Nashville Sounds
Oklahoma City, OK – The Nashville Sounds came from behind in the ninth inning to defeat the Oklahoma City Dodgers 10-9 and complete the four-game sweep. Beau Taylor’s four-RBI effort spurred the comeback win for the Sounds as the two teams combined for 19 runs on 28 hits and five lead changes.
The Sounds entered the ninth inning down 9-7 but a leadoff walk to Ramon Laureano sparked a rally. Jake Smolinski then singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. Anthony Garcia cut the deficit in half with a base hit.
Taylor then delivered the game-winning hit as he ripped a two-run triple into the gap in right center field to complete the comeback. It was the second three-run deficit the Sounds overcame on the night. The
Oklahoma City went out in front with a run in the first and two in the second to take a 3-0 advantage.
The Sounds muscled up on Oklahoma City’s Guillermo Moscoso in the fourth inning to take a 5-3 lead. Smolinski started off the frame with a bang. Nashville’s center fielder smacked a solo shot to left field to pull the Sounds within a pair of runs. After a Garcia walk, Taylor went yard for his first home run of the campaign to tie the game. Two more walks from Moscoso kept the rally going and Nick Martini capitalized by yanking a two-run double to right field.
The lead was brief, however, as two Sounds errors proved costly. Throwing errors by third baseman Sheldon Neuse and shortstop Jorge Mateo allowed Oklahoma City to score three runs in the frame and go back in front.
The back-and-forth game continued in the fifth as Nashville loaded the bases with no outs. After a pair of strikeouts, the possibility of a golden opportunity wasted was looming, but Steve Lombardozzi came through with a base hit up the middle to plate a pair of runs and regain the lead for Nashville. The Dodgers posted a single run in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings to put themselves in position to salvage a game in the series but the Sounds had other plans.
Taylor’s ninth-inning heroics propelled the Sounds to victory and put Nashville in position to match its season-long winning streak of five games Friday night. It was the first series sweep of the season for Nashville.
The Sounds travel to Nebraska for a five-game series against the Omaha Storm Chasers. Game one is scheduled for Friday night at Werner Park. An All-Star pitching matchup will pit right-hander James Naile (5-6, 3.93) for the Sounds against right-hander Trevor Oaks (4-3, 2.05) for the Storm Chasers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Post-Game Notes
With tonight’s 10-9 win, the Sounds improved to 37-40.
The Sounds have four one-run wins in the last 48 hours and are now 16-13 in one-run games in 2018.
After Thursday night’s 10-9 game, the Sounds and Dodgers have played seven straight one-run games against each other.
Since April 14th, Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in with the Sounds. The 58-game on-base streak is the longest in the Pacific Coast League since at least 2009 when MLBAM began tracking the statistic.
With his three hits Thursday night, Nick Martini has now hit safely in a PCL-leading 19 straight road games.
Sheldon Neuse committed two errors Thursday night, his third multi-error game of the season. There has been a total of seven multi-error games by Sounds players in 2018.
The game lasted three hours and 41 minutes, making it the longest nine-inning game of the season for the Sounds.
The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling 615.690.4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com