The Durham Bulls defeated the Gwinnett Braves 7-3 Tuesday night in the second game of a three-game series. The Bulls improved to 9-3 while the Braves’ drop to 5-8 this season.

Durham posted five unearned runs in the second after a two-out fielding error by second baseman Brooks Conrad extended the inning. That play, a batted ball by John Jaso, plated Matt Joyce to give the Bulls a 1-0 lead. A batter later with the bases juiced, Jon Weber cleared Jaso, Chris Richard and Elliot Johnson with a double to center field. A single to center by Reid Brignac scored Weber for the final run of the inning. The five-run second inning put the Bulls up for good.

The Braves cut the deficit in the third inning when Reid Gorecki smashed a two-run shot to left field for his first homer of the season. The blast plated Antonio Perez, who reached on an infield single to short. Gwinnett inched closer in the seventh, cutting the lead to 5-3, on Barbaro Canizares’ third home run of the season.

But the Bulls put the game out of reach in the eighth with a Weber double down the left-field line, which drove home Johnson. Brignac followed with a liner to center that scored Weber and put Durham up 7-3.

Gwinnett starter Jerome Gamble was charged with the loss even though he didn’t allow an earned run. Five runs were plated in his 2.2 innings of work. The Braves’ bats were held to just five hits. Two of the five hits were Goreki’s two-run homer in the third and Canizares’ shot in the seventh.

Charlie Morton (1-0, 3.27 ERA) with face the Bulls’ Wade Davis (0-0, 1.13 ERA) in the series finale on Wednesday. First pitch in the mid-week matinee is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.