Bulls Best Bisons 7-6

Bulls third baseman Jonathan Aranda continued his hot-hitting stretch with an RBI triple, while catcher Ford Proctor crushed his first Triple-A home run in Durham’s 7-6 victory over the Buffalo Bisons on Saturday afternoon at Sahlen Field.

After homering twice last night, C Rene Pinto drove in the game’s first run with an RBI single in the first. A four-run third followed, highlighted by Aranda’s run-scoring triple and Proctor’s two-run blast to center, extending the lead to 5-0. Buffalo narrowed the deficit to 5-2 in the third, however Durham countered in the sixth with a two-spot of their own thanks to RF Ruben Cardenas’s RBI double to left and 2B Miles Mastrobuoni’s run-scoring knock to right to make it 7-2.

The Bisons would make it a one-run contest with a pair of two-run frames in the seventh and eighth innings, however Bulls righty Dusten Knight (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, K) closed the door from there to notch his team-best fourth save. Durham lefty Ben Bowden (1.1 IP, 2 K) earned the victory, while Toronto Blue Jays southpaw Hyun Jin Ryu (4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K) suffered the defeat, pitching for Buffalo as part of a Major League Rehab Assignment.

Cardenas (2-4, R, 2B, RBI) and CF Vidal Brujan (2-5, 2 R, 2B) paced the Bulls batting order with two hits apiece. Aranda after his triple has now recorded hits in 14 of his last 17 contests.

Durham will go for the series win when the two teams face off in Sunday’s series finale, with first pitch scheduled for 1:05pm. The Bulls’ starting pitcher has not yet been determined, while Buffalo is expected to send RHP Thomas Hatch to the mound.

Following their six-game road series in Buffalo, the Bulls return to Durham Bulls Athletic Park on Tuesday, May 10 to begin a six-game set versus the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A affiliate Gwinnett Stripers. First pitch of that series opener is scheduled for 6:35pm.

Tickets for that game and all remaining 2022 home dates can be purchased at DurhamBulls.com/tickets.