Lipka's Two Homers Not Enough in Charlotte

Sounds left fielder Matt Lipka drilled a pair of home runs and knocked in four runs in Nashville’s 9-8 loss to the Charlotte Knights at Truist Park on Wednesday night.

Lipka became the eighth different Sounds player to hit two home runs in a game this year. Each of his homers – a three-run shot in the fourth and the solo in the eighth – trimmed deficits to one run.

The Knights opened a 4-0 lead with three runs in the second and another single tally in the third against Sounds starter Ethan Small. The left-hander would go on to allow a career-high eight runs and 10 hits.

Lipka’s two-out, three-run shot in the top of the fourth inning cut the deficit to 4-3. Sal Frelick followed with a first-pitch single and newcomer Cam Devanney followed Frelick with a two-run blast to left field to give the Sounds a 5-4 lead. Devanny had a pair of hits in his Sounds and Triple-A debut.

The lead didn’t last long as Charlotte evened the game with a run in the home half of the fourth and then scored three runs in the fifth inning to take an 8-5 lead.

Nashville would score the next two runs to make it an 8-7 game before Charlotte added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth.

Pedro Severino’s RBI groundout pulled the Sounds to within a run at 9-8 in the top of the ninth, but Lipka flied out to left field with a runner at third base to end the game.

Game three of the six-game series is scheduled for Thursday night in Charlotte. Right-hander Josh Lindblom (6-7, 4.64) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Tobias Myers (1-13, 7.35) for the Knights. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:04 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• Sal Frelick (1for-5, R, K) extended his on-base streak to 25 games with a single in the fourth inning. He is hitting .355 (33-for-93) with 22 runs, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 8 RBI and 14 walks during the streak. The 25-game on-base streak is the longest of the season for the Sounds and the second-longest active streak in the International League.
• Cam Devanney (2-for-5, R, HR, 2 RBI) made his Triple-A debut and hit his first Triple-A home run.
• Matt Lipka (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI) had his first career multi-homer game…it was the eighth time a Sounds player has hit two home runs in a game this year.
• Pedro Severino (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 2B, RBI, BB) had his seventh multi-hit game.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets are on sale now for all home games in 2022. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].