he Nashville Sounds (65-54, 25-20) put on a display of power up and down the lineup, hitting five homers in a 12-5 win over the Gwinnett Stripers (55-64, 22-22) to begin the series at Coolray Field on Tuesday night.
The Sounds took control early without the long ball, stringing together three hits with nobody out to start the scoring in the second. Owen Miller’s first hit scored Abraham Toro and Patrick Dorrian, then Miller came home on Brian Navarreto’s sac fly that made it 3-0 early.
Dorrian hit the first of Nashville’s handful of blasts, a solo homer that just stayed fair down the line in right to make it a 4-0 game. Gwinnett scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to make it a ball game before another big inning from the Sounds. Toro launched a three-run shot to right that made it a four-run game, then Miller cranked his second Sounds homer of the season to make it 8-3 in the fifth.
In the top of the sixth, Keston Hiura joined in on the long ball party with a solo homer to left. Jahmai Jones logged an infield RBI single later in the inning, making it a 10-3 lead for the Sounds. Leading 10-4 entering the final inning, Tyler Black hit Nashville’s fifth homer of the night off position player-turned-pitcher Daniel Robertson on a 3-0 changeup, a two-run blast. The Stripers scored once in the bottom of the ninth, but Darrell Thompson stranded the bases loaded for the 12-5 triumph.
Caleb Boushley (8-6) earned his 20th win as a Sounds starter in his career, going 5.0 innings. The Wisconsinite allowed three runs (all earned) on three hits, three walks and five strikeouts. He held Gwinnett scoreless through three and worked a 1-2-3 fifth inning to quality for the victory.
Nashville utilized three arms out of the bullpen. Alex Claudio allowed a run with two strikeouts in the sixth. Later, Ethan Small worked a pair of scoreless innings with a strikeout. Thompson gave up a couple hits and walked in a run before things got too interesting in the ninth.
As a team, the Sounds tied a season high with 17 hits and five home runs in the rout. Miller was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs, a double, a homer and three RBI. Both Hiura and Toro finished a triple shy of the cycle in their three-hit nights. Black reached three times with a pair of walks and a late home run. Jones also found his way on base three times with a pair of hits and a walk.
Evan McKendry (9-4, 4.08) will get the ball for the Sounds tomorrow night. He’ll face Gwinnett right-hander Darius Vines (2-1, 2.95). The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT at Coolray Field.
Post-Game Notes
- Jesse Winker finished 1-for-4 with a single and a strikeout as the designated hitter in his first game on the current Major League rehab assignment stint. The recently turned 30-year-old has been on Milwaukee’s 10-day injured list since July 26 with back spasms.
- Keston Hiura extended his on-base streak to 18 games (since July 28) and hitting streak to eight games with the multi-hit night. He’s batting .361 (26-for-72) with four doubles, seven homers, 23 RBI, 11 runs, a .403 on-base percentage and 1.121 OPS during the stretch.
- Tyler Black has reached base in all 14 Triple-A games played after the multi-walk, home run night. Though hitting .216 (11-for-51) during the streak, Black has drawn 13 walks and scored 15 runs since getting promoted from Double-A Biloxi on August 6.
- Owen Miller tied a career high with four hits. It is his sixth four-hit game and first since July 7, 2019, vs. Frisco while playing for Double-A Amarillo.
- Nashville has won eight straight games against Gwinnett dating back to May 14. This is their longest winning streak against a single opponent since winning 10 in a row against Columbus from Sept. 22, 2021 to July 9, 2022.
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.
