Bulls Best Sounds in Series Opener

Durham, N.C. – After waiting out a rain delay of nearly three hours, the Nashville Sounds (68-57, 28-23) started off their second series of the road trip with a 7-3 loss to the Durham Bulls (71-56, 31-21) in seven innings on Tuesday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Things started on a good note for Nashville to open the night, as the Sounds benefitted from an error to score their only run in the first. Jesse Winker, Keston Hiura and Abraham Toro each walked to load the bases. It looked like Owen Miller hit a perfect double play ball for Durham to get out of the inning unscathed, but first baseman Johan Lopez dropped the ball for an error, allowing Winker to score.

The Sounds held onto the 1-0 lead through two and a half before Durham tied it after a couple of hits in the third inning. A Kameron Misner two-run homer to right gave the Bulls a 3-1 lead in the fourth, and a Curtis Mead three-run blast over the wall in left gave Durham a sturdy 6-1 advantage in the fifth, knocking Sounds starter Evan McKendry (10-5) out of the game.

McKendry held Durham hitless through the first two innings before things got away from him. He finished allowing five hits and six runs (all earned) with four walks and six strikeouts. It was his second loss to his former team since being traded to Nashville on August 1.

Fernando Abad failed to stop the bleeding, allowing a run on two hits in the fifth. Luis Contreras was effective in the sixth, striking out three in a quiet final inning for the Sounds defense. In the seventh, Hiura and Toro kept things alive with RBI singles with two outs, but the rally came up short in the shortened game.

Winker led the Sounds by reaching base three times with a couple of walks and a seventh inning single. Toro and Miller added a couple of hits and an RBI, respectively. Hiura and Cam Devanney also added base knocks in the defeat.

Nashville will attempt to snap the losing skid tomorrow night. The Sounds starter is to be determined, with right-hander Nathan Wiles (6-1, 3.15) set to get the ball for Durham. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. CDT at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Post-Game Notes

• The contest was shortened to a seven-inning contest due to the game being started after 9 p.m. local time. The first pitch was at 9:25 p.m. eastern, a full two hours and 50 minutes after the scheduled start time due to the rain delay.
• Rehabbing Milwaukee Brewer Jesse Winker continued to work free passes, adding a couple walks with a single and scoring a run in the 1-for-2 night. In six games on this rehab stint with Nashville, Winker is batting .316 (6-for-19) with seven walks and three runs.
• Keston Hiura extended his on-base streak to 23 games with a first inning walk, then his hitting streak to 13 games with an RBI single. He is batting .341 (31-for-91) over the on-base streak with four doubles, seven homers, 27 RBI and a 1.011 OPS.
• Tyler Black’s on-base streak came to an end in the 0-for-4 night. He had previously reached in all 18 games since joining the Sounds from Double-A Biloxi.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets for the rest of the 2023 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].