Ryan Roberts Posts Team-Leading Third Fourth Hit Game of Season
Memphis, TN – Behind timely hitting from Ryan Roberts and Jake Smolinski, the Nashville Sounds defeated the Memphis Redbirds 6-4 at AutoZone Park on Tuesday night.
The game remained scoreless until the top of the fourth inning. Joey Wendle singled and went to third on Roberts’ double. The Sounds second baseman then scored on a wild pitch and Barry Zito went back to the mound with a lead.
The Sounds added insurance in the fifth. In his first game since being claimed off waivers from Texas, Smolinski singled and scored on a throwing error by Memphis’ pitcher Tim Cooney. Two more runs would score for Nashville in the frame and the Sounds led 4-0.
The veteran southpaw walked the first two batters he faced and then gave up an RBI single to Dean Anna. Dan Otero came in and helped Nashville out, allowing just one more run to score as Nashville went to the eighth inning clinging to a 4-3 lead.
Nashville got much needed insurance the following half inning. After Wendle grounded out, Roberts recorded his fourth hit of the game, the third time this season the Sounds infielder has gone 4-for-4, most on the team. Roberts would go to third on a Dayan Viciedo double. After Jason Pridie was intentionally walked and Nate Freiman popped out, Smolinski stepped in. The newest Sound delivered – his two-out single plated two runs to give the Sounds a 6-3 lead.
There were a few nervous minutes for Sounds fans as Memphis loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth, but closer Ryan Cook forced Cody Stanley to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and he then struck out Tommy Pham to finish the job, earning his sixth save.
The two teams will be back at the park first thing in the morning, with first pitch scheduled for 11:35am. It’s expected to be a battle of Zach’s from AutoZone Park, with the Sounds’ Neal dueling with the Redbirds’ Petrick. The Tennessee Lottery I-40 Cup Series is now tied at two games apiece.
Box Score
Nashville Sounds (31-41) 6, Memphis Redbirds (37-35) 4
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Sounds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Memphis Redbirds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 2 |
| Nashville | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentry, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .233 |
| Wendle, 2B | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .257 |
| Roberts, R, 3B | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .299 |
| Viciedo, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .182 |
| Pridie, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .301 |
| Freiman, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | .165 |
| Smolinski, LF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .429 |
| Romero, N, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .268 |
| Carlin, C | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .146 |
| Zito, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Otero, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Cook, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 34 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 16 | .256 |
| BATTING 2B: Roberts, R (16, Cooney), Viciedo (1, Butler, K). TB: Wendle; Romero, N; Viciedo 2; Roberts, R 5; Smolinski 2. RBI: Gentry (6), Roberts, R (22), Smolinski 2 (16). 2-out RBI: Roberts, R; Smolinski 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Freiman; Romero, N. SAC: Carlin. Team RISP: 2-for-9. Team LOB: 5.BASERUNNING CS: Gentry (2, 3rd base by Cooney/Tartamella), Roberts, R (2, 2nd base by Cooney/Tartamella). PO: Roberts, R (1st base by Cooney).FIELDING DP: 2 (Wendle-Romero, N-Viciedo 2). |
||||||||
| Memphis | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pham, CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .383 |
| Easley, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .272 |
| Johnson, D, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .254 |
| Piscotty, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .261 |
| Wilson, J, 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .261 |
| Anna, 2B | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .230 |
| Mejia, A, SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .189 |
| Ortega, R, RF | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .266 |
| Tartamella, C | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .183 |
| a-Stanley, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .216 |
| Cooney, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .231 |
| Wright, J, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Butler, K, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Waldron, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Totals | 32 | 4 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | .246 |
| a-Grounded into a double play for Tartamella in the 9th. | ||||||||
| BATTING TB: Ortega, R 3; Mejia, A; Anna 2; Tartamella; Pham. RBI: Pham 2 (15), Ortega, R (21). 2-out RBI: Pham. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Easley 2; Pham. SAC: Tartamella. GIDP: Wilson, J, Stanley. Team RISP: 3-for-8. Team LOB: 6.FIELDING E: Tartamella (3, catcher interference), Cooney (3, throw). Pickoffs: Cooney (Roberts, R at 1st base). |
||||||||
| Nashville | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zito (W, 5-6) | 6.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3.94 |
| Otero (H, 2) | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.86 |
| Cook (S, 6) | 1.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2.91 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 3.45 |
| Memphis | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooney (L, 6-4) | 6.0 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2.80 |
| Wright, J | 1.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5.79 |
| Butler, K | 0.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6.04 |
| Waldron | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.79 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3.98 |
Zito pitched to 3 batters in the 7th.
Game Scores: Zito 51, Cooney 53.
WP: Cooney.
IBB: Pridie (by Butler, K).
Pitches-strikes: Zito 102-58, Otero 17-13, Cook 16-11, Cooney 86-56, Wright, J 18-10, Butler, K 30-16, Waldron 4-3.
Groundouts-flyouts: Zito 4-6, Otero 4-0, Cook 1-0, Cooney 7-3, Wright, J 3-0, Butler, K 0-0, Waldron 2-0.
Batters faced: Zito 26, Otero 6, Cook 5, Cooney 25, Wright, J 4, Butler, K 6, Waldron 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Otero 2-1.
Umpires: HP: Marcus Pattillo. 1B: Shaun Lampe. 2B: Travis Eggert. 3B: Alex Ortiz.
Weather: 87 degrees, clear.
Wind: 9 mph, Varies.
T: 2:35.
Att: 3,197.
Venue: AutoZone Park.
June 23rd, 2015
