Sounds Play Home Run Derby in Win Over 51s

The Nashville Sounds launched four home runs and returned home with an emphatic 10-4 win over the Las Vegas 51s in front of 8,187 fans at First Tennessee Park Tuesday night.
Mark Canha drilled a pair of home runs, his 10^th and 11^th of the season for Nashville to lead the charge. Matt Olson added his 20^th of the season and Renato Núñez added to his Minor League lead with his 26^th of the year.
It was Olson's two-run shot in the first that started the barrage. Franklin Barreto started the home half of the frame with a base hit up the middle. Olson followed with a towering blast to right-center off Donovan Hand to give the Sounds a 2-0 lead.
Canha joined the party in the third when he started the inning with his 100^th career homer to give the Sounds a 3-0 lead. The offense carried on when Beau Taylor doubled and Yairo Muñoz knocked him in with a single. Nunez added a sacrifice fly to cap the three-run inning.
The trouble for Hand continued in the fourth when Nunez drilled an opposite-field solo blast. The shot to right-center made it a 6-0 game. Jaff Decker followed with a double, Chris Carter drew a walk, and Canha drilled a three-run homer to deep left field to give the Sounds a 9-0 lead.
Barreto added an RBI single in the five-run fourth inning that capped the Sounds' scoring for the night.
It was more than enough run support for right-hander Jharel Cotton. Working on a Major League rehab assignment, Cotton shut out the 51s over six brilliant innings. He allowed only two hits and matched a season-high nine strikeouts.
Cotton allowed a single in the first to Neil Walker, and yielded a double in the third to Phillip Evans. He retired the final 10 batters he faced in his third win of the year with the Sounds.  
Las Vegas made noise in the later innings with a single tally in the seventh and three in the eighth to make it a 10-4 game.
Canha's two-homer game was part of his perfect 5-for-5 night at the plate. In addition to the home runs, he singled in the third, doubled in the sixth, and singled in the eighth. The five-hit game tied a single-game franchise record most recently done by Bruce Maxwell last year.
Four other Sounds had multi-hit games including a 3-for-5 night from Barreto.
Game two of the four-game series is set for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Jesse Hahn (0-0, 6.23) starts for Nashville against right-hander Wilfredo Boscan (4-9, 5.07) for Las Vegas. 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. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.