Eddys Leonard has two extra-base hits and two RBI in the loss

Nashville couldn’t recover from Louisville’s seven-run third inning in a 9-6 loss Friday night at Louisville Slugger Field, evening the series at two games apiece. Eddys Leonard led one of three multi-hit performances for the Sounds, finishing with two extra-base hits and his team-high 23rd RBI of the season.

The Sounds jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Luis Matos and Leonard opened the game with back-to-back doubles, and Jordyn Adams followed with a two-run triple. Tate Kuehner made his first professional start in Louisville, where he played collegiately and still spends his offseasons. After two scoreless innings, the Bats broke through for seven runs on four hits in the third against the left-hander. Kuehner lasted 5.2 innings, allowing a career-high eight earned runs on eight hits while striking out six.

Nashville answered with runs in three straight innings to pull within one. Leonard hit his sixth home run of the season in the fourth, and the Sounds added another run in the fifth on three hits. Brock Wilken extended his on-base streak to 26 games with his team-leading ninth double, but he and Jett Williams were both stranded in scoring position, leaving Nashville down two. Blake Perkins drove in a run with his second hit of the night in the sixth, but an inning-ending double play cut short the comeback.

Edwin Arroyo stayed hot in the series, hitting solo home runs in the sixth and eighth innings. Nashville put its leadoff hitter on base in both the seventh and eighth but did not record another hit over the final three innings.

With the series tied through four games, Nashville will try to regain the edge Saturday night behind right-hander Carlos Rodriguez (0-3, 5.63 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:15 p.m. CT.

POSTGAME NOTES:

NARD WORK: Eddys Leonard posted his ninth multi-hit game in his last 16 contests dating to April 17, going 2-for-4 Friday night with his sixth home run of the season. Over that 16-game stretch, he is batting .436 with four homers, three doubles, and 16 RBI. His .436 average ranks second in Triple-A during that span, while he also ranks second in OBP (.516), third in OPS (1.225), and seventh in slugging (.709). Leonard’s 15 extra-base hits lead Nashville in 2026 and are tied for the most through the first 30 games of any season in his professional career. He also had 15 extra-base hits through 30 games with Triple-A Gwinnett last season. Since the start of 2021, he ranks eighth in hits (609), sixth in doubles (135), and fifth in extra-base hits (244) among all full-season minor leaguers.

STILL STREAKING: Brock Wilken extended his on-base streak to 26 games and his hitting streak to six with a fifth-inning double Friday night. His 26-game on-base streak is now the longest active streak in the International League, tied for the fourth-longest active streak in Triple-A, and tied for the sixth-longest in the minors. He also matched Andruw Monasterio for the sixth-longest on-base streak by a Nashville player since the start of the 2023 season and tied for the 12th-longest by a Sounds player since 2005. Since the streak began April 10, the Brewers’ No. 21 prospect ranks tied for third in Triple-A with nine doubles and tied for fourth with 19 walks.

TRIPLE, EH?: Jordyn Adams recorded his second triple in as many games Friday night. In just two games, he has already tied Cooper Pratt (29 games) for the team lead in triples. The former 17th overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft now has 29 career triples, including 16 in Triple-A since the start of the 2023 season, tied for fifth-most at that level during that span. Dodgers prospect Ryan Ward leads Triple-A with 20.

NOT SO HOMEY: Tate Kuehner’s first professional outing in Louisville was a difficult one. Kuehner pitched at the University of Louisville from 2020-23 before Milwaukee selected him in the seventh round of the 2023 MLB Draft, and he still lives in Louisville during the offseason. Friday marked his first time pitching there as a professional, and he allowed a career-high eight earned runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings. It was only the third time in 55 career appearances (49 starts) that he had given up five or more earned runs in a game, and two of those outings have come against the Bats. He previously allowed what was then a career-high five earned runs in his second Triple-A start for Nashville on Aug. 20, 2025, against Louisville at First Horizon Park. Friday also marked just the third time in his professional career that he has surrendered two or more home runs in an outing, with the Bats responsible for two of those three games.