Small Shines, Hiura Homers Twice in Sounds Victory

JACKSONVILLE – The Nashville Sounds controlled all facets of the contest tonight, taking a 10-1 win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp on Thursday night at 121 Financial Ballpark. Ethan Small won the battle of pitching prospects with nine strikeouts, while Ketson Hiura clubbed a couple of homers.

Small was dealing with his best stuff to start the night. He struck out three batters in the first inning to get out of his own jam. In the third inning, Small was hit by a line drive off the bat of Lorenzo Quintana. He bounced back to get the final out of the inning, then struck out four more Jumbo Shrimp over the next two frames.

Nashville jumped the No. 33 prospect in baseball (according to MLB Pipeline), Max Meyer, with four runs in the third inning. Mark Mathias hit a solo shot to right field, then Hiura cleared the bases with a three-run blast deep into the night. In his next plate appearance, Hiura sent a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall to make it 6-1 Sounds during the fifth inning.

Small’s night came to an end after five innings. The southpaw gave up four hits and one run (earned). He struck out a season high nine hitters while allowing three walks.

Zack Brown and Luke Barker built off of Small’s success on the mound. Brown did not allow a run or hit in the sixth and seventh inning (1 BB, 1 K), while Barker struck out a couple in the scoreless eighth and ninth innings.

Nashville put this game well out of reach with a four run ninth inning. Andruw Monasterio hit a sac fly to score Mathias to start the four spot. Hiura then singled with the bases-loaded, adding a couple more RBI on his fantastic night at the plate. Brice Turang scored the 10th run on a Jon Singleton popout to second base, beating Willians Astudillo’s throw from the shallow outfield grass to the plate.

Nashville plays in game four of the six-game series on Friday night at 121 Financial Ballpark. Right-hander Dylan File (2-0, 3.95) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Bryan Hoeing (1-0, 5.14) for the Jumbo Shrimp. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

Post-Game Notes

• Ethan Small is now 3-1 with a 1.95 ERA (32.1 IP/7 ER) in seven starts. He has struck out 46 batters for a K/9 ratio of 12.80.
• Keston Hiura’s two home run game is his sixth multi-homer game at the Triple-A level and his third with Nashville. Hiura joins Weston Wilson (on April 28 at St. Paul) as the two Sounds to have multi-homer games this season. Also, his seven RBI are his most in a professional game.
• Mark Mathias (3-for-4, HR, RBI) has his ninth multi-hit game and first three-hit game of the season. Only Brice Turang has more (10) multi-hit contests for the Sounds this year.
• Nashville's team ERA shrinks to 2.75 (281.0 IP/86 ER) after tonight’s win. The 2.75 ERA is the best in Triple-A and the second best in Minor League Baseball.

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].