Sounds Falter Late in Loss to Tides

Keston Hiura crushes grand slam but Nashville falls 8-4

July 28, 2023

NORFOLK, Va. – Though they led early on thanks to Keston Hiura’s grand slam, the Nashville Sounds (53-45, 13-11) allowed seven runs in the final two innings, dropping their Friday night contest 8-4 to the Norfolk Tides (62-36, 13-11) at Harbor Park. Norfolk seemed to have the early advantage, plating

NORFOLK, Va. – Though they led early on thanks to Keston Hiura’s grand slam, the Nashville Sounds (53-45, 13-11) allowed seven runs in the final two innings, dropping their Friday night contest 8-4 to the Norfolk Tides (62-36, 13-11) at Harbor Park.

Norfolk seemed to have the early advantage, plating a run in the first inning against starter Janson Junk. The Tides would have scored another in the second, but Tyler Naquin’s laser from right field cut down Lewin Diaz at home for the inning’s third out.

But Nashville broke through in the third, loading the bags against Norfolk starter Cade Povich, who was making his Triple-A debut. Keston Hiura promptly cleared them, ripping his 16^th home run of the season to left and handing the Sounds a 4-1 lead.

Junk put his early hiccups in the rearview, settling in and retiring nine straight hitters from the fourth to the seventh inning. The right-hander departed after issuing a two-out walk in the seventh, which supplied just enough of an opening for Norfolk to score five runs against relievers Jake Cousins (L, 1-2) and J.B. Bukauskas. Norfolk’s Kyle Stowers greeted the latter with a go-ahead two-run blast on his first pitch, putting the Tides up 6-4. Another homer from Diaz in the eighth inning extended Nashville’s deficit to 8-4.

Offensively, the Sounds scuffled after the third inning, knocking just one hit from the fourth through the eighth. Though Nashville loaded the bases and brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, they did not score.

Skye Bolt posted Nashville’s only multi-hit game, going 2-for-4. Luis Urías and Josh VanMeter walked two times apiece. Hiura’s grand slam proved to be the only scoring play for the Sounds.

Both teams look to take the series lead in game five tomorrow night. Milwaukee’s No. 30 prospect (MLB Pipeline) righty Justin Jarvis (0-2, 10.80) gets the ball for Nashville, while Norfolk counters with southpaw Drew Rom (7-6, 5.49), the No. 18 prospect in the Orioles organization. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m. CDT from Harbor Park.

Post-Game Notes

Keston Hiura’s grand slam was the club’s fifth of the season, matching their total from the 2022 campaign. It was the third of Hiura’s career. He hit his first two within two weeks of each other, the first on June 13, 2019 and the second on June 24, 2019, both with Triple-A San Antonio.
Luis Urías drew two walks tonight, extending his on-base streak to 10 games. Urías is batting .289 (11-for-38) with 12 runs, a double, three homers, seven RBI and more walks (13) than strikeouts (8). He has a .481 OBP and 1.034 OPS over the span.
Josh VanMeter also drew two walks tonight. He’s taken ball four 30 times since returning from the 7-day injured list on June 21, the most in the International League over the span.
Tyler Naquin extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a two-out single in the ninth inning. Naquin is batting .319 (15-for-47) with seven runs, a double, two homers, seven RBI and a .828 OPS during the streak.

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Season ticket memberships for the 2023 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].