Sounds Take Second Straight From Express, 5-3
Published on June 27, 2008 under Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release
ROUND ROCK, Texas - Laynce Nix and Brad Nelson connected on back-to-back home runs in the top of the sixth inning to propel the Nashville Sounds to a 5-3 victory over the Round Rock Express on Friday evening at The Dell Diamond.
Nashville (32-49) has opened the series with the club's first consecutive wins since June 6-7.
Randy Choate started for Nashville and worked a scoreless frame, upping his total to 7 1/3 scoreless innings over four appearances during his rehab stint.
The Express took a 2-0 lead against Sounds left-hander Lindsay Gulin in the bottom of the second. Ray Sadler reached on a one-out double and moved to third on a J.R. Towles single before Nick Gorneault plated him with the game's first run on an RBI infield single. Yordany Ramirez followed with a sacrifice fly to double the Round Rock lead.
Round Rock added a third run in the following frame when former Sound J.R. House belted a two-out solo homer to left, his sixth roundtripper of the year.
The Sounds jumped on the board in the fifth when Tony Gwynn extended his season-best hitting streak to seven with a one-out double then scored one batter later on a Nix RBI single to make it a 3-1 contest.
Nashville jumped in front in the sixth with a four-run rally against Express starter Josh Miller. Nix and Nelson got things started with back-to-back home runs, the Sounds' third pair of consecutive jacks this season. Nix's two-run blast, which also scored Gwynn, was his 11th of the year, while Nelson matched the departed Russell Branyan for the 2008 team lead when he followed by mashing his 12th longball of the season, which gave the visitors a 4-3 lead.
The Sounds extended the advantage to 5-3 later in the frame when Adam Heether singled and later scored in unearned fashion on a two-out Brendan Katin RBI single after moving from first to third on a bad pickoff attempt by Miller.
Gulin (4-4) earned the win after he allowed three runs on five hits over five innings of work.
Derrick Turnbow followed Gulin to the hill and made his first relief appearance for Nashville in over a month. He allowed one hit and walked a batter in his one-third of an inning, throwing 19 pitches (seven strikes). The right-hander had served as the Sounds' starter in his previous six outings.
Tim Dillard followed with 1 2/3 innings of hitless relief, fanning three batters, before turning things over to close Luis Pena, who earned his 12th save of the year with a scoreless ninth.
Miller (4-5) took the loss after he surrendered five runs (four earned) on eight hits in his six frames of action.
The teams continue the series with another 7:05 p.m. meeting on Saturday. Left-hander Steve Hammond (0-1, 1.50) will head to the hill to make his second career Triple-A start for the Sounds and face an undetermined Round Rock starter.
Pacific Coast League Stories from June 27, 2008
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- Sidewinders on wrong end of lopsided affair - Tucson Sidewinders
- Rogowski's big bat leads River Cats to 9-3 victory - Sacramento River Cats
- Cubs upend 'Topes - Iowa Cubs
- âBirds outlast, outslug Zephyrs - Memphis Redbirds
- Z's drop slugfest - New Orleans Baby Cakes
- Sounds Take Second Straight From Express, 5-3 - Nashville Sounds
- Dodgers' Jason Schmidt to Start in Fresno on Saturday - Fresno Grizzlies
- Royals Game Notes - Omaha Storm Chasers
- Oklahoma RedHawks Game Notes - Oklahoma City Comets
- Hundley Rallies Beavers With Ninth-Inning Homer, 10th-Inning RBI Single - Portland Beavers
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