Bulls Drop Roadtrip Opener 3-2 at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY --- Kevin Pillar doubled home the tying and leading runs in the fifth inning in his Triple-A debut to key the Buffalo Bisons past the Durham Bulls 3-2 on Friday night.
Pillar plugged the left-center gap against JD Martin (L, 9-4) to score Sean Ochinko and Jose Reyes on his major league rehab to give Buffalo (37-36) its first lead. Thad Weber (W, 2-1) carried that lead through the sixth, thanks to a double play with the bases loaded against Mike Fontenot.
Durham (47-28), off of a 6-2 homestand, struck first for a second inning run against Weber. Ryan Roberts delivered one of his two singles in the game, took second on a grounder, then scored on a single by Fontenot thanks to a throwing error by right fielder Moises Sierra.
Martin surrendered a pair of doubles in the bottom half to allow the Bisons to tie the game at 1.
In the Durham fifth, Fontenot opened the frame with a single, was bunted to second and scored on a wall-banging double to left by Jason Bourgeois for a 2-1 lead.
Still trailing 3-2 in the ninth, the Bulls threatened against Brad Lincoln (S, 2). With two on and one out, Bourgeois hit a one-hopper to the hill, leading to the Bisons' second double play turned in the game which ended the game.
Martin worked seven innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, missing a chance to become the league's first 10-game winner.
Tim Beckham went 0-4, snapping his season-high 12-game hitting streak.
The series continues Saturday night at 6:05 PM ET with Cory Wade making a spot start for the Bulls.