Heasley’s immaculate inning caps Bulls’ third straight one-run win

Jon Heasley turned the ninth inning into the night’s cleanest piece of theater, striking out Cooper Johnson, Gilberto Celestino and Nick Pratto on nine pitches to finish an immaculate inning and seal Durham’s 2-1 win over Round Rock at the DBAP.

The Bulls needed every bit of that perfection. Carson Williams tripled to start the game, Gavin Lux singled him home for an early lead, and Dom Keegan added the only other Durham run with a solo homer in the seventh. That was just enough to give Durham its third straight victory and first three-game winning streak of the season, a run built on the kind of tight margins that can swing a Triple-A season in either direction.

Heasley was central to all of it. The right-hander worked 5 2/3 innings, his longest outing since June 13, 2023, before handing the game to the bullpen and later finishing it himself in the ninth. Durham said the 5 2/3 frames were his longest since he threw six innings for Omaha against Columbus nearly three years ago. Heasley briefly drew a visit from athletic training staff and manager Morgan Ensberg in the fifth after spilling some liquid behind the mound, but he told them he was healthy and kept going.

Ty Johnson provided another major piece of the win, making his season and Triple-A debut with 3 1/3 scoreless innings and five strikeouts. For a club that entered the day at 13-22 and left at 14-22, the combination of Heasley’s command, Johnson’s poise and just enough offense from Williams, Lux and Keegan showed a model that has started to work: get the early lead, keep the game in range and let the bullpen and defense finish the job.

Round Rock managed only six hits, struck out 12 times and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Trey Supak took the loss after the Express finally scratched across a run in the eighth, but Durham answered by locking the door in the ninth. The game lasted 2:18 despite a 46-minute delay, was played in 56-degree overcast weather with a 7 mph wind in from center field, and drew 4,238 fans at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The Bulls have now beaten Round Rock 3-2, 2-1 and 3-1 across the stretch that pushed them into their first real winning groove of the year. That makes the run more than a hot streak. It is a study in repeated one-run execution, the kind of formula that looks fragile until it keeps cashing in night after night.