Stripers’ Staff Struggles in 13-4 Series-Opening Loss to Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – The Gwinnett Stripers (31-27) held a 4-2 lead after three innings, but a franchise-record 13 walks helped Nashville score 11 unanswered runs as the Sounds (32-24) rolled to a 13-4 victory on Tuesday night at First Horizon Park.

Decisive Plays: Zack Short’s two-out RBI single capped a three-run third inning as the Stripers took a 4-2 lead. That was as good as the game would get for Gwinnett, however, as Chris Roller belted a two-run home run off Ian Anderson to tie the game at 4-4 in the fourth. Rehabbing Huascar Ynoa (L, 1-2) and Tommy Doyle combined to allow five runs in the sixth as Nashville took a 9-4 lead. The Sounds added three runs in the seventh against Parker Dunshee and Roller homered again off Domingo Gonzalez in the eighth to make it 13-4.

Key Contributors: Nacho Alvarez Jr. (2-for-4, double, run) and J.P. Martinez (2-for-4) both had multi-hit games for Gwinnett, while Zack Short went 1-for-3 with an RBI. For Nashville, Carlos Rodriguez (2-for-4, 4 RBIs) and Roller (2-for-4, 2 homers, 3 RBIs) combined to drive in seven of the 13 runs. Easton McGee (W, 1-2) retired all nine batters faced in relief for the win.

Noteworthy: The 13 walks allowed surpassed Gwinnett’s previous single-game high of 11, reached nine times including twice this year.

Next Game (Wednesday, September 4): Gwinnett at Nashville, 7:35 p.m. ET at First Horizon Park. Broadcast: 7:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. LHP Dylan Dodd (2-7, 5.38 ERA) will start for Gwinnett opposed by RHP Carlos Rodriguez (8-8, 4.43 ERA) for Nashville.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, September 10): Gwinnett vs. Buffalo, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. It's Coolray T-Shirt Tuesday at Coolray Field, as the first 500 fans to the ballpark will receive a T-Shirt shirsey of current Atlanta Braves' third base coach and former Gwinnett manager and player Matt Tuiasosopo.