For the second night in a row, the Nashville Honky Tonks got home runs from Ramón Laureano and Jake Smolinski and rallied late, only to fall 6-5 against the Round Rock Dance Halls on Saturday night at Dell Diamond. The Honky Tonks have lost three of the first four in
For the second night in a row, the Nashville Honky Tonks got home runs from Ramón Laureano and Jake Smolinski and rallied late, only to fall 6-5 against the Round Rock Dance Halls on Saturday night at Dell Diamond. The Honky Tonks have lost three of the first four in the series and the Battle for the Boot and are back to .500 on the season at 27-27.
The Honky Tonks never led in the game but fought back from a 5-0 deficit. Former Nashville pitcher Yovani Gallardo gave up just one run over seven innings against his old team. Smolinski grounded out in the sixth to score Nick Martini to get Nashville on the board. Then Adrian Sampson replaced Gallardo in the seventh and retired his first two batters before the Honky Tonks began their surge. The next six hitters in a row reached base in the four-run frame. Laureano smashed a two-run homer, and Smolinski made it back-to-back homers with a solo shot to the upper deck. Smolinski now has eight home runs in 17 career games at Dell Diamond. BJ Boyd later made it a one-run game at 6-5 with an RBI single off Brandon Mann, but former Nashville reliever R.J. Alvarez stopped the rally with a strikeout of Sheldon Neuse and then pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to end it.
Chris Bassitt (2-3) took the loss for the Honky Tonks. He gave up two runs in the first and third innings and one more in the fourth, surrendering five runs - four earned - on five hits over four frames in the defeat. Liam Hendriks, pitching on major league rehab assignment for Oakland, gave up Round Rock's other run on a homer by Tommy Joseph in the seventh.
Nick Martini went 3-for-5 for Nashville, moving his consecutive games on base streak to 41 and his hitting streak to 10, which matches a career-high. Gallardo (2-1) got the win for the Dance Halls, and Alvarez notched his 11th save.
The finale of the five-game series is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Round Rock. The Sounds starter is TBD, and right-hander Austin Bibens-Dirkx (2-3, 3.72). First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. Then the Sounds are off on Monday before beginning a seven-game homestand at First Tennessee Park on Tuesday.
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.
###
