Bush’s walk-off walk lifts Durham past Round Rock, 4-3

Homer Bush did not need a swing to finish Round Rock off. He needed a full count, a loaded ninth, and enough discipline to make Alexis Díaz blink, and Durham got all of it in a 4-3 walk-off win Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The inning started with pressure and never let up. Brock Jones drew a four-pitch walk, Carson Williams followed with another free pass, and Gavin Lux made it three straight when Díaz lost the strike zone again. Logan Davidson lined out, Raynel Delgado struck out, and Bush stepped in with the bases jammed and the game sitting on a knife edge. He worked the count full, then watched Díaz miss with a slider and force in the winning run. The Bulls had walked off without putting the bat on the ball, a fitting ending for a team that spent the night refusing to chase the game.

That finish gave Durham its first series win of 2026 and extended a streak that has been built almost entirely on stress. The Bulls have won four straight, and every game in that run has been decided by one run. Durham improved to 15-22 and moved to 6-6 in one-run games, a tidy sign that the club is no longer folding when late innings tighten. Round Rock fell to 13-24 and dropped into a season-high seven-game losing streak, with the Express now 2-12 in one-run games.

The game had been tight from the start. Round Rock scored in the first and second against Logan Workman, who lasted five innings and allowed two runs, one earned. Durham kept answering, first tying it in a messy sequence that featured a bunt attempt, a defensive miscue and a sharp read on the bases, then retaking the lead in the bottom of the eighth when Cooper Kinney drove in Bush after Bush reached on a bunt single and advanced on a wild throw. Round Rock pushed back to make it 3-2 in the eighth, but Joe Rock stranded two baserunners in the ninth to keep Durham alive for the final rally.

The bigger story is not just that Durham keeps winning close games. It is how. The Bulls have now stacked one-run wins over Round Rock on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, including a 7-6 finish on May 5, a 2-1 win on May 7 and Friday’s walk-off. That follows earlier signs, including a 4-3 extra-inning walk-off over Norfolk on April 14. This is not luck alone. Durham is pressing the right buttons late, taking walks, forcing mistakes and staying calm when the game gets loud.