Two Late Runs Send Express to Win over Sounds

The Round Rock Express scored a pair of runs in the ninth inning en route to a 6-4 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 9,431 fans Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park.
With the game even at 4-4 in the top of the ninth, Round Rock's Travis Snider delivered a two-out, two-run double to give the Express a 6-4 lead, and eventual win.
Sounds (37-40) closer Jake Sanchez retired the first two batters of the inning. Back-to-back two-out knocks by Brett Nicholas and Ryan Rua set the stage for Snider who rifled a pitch from Sanchez down the left field line.
Jason Martinson followed with a base hit to left field, but left fielder Jaff Decker fired a perfect throw to catcher Ryan Lavarnway who put the tag on Snider to end the inning.
It was a back-and-forth contest throughout the night between the division rivals. Round Rock jumped on Sounds starter Chris Smith with three runs in the second inning to grab a 3-0 lead.
The Sounds fought back with two runs in the second, and another run in the fourth to even the game at 3-3.
Melvin Mercedes drove in a run with a triple off the right field wall, and Kenny Wilson knocked in a run with a base hit in the second. In the fourth, Wilson singled and swiped second and third before sprinting home with the tying run on a wild pitch.
Ryan Rua's run-scoring base hit sent the lead back to the Express in the fifth, but Nashville evened it up again in the bottom half of the inning. Jaff Decker's two-out base hit to center plated Mercedes to make it 4-4.
Both bullpens kept it there until the ninth when Sanchez allowed the double to Snider. Joely Rodríguez, Tony Barnette, Adam Loewen, and R.J. Alvarez combined to throw 5 1/3 shutout relief innings for the Express.
Decker, Wilson, and Mark Canha had multi-hit games for the Sounds. Decker's two hits extended his hitting streak to seven games.
Game three of the four-game series is scheduled for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Frankie Montas (0-1, 5.68) starts for Nashville against right-hander James Dykstra (0-1, 6.14) 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. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.