Sounds Drop Series Opener To Rainiers
Published on August 16, 2003 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release
TACOMA, Wash. -- The Nashville Sounds dropped their second consecutive game via an opponent's run in their last at-bat on Friday evening, falling 4-3 to the Tacoma Rainiers in the opener of a four-game series at Cheney Stadium.
The loss, coupled with a New Orleans victory over Iowa, reduced the Sounds' lead in the PCL East Division to seven games.
Tacoma took an early 1-0 lead when veteran catcher Pat Borders hit a first-inning solo homer off Nashville spot starter Jeff Bennett, who filled in for right-hander Matt Bruback on short notice. Bruback was designated for assignment by the Pittsburgh Pirates to make a spot on the 40-man roster for newly-acquired infielder Bobby Hill. The longball was Borders' 11th of the year.
The Sounds responded quickly, plating a pair of second-inning runs courtesy of RBI singles by Tomas de la Rosa and Brad King.
The host Rainiers came right back with two of their own in the third to take a 3-2 advantage but Nashville outfielder Adam Hyzdu knotted the score in the sixth with his third home run of the season, a solo shot off Tacoma starter Chris Wright.
The game remained deadlocked at 3-3 until the bottom of the eighth, when Tacoma touched Sounds reliever Duaner Sanchez for the go-ahead run. J.J. Putz held Nashville scoreless in the ninth to preserve the 4-3 win and pick up his seventh save of the campaign.
Tacoma reliever Aaron Looper (4-2) was awarded the victory after tossing two scoreless frames, while Sanchez (4-4) was tagged with the loss.
Nashville outfielder J.J. Davis went 0-for-4 to snap his 10-game hitting streak, the longest active on the club and only the team's fifth double-digit streak of the year.
The clubs meet again at 9:05 p.m. CDT on Saturday evening for the second game of the four-game set. Right-hander Ryan Vogelsong (11-7, 4.18) will toe the rubber for the Sounds and face Tacoma southpaw Craig Anderson (9-11, 3.68).
Pacific Coast League Stories from August 16, 2003
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