Stripers' Offense Held in Check by Suffocating Pitching from Patrick, Sounds in 2-1 Loss

Luis Liberato homers and goes 2-for-3, but Gwinnett manages just one other hit outside of that in low-scoring loss to Nashville

Luis Liberato supplied all the offense Gwinnett would get on Thursday night with his solo home run in the fifth inning. (Josh Conner)

By Jack Johnson (@jackjohnson25)

August 1, 2024

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Luis Liberato smoked his first home run of the season in the fifth inning while Ian Anderson (L, 0-1) turned in a good start for the Gwinnett Stripers (14-16), but Chad Patrick and the Nashville Sounds' (17-12) pitching staff worked a masterful night and limited Gwinnett to

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Luis Liberato smoked his first home run of the season in the fifth inning while Ian Anderson (L, 0-1) turned in a good start for the Gwinnett Stripers (14-16), but Chad Patrick and the Nashville Sounds' (17-12) pitching staff worked a masterful night and limited Gwinnett to just three hits in a 2-1 loss on Thursday night at Coolray Field.

Decisive Plays: All three runs in the game were scored in the fifth inning. Nashville opened the scoring with an RBI sacrifice fly from Isaac Collins and an RBI groundout by Noah Campbell in the top half. Liberato clubbed a home run (1) to right field to bring the Stripers within a run. Gwinnett got the tying run aboard in the ninth inning after leadoff batter Nacho Alvarez Jr. was hit by a pitch, but Drake Baldwin bounced into a double play to end the Stripers bid at a comeback.

Key Contributors: Liberato (2-for-3, HR, RBI) was effectively all the offense Gwinnett received on Thursday night. Anderson (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 SO) opened with 4.0 scoreless frames. Relievers Brooks Wilson and Tommy Doyle each worked 2.0 scoreless innings of relief. For Nashville, Patrick (5.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 SO) was only hurt by the Liberato home run in an otherwise dominant outing. Collins got Nashville on the board and Campbell brought in the decisive run on offense.

Noteworthy: The 5.1 innings worked by Anderson were his most with Gwinnett since he went 5.1 innings on September 8, 2022, at Buffalo. The Stripers fell to 34-25 when hitting a home run, and 25-12 when holding their opponent without a home run. The home run for Liberato was his first since July 6, 2023, with Triple-A El Paso (San Diego Padres).

Next Game (Friday, August 2): Gwinnett vs. Nashville, 7:05 p.m. ET at Coolray Field. Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com and Bally Live, 7:00 p.m. on Peachtree Sports Network. RHP AJ Smith-Shawver (1-4, 5.53) will start for the Stripers opposed by RHP Easton McGee (0-0, 3.60) for Nashville. It's Princess & Pirate Night at Coolray Field, as well as another Fireworks Friday after the game.