Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds endured a 9-7 defeat at the hands of the Albuquerque Isotopes on Tuesday evening at historic Greer Stadium in a contest that featured more runs scored (16) than total hits (14).
The loss was the second in a row for Nashville (51-45) following a three-game win streak and dropped the Sounds a game and a half behind first-place Iowa, which swept a doubleheader against Oklahoma City.
The game got off to a sloppy start as the teams played a 37-minute first inning that including nine runs scored on only two hits. The clubs combined for four errors, five walks, a wild pitch, and a passed ball in the opening frame.
Sounds pitcher Chris Waters suffered through a disastrous start as Albuquerque plated six first-inning runs using only one hit. The left-hander matched his season high for walks in a game within the first seven batters of the contest, issuing five free passes over that stretch including one with the bases loaded.
After Waters walked the bases loaded with three straight, the Isotopes got on the board when former Sound Jay Gibbons lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Ivan DeJesus, Jr. After a walk to Jamie Hoffmann re-loaded the bases, Lucas May – who struck out six times in six trips to the plate in Monday’s series opener – drew an RBI walk on a 3-2 pitch to make it a 2-0 contest.
With Justin Sellers at the plate, Waters made a pickoff throw to first that glanced off the top of first baseman Erick Almonte’s glove, allowing two more runs to score and increasing the visitors’ lead to 4-0 without the benefit of a hit. Sellers then jacked a two-run homer to left, his third longball of the season, to up the Isotopes’ lead to 6-0.
Waters (5-7) was tagged with the loss after surrendering six runs in his lone inning of work, the shortest start of the year by a Nashville pitcher. It marked only the fourth time in 18 starts that the southpaw allowed four or more runs in an outing.
Nashville got three runs back in the bottom of the inning against Albuquerque starter Alberto Bastardo using only one hit of their own as the Isotopes committed three errors in the frame. Ray Olmedo – who finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs on the night – recorded the lone Sounds’ hit of the inning, a two-out RBI single that cut the deficit to 6-3.
Albuquerque third baseman Russ Mitchell upped the Isotopes’ lead to 8-3 in the second when he slugged a two-run homer to left off Nashville reliever David Johnson that sailed just inside the left field foul pole, his 15th roundtripper of the year. DeJesus also scored on the blast after preceding Mitchell with a single.
DeJesus continued his solid night in the fourth when he drilled a two-out solo homer to left off Johnson, the infielder’s fourth tater of the season.
Milwaukee Brewers reliever LaTroy Hawkins made his first rehab appearance for the Sounds in the contest and pitched 1 1/3 hitless innings with one strikeout. He threw 17 pitches (12 strikes) and did not allow a ball out of the infield (two groundouts, one lineout).
Bastardo (4-1) picked up the win with a quality start for the visitors, allowing three unearned runs on four hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work.
The Sounds plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth against Albuquerque reliever Ramon Troncoso, but had a pair of runners thrown out at third during the inning to shorten the rally.
Mat Gamel and Brendan Katin drew consecutive walks to open the frame before Gamel scored on a one-out Olmedo single to left, a play which ended with Katin being tossed out at third after the throw to the plate was cut. After a Luis Cruz single put runner on first and second, the Sounds worked up a replay of the previous run-scoring play. Catcher Ben Johnson grounded an RBI single to left to plate Olmedo, with Cruz being erased at third by the mid-diamond cutoff man to end the inning.
Gamel wrapped up the night’s scoring in the ninth when he slugged a two-out, two-run homer to center off Isotopes reliever Cory Wade. The third baseman’s fifth home run of the year brought the score to its final 9-7 standing.
Almonte went 1-for-4 for the Sounds to extend his hitting streak to seven games, matching the veteran’s best effort of the year.
The teams continue the series with another 7:05pm meeting on Wednesday night. Left-hander Chase Wright (6-5, 3.56) will toe the rubber for the Sounds to face Albuquerque knuckleballer Charlie Haeger (1-1, 4.94).
