The Nashville Sounds (68-55, 28-21) came a couple big hits short in their 4-1 loss to the Gwinnett Stripers (56-67, 23-25) on a hot and humid Saturday evening at Coolray Field. It was Nashville’s first loss against Gwinnett since May 14. They had previously won 11 consecutive contests against the Braves’ affiliate.
Like the four previous games in the series, pitching had the advantage in the early stages. Nashville starter Eric Lauer (1-3) faced the minimum through the first three innings, racking up five strikeouts, while Gwinnett’s Allan Winans (9-3) stifled Sounds scoring opportunities in the first and third. The bats awakened in the fourth when Cam Devanney’s two-out double plated Skye Bolt and put Nashville on the board first.
The lead lasted just two hitters. Gwinnett began their half of the fourth with three consecutive hits that turned into a pair of runs. After striking out the first two Stripers of the fifth, Lauer allowed a single and three consecutive walks, adding another run to Gwinnett’s tally before reliever Alex Claudio earned the third out.
Nashville had some chances to dig themselves out of their 3-1 deficit, putting two on with no out in the sixth and loading the bases with two outs in the seventh, but failing to push across a run. Gwinnett added another insurance run to the pile when Forrest Wall rudely greeted Nashville southpaw Fernando Abad with a solo home run to start the bottom of the eighth.
Tyler Black had the only multi-hit night for Nashville, knocking two singles. Devanney drove in Nashville’s lone run on their lone extra-base hit, while Abraham Toro (1B, 2 BB) reached base three times.
Janson Junk (6-8, 4.37) gets the ball for the Sounds in the series finale tomorrow afternoon. Gwinnett counters with southpaw Justus Sheffield (2-6, 8.47). The first pitch is scheduled for 12:05 p.m. CDT at Coolray Field in Georgia.
Post-Game Notes
- Lauer’s nine strikeouts sets a new season high for the southpaw. He had previously struck out six on five different occasions. It is the first time Lauer has struck out nine in less than 5.0 complete innings in his career.
- Abraham Toro extended his on-base streak to 16 games (since July 9). Over the span he is batting .409 (27-for-66) with 10 doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and a 1.184 OPS.
- Tyler Black continues to find his way on base, reaching in each of his 17 contests with Nashville. He is batting .250 (16-for-64) with seven extra-base hits, 16 runs and more walks than strikeouts (13/9).
- Black stole his 50th base of the season in the third inning of tonight’s contest, his third steal with Nashville. He is the 10th player in the minor leagues to reach 50 swipes in 2023.
The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets for the rest of the 2023 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail tickets@nashvillesounds.com.
