Sounds Blow Ninth Inning Lead, Fall in Indianapolis
A three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth wasn’t enough for the Nashville Sounds in a 5-4, extra-inning loss to the Indianapolis Indians on Wednesday night at Victory Field.
A three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth wasn’t enough for the Nashville Sounds in a 5-4, extra-inning loss to the Indianapolis Indians on Wednesday night at Victory Field.
Armed with a 4-1 lead, Sounds closer Luke Barker took over on the mound in the bottom of the ninth looking to send the Sounds to their sixth straight win. Trouble came immediately when Diego Castillo drilled a solo homer to cut Nashville’s lead to 4-2.
After a base hit, Barker came back to strike out Canaan Smith-Njigba for the first out of the inning. Oneil Cruz came to the plate and hit a 2-1 pitch from Barker out to left-center field for a two-run homer to tie the game at 4-4.
Nashville failed to score in the top of the tenth, setting up a walk-off opportunity for Indianapolis. Sounds reliever Conner Sadzeck struck out the first batter of the inning, then seemed to have Mason Martin struck out for out number two, but the ball got away from catcher Luke Maile. Martin was safe at first as runner Bligh Madris took third base.
Jared Oliva came to the plate and hit a soft ground ball to shortstop Pablo Reyes who bobbled the ball as he tried to make a throw to home plate. Madris scored to give the Indians a 5-4 win.
Josh Lindblom started for Nashville with the possibility of the league ERA title on the line. Lindblom entered the game with a 3.16 ERA, just a sliver ahead of Gwinnett’s Kyle Wright at 3.18. Lindblom allowed one run over five innings and lowered his ERA to 3.10 in the process.
Nashville’s offense sprung to life in a four-run fourth inning. The first five batters all singled and the Sounds went from trailing 1-0 in the third to leading just moment later.
Matt Lipka started the inning with a perfect bunt single up the third base line. Rowdy Tellez, appearing on a Major League rehab assignment, singled to right field to put a pair of runners on for Jamie Westbrook who singled to even the game at 1-1. David Dahl followed with a single of his own, driving in Tellez to give the Sounds a 2-1 lead. Reyes added a sacrifice fly and Maile made it 4-1 with a run-scoring single.
Game two of the five-game series is scheduled for Thursday night in Indianapolis. The starting pitchers have not been announced.
Post-Game Notes
- Rowdy Tellez appeared on a Major League rehab assignment and went 1-for-3 with a single and run scored.
- Josh Lindblom (5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 8 K) lowered his ERA to a league-best 3.10 in his final start of the season.
- David Dahl went 3-for-3 with a walk and is hitting .330 (32-for-97) in 28 games with the Sounds.
The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Season ticket memberships for the 2022 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].