Alcantara, Smolinski Help Sounds Prevail Over Storm Chasers

PAPILLION, Nebraska - The Nashville Sounds took care of the Omaha Storm Chasers 7-1 in Sunday's matinee to even up the five-game series.
Raúl Alcántara took on his biggest workload of the season as he logged a six innings in his third start of the campaign. In those six frames he allowed just one run, which came on a solo home run in the second inning from Omaha's Frank Schwindel. The 70 pitches thrown by Alcantara were a season-high.
The Sounds were all over the base paths all afternoon as they tallied 14 hits and put a runner on base in each inning.
Beau Taylor got the scoring started in the first inning when he delivered a two-out RBI-single to right field. Jake Smolinski doubled Nashville's lead when he shot a two-out flare into shallow left field to bring home Nick Martini. The Sounds added three runs in the third on a run-scoring single from Melvin Mercedes, a sacrifice fly from Ramón Laureano, and Sheldon Neuse came in to score on a wild pitch from Omaha's Luis Vasquez.
Smolinski kept the offense going for Nashville in the latter stages of the ball game. The right fielder extended Nashville's advantage in the fifth inning with his second RBI-single of the game. He then showed off his power by tagging a solo blast to left field to begin the eighth inning. It was the ninth home run of the season for Smolinski in just his 29th game.
Carlos Ramirez and Danny Coulombe combined to blank the Storm Chasers in the final three innings to complete the victory for the Sounds.
The Sounds and Storm Chasers continue their five-game series Monday night at Werner Park with a doubleheader. Right-hander Norge Ruiz (0-0, 4.50) starts for the Sounds in game one against left-hander Jake Kalish (2-2, 3.71) for the Storm Chasers. Right-hander Ben Bracewell (1-2, 4.87) will start for the Sounds in game two while Omaha has yet to announce its game two starter. First pitch for game one is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
-With today's 7-1 win, the Sounds improved to 38-41.
-Nick Martini extended his consecutive on-base streak to 60 games with his second-inning single. Martini's streak is the longest by a Nashville player in the Pacific Coast League era and is the longest active streak in professional baseball. Since April 14, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in with the Sounds. The 60-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
-With his two hits Sunday afternoon, Nick Martini has now hit safely in a PCL-leading 21 straight road games.
-The Sounds left 13 runners on base to match a season-high.
The 2018 season is the Sounds' 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics' top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.