Sounds Hit .500 Mark with Win over Express

The Nashville Sounds pulled back to the even mark with a 5-4 win over the Round Rock Express Thursday night at Dell Diamond.
At 12-12, the Sounds have won six of their last seven games, including two of three in Round Rock with the #BattleForTheBoot series finale looming Friday night.
Before starter Chris Smith delivered his first pitch of the night, the Sounds gave him a 3-0 lead to work with. Jaycob Brugman, who went 3-for-4, doubled with one out and stayed at second when Mark Canha drew a walk off Round Rock hurler Eddie Gamboa.
Matt Olson made the free pass hurt when he launched a three-run blast to right field to give the Sounds an early 3-0 lead. It was the fourth home run of the season for Olson.
The Express bounced back in the bottom of the first with two runs. Ronald Guzmán and Brett Nicholas collected run-scoring base hits, but Smith buckled down and struck out three consecutive batters with a runner at third to take a 3-2 lead to the second.
It didn't stay that way for long as Chris Parmelee joined the home run action with a solo blast to right field to make it 4-2. With two home runs in the win, the Sounds have 19 over the last eight games.
Smith cruised in the middle innings as he scattered a few base runners. The veteran right-hander got double play groundballs to end the third, fourth, and fifth innings. He walked a pair and struck out eight in his second win of the season.
With one out in the top of the sixth, Sounds third baseman Matt Chapman ripped a triple to the gap in left-center, narrowing missing another home run. Parmelee followed with a sacrifice fly to extend Nashville's lead to 5-2.
Smith worked into the sixth inning, but left with two on and two out. Chris Jensen relieved him and struck out Pat Cantwell to leave the tying run at the plate.
Jensen allowed a pair of runs in the seventh, but turned in a 1-2-3 eighth inning before handing over to Ross Detwiler. The lefty worked around a two-out base hit by Jurickson Profar to earned his second career save.
Brugman and Chapman had multi-hit games while Olson and Parmelee drove in all five of Nashville's runs.
The series finale between the Sounds and Express is scheduled for Friday night at Dell Diamond. Right-hander Zach Neal (1-2, 4.87) starts for Nashville against right-hander Tyler Wagner (0-3, 9.55) for Round Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
The 2017 season is the Sounds' 40^th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics' top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.