Nashville, TN – The Reno Aces used a strong start by Shelby Miller to score a 3-2 win over the Nashville Sounds in front of 5,058 fans Monday night at First Tennessee Park.
The two teams split the four-game series after the Sounds (70-53) won the first two games and the Aces (65-58) returned the favor in the final two.
Miller scattered 10 hits and limited the Sounds to two runs in 7 1/3 innings. He didn’t walk anybody and racked up nine strikeouts in his fourth win with Reno.
With one out in the top of the fifth, Reno’s Peter O’Brien snapped the streak when he crushed a solo homer to left field to give the Aces a 1-0 lead.
Cotton got through the fifth but found more trouble in the sixth. With Todd Glaesmann at third and Ronnie Freeman at second, Cotton struck out Ed Lucas for the second out of the inning. Nashville elected to intentionally walk Zach Borenstein but the moved backfired when Kyle Jensen sent a single into left to extend Reno’s lead to 3-0.
It looked as though the Sounds were going to get on the board in the home half of the sixth. With two outs and Colin Walsh at second, Jaycob Brugman lined a pitch from Miller into the left-center gap. Brugman was thrown out trying to stretch it to a double and was tagged out just before Walsh stepped on home plate.
Nashville did get on the board in the eighth. Rangel Ravelo doubled and scored easily when Arismendy Alcantara tripled into the right field corner. Brugman followed with an RBI groundout to trim the deficit to 3-2.
From there, Reno used a slew of relievers to finish off the Sounds. Joey Wendle kept the game alive with a two-out single in the ninth, but Silvino Bracho retired Matt McBride on a pop up to end the game.
Cotton allowed three runs in 5 2/3 innings and was tagged with the loss. Alcantara, Brugman, Wendle and Ravelo had multi-hit games for the Sounds while Renato Nunez extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
Next up for the Sounds is a four-game series with the Tacoma Rainiers at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Jesse Hahn (1-6, 3.66) makes a Major League rehab assignment start for the Sounds against right-hander Cody Martin (9-7, 3.93) for the Rainiers Tuesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Tickets for the 2016 Pacific Coast League playoff dates at First Tennessee Park are now available for purchase at the Nashville Sounds box office and online at www.nashvillesounds.com
The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling 615.690.4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com
