Nashville’s Michael Blazek powers Sounds to 4-2 victory over New Orleans Zephyrs

Nashville Sounds Baseball

First-Place Sounds Take Series Opener Against Division-Rival Z’s

Metairie, LA – Pitcher Michael Blazek tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings and accounted for three of Nashville’s four runs scored in the Sounds’ 4-2 victory over New Orleans on Saturday evening at Zephyr Field in the opener of a four-game series.

With the victory, the Sounds (62-53) maintained their two-game lead in the PCL American Conference Southern Division.

Blazek helped his own cause in the top of the fifth inning when the hurler led off with a double to right-center and later scored the night’s first run on a wild pitch from Zephyrs starter Anthony DeSclafani (2-3) to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead.

Blazek (2-for-3) continued to get it done with the lumber in the sixth, upping the Nashville advantage to 3-0 with a two-out, two-run single to right off Z’s reliever Bryan Evans.

Sean Halton (2-for-4) got things started in the frame with a leadoff doubled off the center field wall. With two down, New Orleans elected to intentionally walk Kevin Mattison, who was hitless in his last 17 at-bats, to face Blazek, and the hurler made them pay for that decision with his two-run knock. On the play, Mattison hustled around the bases to score from first.

Nashville tacked on another run in the seventh against Casey McCarthy. Jason Rogers (2-for-4) smacked a one-out double into the left field corner then scored on a Halton bloop single to shallow left-center that dropped among three Zephyrs defenders to make it a 4-0 contest.

The Zephyrs broke up the shutout bid in the home half of the seventh with a pair of runs off Sounds reliever Dustin Molleken. The speedy Austin Wates led off with an infield single before scoring two batters later on Mark Canha’s run-scoring double into the right field corner. Justin Bour followed with a first-pitch RBI single to left that halved the Nashville lead to 4-2.

Brent Leach (1.1 IP) and Rob Wooten closed out the victory with scoreless relief outings for Nashville; Wooten nailed down his ninth save of the year.

Eugenio Velez, who entered the game in the seventh inning as part of a double switch, flew out in his lone plate appearance to snap his season-best hitting streak at eight games for the Sounds.

The teams continue the series with a 4:00pm contest on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Mike Fiers (8-5, 2.62) will toe the slab for the Sounds to face New Orleans right-hander Alex Sanabia (5-4, 4.80).

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