Garcia's Slam Leads Sounds Past Rainiers

Anthony García drilled a grand slam and the Nashville Sounds routed the Tacoma Rainiers, 11-3, in front of a sellout crowd of 10,022 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.
Garcia's blast came as part of a six-run second inning for the Sounds. Entering the bottom of the inning, the Sounds trailed 1-0 but quickly turned it around. With one out, Sheldon Neuse singled and BJ Boyd doubled to even the game at 1-1.
Tacoma starter Ross Detwiler issued three consecutive walks to force in another run to give Nashville a 2-1 lead. Garcia followed the bases loaded walk to Jake Smolinski by launching a 1-2 pitch from Detwiler onto the berm in left field for a grand slam and 6-1 lead. It was the first grand slam by a Nashville hitter in 2018.
J.B. Wendelken made a spot start for Chris Bassitt and pitched three effective innings. The right-hander allowed one run on three hits and racked up seven strikeouts in his three frames.
Wendelken handed the game over to Dean Kiekhefer who followed with three shutout innings. Jake Sanchez worked a pair of scoreless innings before Jeremy Bleich pitched the ninth.  
Garcia finished 2-for-5 with 5 RBI and BJ Boyd chipped in with a multi-hit game. Nashville hitters walked a season-high 12 times.
Game two of the four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Edwin Jackson makes his Sounds debut against right-hander Rob Whalen (6-3, 4.91) for the Rainiers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- With tonight's 11-3 win, the Sounds improved to 30-29 on the season.
- Tonight's attendance of 10,022 at First Tennessee Park marked the seventh sellout of the season and 62nd in ballpark history.
- Nashville is now 61-41 against the Pacific Conference since 2015.
- Anthony Garcia became the first Sounds player to hit a grand slam this year when he launched one in the second inning.
- Garcia matched a season-high with 5 RBI, the third time he has done so this season. He also had 5 RBI vs. Colorado Springs on May 10 and at Colorado Springs on May 3.
- J.B. Wendelken (3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K) made a spot start for Nashville tonight - his first start since September 1, 2014, with Winston-Salem.
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.