Sounds Comeback Bid Falls Short in Thriller
The Nashville Sounds put forth multiple comeback attempts, including tying the game with two outs in the ninth inning, only to come up short against the Gwinnett Stripers in a 7-6 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 12,140 fans at First Horizon Park Saturday night. The crowd was
The Nashville Sounds put forth multiple comeback attempts, including tying the game with two outs in the ninth inning, only to come up short against the Gwinnett Stripers in a 7-6 loss in front of a sellout crowd of 12,140 fans at First Horizon Park Saturday night. The crowd was the second largest in ballpark history.
Trailing 5-3 going into the bottom of the ninth, Weston Wilson started the rally when he was hit by a pitch. Wilson moved to second when Esteury Ruiz drew a walk. Two batters later, Patrick Dorrian worked a full count before singling into center field. Wilson scored easily and when center fielder Delino DeShields Jr. bobbled the ball, Ruiz raced around and scored the tying run to send the game to extra innings.
Gwinnett’s Pat Valaika quickly broke the tie in the top of the 10th with a run-scoring double. He then scored on a wild pitch to give the Stripers a 7-5 lead.
Nashville battled back again in the home half of the extra inning. With two outs and trailing by a pair of runs, Jakson Reetz singled home Pablo Reyes to make it 7-6. Matt Lipka pinch-ran for Reetz and was quickly put into action when Wilson rifled a ball down the left field line and off the wall. Gwinnett executed a perfect 7-5-2 relay throw and cut down Lipka trying to score the tying run.
At different times in the game, the Sounds trailed 2-0, 2-1, 5-1 and 5-3 before evening the game in the ninth inning on Dorrian’s RBI single.
Lucas Erceg tossed three scoreless innings out of the bullpen and recorded a season-high six strikeouts. Relievers Trevor Kelley and Jake Cousins each recorded a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts.
The series finale is scheduled for Sunday night at First Horizon Park. Right-hander Marcus Walden (0-1, 6.38) starts for the Sounds. The Stripers have not announced a starter. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- Garrett Mitchell (3-for-4, R, BB, SB), Joey Wiemer (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB, 2 K) and Jakson Reetz (2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K) had multi-hit games. It was Mitchell’s fourth with Nashville, Wiemer’s second and Reetz’s fourth.
- The Sounds stole a season-high five bases – Esteury Ruiz (3), Pablo Reyes, Garrett Mitchell… Nashville leads the International League with 23 stolen bases in August.
- Esteury Ruiz matched a career (10x) and season-high (4x) with three stolen bases.
- Nashville pitchers struck out a season-high 19 batters.
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].