Nashville Sounds
Memphis, TN – The Nashville Sounds rallied behind a big two-run double from Renato Nuñez in the top of the eighth inning en route to a 6-3 win over the Memphis Redbirds at AutoZone Park Saturday night.
After trailing multiple times throughout the night, Nuñez stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the eighth and drilled a ball off the wall to plate a pair of runs to put the Sounds (32-28) ahead for good.
The double was the second of the night for Nunez who is hitting .405 (17-for-42) over his last 12 games.
Young left-hander Dalton Sawyer was pressed into action for Nashville and made a spot start after being transferred from Single-A Beloit earlier in the day. The southpaw allowed a two-run double to Carson Kelly in the first inning but settled in nicely and delivered a quality start.
Memphis came right back with a homer of their own when Luke Voit started the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot to give the Redbirds a 3-2 lead.
The top home run hitting team in Minor League Baseball was not done, however. Sounds shortstop Franklin Barreto tied the game at 3-3 with a solo blast in the top of the sixth inning. Looking to break out of a slump, Barreto went 2-for-5 and had his first multi-hit game since May 26th.
Sawyer faced the minimum in the sixth and left to a no-decision after allowing three runs in six frames in his first Triple-A start.
Barreto started the eighth with a single and moved to second on a passed ball. Joey Wendle walked and Mark Canha was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Nuñez. The left-fielder delivered his clutch double off the center field wall to chase Barreto and Wendle home for a 5-3 lead.
Jaff Decker added a sacrifice fly to cap the scoring on the night.
Right-hander Chris Jensen relieved Sawyer and was brilliant in three innings of relief. He picked up the win after he shut out the Redbirds on just one hit. Jensen racked up four strikeouts in his third win of the season.
The series finale is scheduled for Sunday afternoon in Memphis. Right-hander Michael Brady (3-1, 3.19) starts for the Sounds against right-hander Luke Weaver (6-1, 1.84) for the Redbirds. First pitch is set for 2:05pm.
The 2017 season is the Sounds’ 40th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling 615.690.4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com
