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Elder Fans 11 for 10th Win as Stripers Stifle Sounds 7-1

Bryce Elder ties career high for strikeouts, Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Alejo Lopez each homer in road victory
Bryce Elder tied his single-game career high with 11 strikeouts over 6.0 innings on Friday night in Nashville. (Jamie Spaar)
September 6, 2024

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Bryce Elder tied a career high with 11 strikeouts over 6.0 innings on Friday night, leading the Gwinnett Stripers (33-28) to a 7-1 win over the Nashville Sounds (33-26) at First Horizon Park. Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Alejo Lopez each blasted two-run home runs as Gwinnett earned

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Bryce Elder tied a career high with 11 strikeouts over 6.0 innings on Friday night, leading the Gwinnett Stripers (33-28) to a 7-1 win over the Nashville Sounds (33-26) at First Horizon Park. Nacho Alvarez Jr. and Alejo Lopez each blasted two-run home runs as Gwinnett earned its second-straight win in the Music City.

Decisive Plays: The Stripers took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a two-run home run by Alvarez (10) down the left-field line and never trailed after. Nashville cut the lead to 2-1 with an unearned run off Elder in the fourth, but Gwinnett answered back with an Alvarez RBI fielder’s choice in the fifth. In the sixth, a two-out RBI single by Justin Dean and two-run homer to right by Lopez (4) extended the advantage to 6-1. J.P. Martinez added an RBI single in the ninth for the 7-1 final.

Key Contributors: Elder (W, 10-4) became Gwinnett’s first 10-game winner since Kyle Wright in 2021 as he delivered his team-leading 10th quality start (6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 11 SO). Domingo Gonzalez (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 SO) and Jimmy Herget (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 SO) finished off the stifling effort. Offensively, Lopez (2-for-5, homer, 2 RBIs), Alvarez (1-for-5, homer, 3 RBIs), and Dean (3-for-4, 1 RBI, 3 SB) combined to drive in six of the seven runs.

Noteworthy: Elder struck out 11 for the third time in his pro career, first time since June 1, 2024 in Gwinnett’s 3-1 win at Norfolk. Dean’s three steals tied a Gwinnett single-game record, marking the first time since Dean also did it on August 20, 2024 at Louisville. Andrew Velazquez extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a second-inning single.

Next Game (Saturday, September 7): Gwinnett at Nashville, 7:35 p.m. ET at First Horizon Park. Broadcast: 7:20 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (2-5, 4.90 ERA) will start for the Stripers opposite RHP Taylor Clarke (2-4, 4.72 ERA) of the Sounds.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, September 10): Gwinnett vs. Buffalo, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. ET on MyCountry993.com. It's Coolray T-Shirt Tuesday at Coolray Field, as the first 500 fans to the ballpark will receive a T-Shirt shirsey of current Atlanta Braves' third base coach and former Gwinnett manager and player Matt Tuiasosopo.