Sounds Crushed by Cubs in Des Moines

The Iowa Cubs used three huge innings and 23 hits to dispatch the Nashville Sounds, 16-7, Tuesday night at Principal Park.
Iowa used a five-run first, four-run third, and four-run seventh to kept the Sounds chasing all night. The 23 hits allowed by Nashville pitchers was one shy of tying the franchise record of 24 in a single-game.
Ben Bracewell started for the Sounds and deserved better than the eight earned runs charged to his final line. The right-hander yielded five infield singles and dealt with two errors in the first inning that put Nashville in a 5-0 hole after the one.
A run in the second, and two in the third trimmed Nashville's deficit to 6-3 heading into the last of the third, but every time the Sounds made it interesting, Iowa responded with more runs.
The Cubs plated four runs on five more hits in the bottom of the third to build their lead to 10-3. Again, the Sounds responded with three in the fifth to make it a 10-6 game.
Center fielder Yairo Muñoz launched a solo homer in the top of the seventh to draw the Sounds within three runs at 10-7.
Nashville reliever Kyle Finnegan kept the Sounds in the game in the middle innings. The right-hander tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings and racked up four strikeouts in the process.
Iowa responded to Nashville's flurry of runs with another explosion of their own. The Cubs used five doubles off Tucker Healy to score another four runs in the bottom of the seventh.
It forced Sounds Manager Ryan Christenson to turn to a position player to pitch in the eighth. Ryan Lavarnway's one inning of relief marked the eighth time a position player has pitched for Nashville in 2017.
Iowa's fireworks on offense overshadowed a big offensive night for Nashville. Four different Sounds had multi-hit games, including three-hit games from Renato Núñez and Munoz.
Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in Des Moines. Right-hander Kendall Graveman makes a rehab start for the Sounds against right-hander Seth Frankoff (1-5, 4.15) for the Cubs. First pitch is set for 12:08 p.m.
The 2017 season is the Sounds' 40^th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics' top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.