PCL1 Nashville Sounds

Sounds edge 'Birds

Published on June 30, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release


MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Nashville Sounds scored a pair of runs in the top of the tenth inning and hung on to record a 5-4 victory over the cross-state rival Memphis Redbirds on Monday evening at AutoZone Park in the opener of a four-game series.

With the win, Nashville (33-51) snapped a two-game skid and brought an end to the Redbirds' season-best seven-game winning streak.

Tony Gwynn opened the tenth with a walk from Redbirds reliever Mark Worrell then was sacrificed to second. Three batters later, Adam Heether put the Sounds in front with an RBI infield single that scored Gwynn. Worrell misfired on a pickoff attempt at first to allow a second run to score later in the frame.

The Redbirds didn't go down without a fight in the bottom of the inning.

Bryan Anderson led off with a double to left off Zach Jackson that tipped off the end of the glove of a diving Brendan Katin. After Jarrett Hoffpauir singled to put runners on the corners, Brian Barden followed with a single to left that brought home Anderson to make it a one-run game and sent Jackson to the showers without having retired a batter.

Joe Bateman took over on the hill for Nashville and induced a fly ball to center from Colby Rasmus, which allowed Hoffpauir to move to third with only one out. The right-hander bore down and retired the next two hitters on flyouts to left, the second of which off the bat of Joe Mather falling into Katin's glove at the base of the left field wall to end the contest. Bateman notched his first career Triple-A save with the effort.

The extra-inning contest was the seventh of the year for the Sounds, who led the majority of the evening before Memphis scored a two-out run against Luis Pena while down to its final strike in the bottom of the ninth.

Nashville took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the top of the first inning. After Gwynn reached second on a throwing error by Memphis shortstop Brian Barden, Sounds rightfielder Laynce Nix extended the club's longest active hitting streak to seven with an infield single to put runners on the corners. Brad Nelson followed with an RBI groundout to third.

The Redbirds answered with an unearned run of their own in the home half of the frame when Rasmus singled, stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by Sounds catcher Vinny Rottino, then scored on a Mather sacrifice fly.

Sounds starter Richie Gardner helped his own cause in the second and gave the visitors a 2-1 lead when his two-out RBI single plated Chris Woodward, who had preceded the hurler with his first triple of the year.

Gardner, who left in line for a win before a late blown save, allowed just one unearned run on five hits over his five innings of work to lower his ERA to 3.98 on the year.

Derrick Turnbow followed Gardner with a scoreless inning of work that included a pair of strikeouts.

The Sounds scratched across an insurance run in the seventh to stretch the lead to 3-1. Chris Woodward greeted Memphis reliever Ron Flores with a ground-rule double to right and later scored on a one-out RBI single off the bat of Hernan Iribarren (3-for-5).

Memphis pulled back within a run in the bottom of the seventh against rehabbing Sounds reliever Randy Choate. After the first batter was retired, the southpaw issued consecutive walks to Rasmus and Mather before pinch-hitter Josh Phelps ripped an RBI single to left to make it a 3-2 contest. The score was the first earned run permitted by Choate in 8 1/3 innings over his five rehab outings with Nashville.

Tim Dillard came on to work a scoreless eighth from the hill for the Sounds before turning things over to Pena, who suffered just his second blown save of the season.

After retiring the first two batters in the bottom of the ninth, Pena allowed a Phelps single then walked David Freese on four pitches before ex-Sound Mark Johnson delivered a game-tying RBI single back up the middle on a 1-2 offering to knot the score at 3-3.

Pena (1-0) backed into the victory for the Sounds after giving up the game-tying run in his lone frame of work.

Worrell (1-2) absorbed the loss after allowing the two tenth-inning scores for Memphis.

The teams continue the series with another 7:05 p.m. meeting on Tuesday in the Bluff City. Left-hander Sam Narron (4-3, 4.66) will make the start for the Sounds to face Memphis southpaw Jaime Garcia (4-3, 4.10).

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Pacific Coast League Stories from June 30, 2008


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