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PCL1 Nashville Sounds

Sounds 'Blast' Rainiers, 6-4, Using Three HRs

May 13, 2004 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release


NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Sounds offense did what they know best in defeating Tacoma on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium, belting three homers to produce all but one of their runs a 6-4 victory over the PCL-leading Rainiers.

The Nashville pitching staff did their part as well, fanning a season-high 14 batters including seven by reliever Mike Gonzalez.

The Sounds (18-16) moved two games over .500 for the first time this season and pulled within a half-game of Oklahoma for the Eastern Division lead, pending the result of the RedHawks' game in Tucson later Thursday night.

Tacoma took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, scoring an unearned run that resulted from a fielding error by Sounds third baseman Chris Truby.

Truby (2-for-4, 3 RBI) quickly made amends when he gave Nashville a 3-1 lead with one swing of the bat in the bottom of the frame, hammering Rainiers starter Craig Anderson's 2-2 pitch high over the left field foul pole for a two-out, three-run homer. The longball was his sixth of the campaign.

Sounds home run leader Ruben Mateo (3-for-3) padded his longball total as well as the Nashville advantage in the bottom of the third when he belted a two-out solo homer to left-center, his 11th roundtripper. Tony Alvarez hit his second homer in as many games and third of the season, a fifth-inning solo shot off Anderson, to increase the Nashville lead to 5-1.

The Rainiers pulled within a run in the sixth with a three-run rally against Nashville starter Nelson Figueroa. Bucky Jacobsen ripped an RBI double into the left field corner to plate Mickey Lopez with the inning's first run. A.J. Zapp followed with his seventh home run of the year, a two-run shot to right-center that reduced the lead to 5-4.

Gonzalez worked out of a self-induced jam in the top of the seventh. After Rainiers leadoff man Elpidio Guzman reached third with only one out, Gonzalez fanned Hiram Bocachica and Jacobsen to escape the inning.

Nashville produced an insurance run in the bottom of the frame on Mateo's two-out RBI double to left-center that scored Alvarez to extend the lead to 6-4.

Figueroa (4-3) allowed three earned runs in his 5 2/3 innings of work to pick up the victory. Gonzalez earned his second save of the season after fanning a season-high seven batters over 3.0 scoreless frames. Anderson (0-3) remains winless after allowing five runs in 4 2/3 frames.

The Sounds and Rainiers wrap up the series with a 7 p.m. finale on Friday evening at Greer Stadium. Left-hander Cory Stewart (4-0, 3.48) will toe the rubber for Nashville and face southpaw Travis Blackley (2-2, 3.79). The Sounds' first Friday fireworks show of the season will follow the contest.

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Pacific Coast League Stories from May 13, 2004


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