: Bulls first baseman slams into history
• From Louisville, Kentucky’s The Courier-Journal: Richard slams Bats twice
• From the Tampa Bay Devil Rays Website: Richard hits two Triple-A grand slams

And one more big headline:
Richard Named IL Player of the Week

The International League announced on Monday, May 18, 2009, that Durham first baseman Chris Richard has been named the League’s Batter of the Week for the period from May 11-17. Richard is the first Durham player to win an IL weekly award in 2009.

Durham Bulls First Baseman Chris Richard is the International League’s Player of the Week.

Richard knocked in an IL-best 13 runs this week, 8 of which came Friday night when he became the first International League player in more than half a century to hit two grand slams in one game. Richard, who entered Friday’s affair with a 7-game hitting streak, helped the Bulls to an unforgettable comeback win over Louisville. The Bats led the Bulls 8-3 in the bottom of the 8th when Richard clubbed a one-out grand slam off of Pedro Viola to bring Durham to within a run.

After tying the game in the 9th, and again in the 10th, Durham finally won in the 11th when Richard crushed a two-out walk-off grand slam to give the Bulls a dramatic 13-9 victory. It was the second time in three days Richard homered to beat Louisville. He completed the scoring in Wednesday’s game with a two-run homer in the 7th inning to give the Bulls a 4-3 victory. For the week, Richard paced the IL with 13 RBI, 12 hits, and 8 extra-base hits, while also finishing near the top with a .429 average (3rd), three home runs (T-2nd), 6 runs scored (T-4th), and a .929 slugging percentage (2nd).

34-year-old Chris Richard is in his third season in the Tampa Bay organization after signing as a free agent in December of 2006. He is a two-time Triple-A All-Star (Memphis, 2000 and Durham, 2008). Last season Richard was 3rd in the International League with 26 home runs and 88 RBI. He’s also spent time in the IL with Rochester (2002) and Indianapolis (2006). Richard is a native of San Diego.

Thanks to DBBC’s Matt DeMargel for this capcom inset story & photo.