Albuquerque Isotopes (50-45) 9, Nashville Sounds (51-45) 7
July 20th, 2010
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albuquerque | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 4 |
| Nashville | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 1 |
| Albuquerque | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oeltjen, T, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .308 |
| a-Restovich, PH-LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .289 |
| De Jesus, I, 2B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .295 |
| Mitchell, R, 3B | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .315 |
| Lindsey, 1B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .377 |
| Troncoso, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| b-Herrera, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .222 |
| Wade, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Gibbons, LF-RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .322 |
| Hoffmann, CF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .311 |
| May, C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .302 |
| Sellers, J, SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .248 |
| Bastardo, P | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .077 |
| Closser, 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .232 |
| Totals | 32 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | .300 |
| a-Struck out for Oeltjen, T in the 6th. b-Grounded out for Troncoso in the 9th. | ||||||||
| BATTING
HR: Sellers, J (3, 1st inning off Waters, 1 on, 2 out), Mitchell, R (15, 2nd inning off Johnson, D, 1 on, 1 out), De Jesus, I (4, 4th inning off Johnson, D, 0 on, 2 out). TB: De Jesus, I 5; Mitchell, R 5; Gibbons; Sellers, J 4. RBI: Gibbons (66), May (44), Sellers, J 2 (19), Mitchell, R 2 (57), De Jesus, I (37). 2-out RBI: May; Sellers, J 2; De Jesus, I. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Closser; Herrera. SF: Gibbons. Team RISP: 1-for-6. Team LOB: 4.BASERUNNING SB: Restovich (1, 2nd base off Smith, C/Johnson, B). FIELDING E: Mitchell, R (9, fielding), Lindsey (4, throw), Sellers, J 2 (11, fielding, fielding). PB: May (9). Outfield assists: Hoffmann (Katin at 3rd base), Restovich (Cruz, L at 3rd base). |
||||||||
| Nashville | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hopper, CF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .272 |
| Stern, LF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .301 |
| Gamel, 3B | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .272 |
| Katin, RF | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .255 |
| Almonte, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .332 |
| Olmedo, 2B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .266 |
| Cruz, L, SS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .291 |
| Johnson, B, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .215 |
| Waters, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .105 |
| Johnson, D, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| a-Narron, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Hawkins, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| McClendon, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| b-Raburn, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| Hinton, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Smith, C, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| c-Koshansky, PH | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .247 |
| Totals | 37 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 12 | .265 |
| a-Reached on error for Johnson, D in the 4th. b-Grounded out for McClendon in the 7th. c-Walked for Smith, C in the 9th. | ||||||||
| BATTING
HR: Gamel (5, 9th inning off Wade, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Gamel 5; Almonte; Olmedo 2; Cruz, L 2; Johnson, B. RBI: Katin (41), Olmedo 2 (35), Johnson, B (11), Gamel 2 (28). 2-out RBI: Olmedo; Johnson, B; Gamel 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Olmedo. Team RISP: 4-for-9. Team LOB: 6.FIELDING E: Almonte (5, pickoff). |
||||||||
| Albuquerque | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bastardo (W, 4-1) | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4.24 |
| Troncoso | 2.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4.32 |
| Wade | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.75 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 5.41 |
| Nashville | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waters (L, 5-7) | 1.0 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4.00 |
| Johnson, D | 3.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4.09 |
| Hawkins | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| McClendon | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2.40 |
| Hinton | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 |
| Smith, C | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3.77 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 3.83 |
WP: Bastardo, Hinton.
Pitches-strikes: Bastardo 97-63, Troncoso 35-21, Wade 16-9, Waters 43-17, Johnson, D 41-26, Hawkins 17-12, McClendon 21-16, Hinton 17-10, Smith, C 20-12.
Groundouts-flyouts: Bastardo 8-4, Troncoso 3-0, Wade 2-1, Waters 1-2, Johnson, D 4-3, Hawkins 2-0, McClendon 3-0, Hinton 1-1, Smith, C 1-0.
Batters faced: Bastardo 26, Troncoso 9, Wade 5, Waters 9, Johnson, D 13, Hawkins 4, McClendon 5, Hinton 5, Smith, C 4.
Umpires: HP: Eric Loveless. 1B: Shaun Francis. 2B: . 3B: Dixon Stureman.
Weather: 91 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 12 mph, R to L.
T: 2:55.
Att: 4,002.
Compiled by MLB Advanced Media
