Though they kept things close early, the Nashville Sounds (69-60, 29-26) were overrun in the middle innings in a 10-2 loss to the Durham Bulls (74-57, 34-22) on Saturday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. With the defeat, Nashville falls to 1-4 in the series and 5-6 on the road trip.

The Bulls jumped out to an early lead with a run in the first, but Nashville grabbed a short-lived lead in the third. Josh VanMeter earned a bases loaded walk to tie the game at 1-1, then Abraham Toro put one in play that Durham starter Cooper Criswell botched his throw home that allowed Jahmai Jones to score the then go-ahead run.

However, the homer happy Bulls tied things at 2-2 with a Raimel Tapia blast, then took the lead on Francisco Mejia’s first home run of the night in the fifth. Durham broke it open with five in the sixth inning and a couple more in the seventh to go up 10-2.

Eric Lauer (1-4) took the loss, going 4.2 innings while allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits. He struck out eight but gave up three solo home runs. Alex Claudio gave up four runs (all earned) while getting a couple of outs, while Luis Contreras managed to work the rest of the night with 2.2 three-run innings.

Newcomer Chris Roller had his first multi-hit game as a Sound, going 2-for-4 with a couple of singles. Monte Harrison reached twice with a couple of walks and a stolen base. Jones, Toro and Black also logged hits, respectively.

Nashville concludes their 12-game road trip tomorrow afternoon in the series finale against Durham. Right-hander Janson Junk (6-8, 4.29) will start for the Sounds. He’ll face Durham left-hander Jacob Lopez (3-4, 2.55). The first pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. CDT from Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Post-Game Notes

• Rehabbing Milwaukee Brewer Jesse Winker left the game after grounding into a double play in the top of the first inning.
• Abraham Toro extended his on-base streak to 22 games with a double. He is hitting .402 (35-for-87) with a 1.119 OPS during the streak dating back to July 9.
• Over his last two starts, Eric Lauer has struck out 17 batters over 9.1 innings, but has allowed 10 hits and six earned runs combined across those starts.
• Cam Devanney’s 10-game hitting streak came to an end after his 0-for-3 night. However, he walked to extend his on-base streak to 18 games. Devanney is batting .293 (17-for-58) with an .827 OPS since the on-base streak began on August 10.
• The Sounds have dropped a series for the first time since losing four of six against Durham from August 1-6.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets for the rest of the 2023 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail tickets@nashvillesounds.com.