Bisons drop both games in doubleheader against Durham

By: Ryan Oleksyn / Sports Reporter

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bisons lost both games in its doubleheader against the Durham Bulls. The Bisons lost game one by a final of 4-1 and lost game two by a score of 2-1. The bats remained cold for the majority of the afternoon, and it led to Buffalo only mustering two runs in 14 innings of play.

"They pitched well." Bisons Manager Casey Candaele said when talking about Buffalo's offensive struggles against the Durham pitching staff on Saturday. "We're not swinging the bats the way we are capable of right now."

GAME 1

Addison Barger running the bases after a home run on Saturday, April 12th, 2025. ( @BuffaloBisons on X )

The Bisons drew first blood in game one thanks to an Addison Barger home run over the right field fence. It was Bargers' second homer of the season and sixth RBI, which helped Buffalo grab an early 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Durham answered back quickly. A two-run homer by Tres Barrera broke the seal for the Bulls to kickstart the offense against Buffalo's starter Eric Lauer. The second inning continued to be one to forget for the Bisons as Chandler Simpson notched an RBI single to make the lead 3-1 in favor of Durham.

Tanner Murray would joined the hit parade as well when he roped a double into the gap to extend the Bulls' lead to 4-1 over Buffalo. Lauer escaped a bases-loaded jam as the left hander struck out Durham shortstop Carson Williams with two outs to avoid further damage.

Both starting pitchers settled in after the the first two innings as both lineups struggled to get on base against Lauer and Bulls starter Logan Workman. Lauers' final line on the day was seven hits, four runs, four earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts in five innings. Logan Workman hurled six innings, struck out four batters, allowed three hits, one run and one walk to pick up the win on the mound.

"He got through the fifth inning, which was outstanding for us." Candaele said when talking about Eric Lauer. "Our bullpen was a little light for a doubleheader, so he really stepped up and did a great job."

Durham led off the sixth inning with a triple by Tristan Peters. Berrera then hit a fly out to left field, but Bisons left fielder Steward Berroa fired a missile home and gunned out Peters to prevent the run from scoring and keeping the deficient to three.

Video credit: @BuffaloBisons on X

The Bisons finally began to threaten again in the sixth inning. But with runners on second and third with two outs, Workman got Buffalo's Orvelis Martinez to ground out to third and strand the runners in scoring position.

Eric Orze picked up the save in the seventh inning for Durham. The Bisons went down one, two and three all via strikeout and dropped game one of the doubleheader 4-1.

GAME 2

Durham's Starter, Joey Gerber, got the ball for game two while Bobby Milacki earned the start for Buffalo.

In game two, it was a quick day for both starters. Gerber posted a line of two innings, one hit, zero runs, zero earned runs, zero walks, and one strikeout. Milacki hurled three innings, scattered two hits and one walk with zero runs and strikeouts.

"He was great," Casey Candaele said when talking about Bobby Milacki's start in game two. "He comes out of the bullpen usually, but he threw the ball very well, and he did a great job for us"

There were three scoreless frames for each side to begin the contest. But this time around Durham scored first, thanks to a Carson Williams two-run shot in the top of the fourth to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead. It was Williams' first home run of the season while picking up his third and fourth RBI along the way. The shortstop is the Tampa Bay Rays' No. 1 prospect in the organization and is ranked as the eighth-best prospect in all of Major League Baseball.

Video credit: @DurhamBulls on X

The Bulls got another opportunity to get on the board in the sixth inning. But with two outs and runners on second and third, Buffalo pitcher Josh Walker came in and struck out Durham's catcher Kenny Piper to end the inning.

In the bottom of the sixth, Buffalo's offense finally showed some life by having runners at first and second. The Bisons plated a run via a Michael Stefanic RBI single. This was Stefanic's seventh RBI of the season to cut the lead in half going into the seventh inning, 2-1.

Durham pitcher Michael Flynn earned the second save of the day in the seventh. It was Deja vu from game one, as the Bisons went down one, two, three once again for the Bulls to sweep the doubleheader.

The Bisons are back again tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. as Buffalo host Durham for the last game of the series. Trenton Wallace (14.73, 0-1) will be on the bump for Buffalo while the starter for Durham is still to be determined.