Nashville Sounds
Round Rock, TX – The Nashville Sounds’ batters hit the ball high while starting pitcher Eric Jokisch kept it low en route to a 4-2 win over the Round Rock Express.
The Sounds belted three solo home runs within the first two innings while Jokish induced 11 ground outs on the night. Jokisch was economical on the mound as he needed just 72 pitches, 55 of which were strikes, to get through six innings. The lone blemish on the night for the southpaw was a leadoff home run in the sixth inning to Christian Lopes.
Dustin Fowler got the night started by yanking a solo home run down the right field line in the first inning.
Franklin Barreto began the second inning by swatting his 17th home run of the season.
Three batters later Bruce Maxwell belted his first home run of the season to make it 3-0. It was the fourth time in his career Round Rock starter Yohander Mendez allowed three or more home runs in a game.
Nashville added a fourth run in the fourth inning. Barreto and Sheldon Neuse each recorded one-out singles to put runners on the corners. Steve Lombardozzi then skied a fly ball to right field that was deep enough to score Barreto from third base.
Round Rock got on the board in the sixth from Lopes and then Carlos Perez led off the seventh with a solo shot off Ryan Dull to cut the deficit in half. Josh Lucas and Liam Hendriks pitched the eighth and ninth innings respectively to shut the door on the Express. For Hendriks it was his 14th scoreless outing in a row and sixth save of the season.
The Sounds head to Memphis for a four-game series. Game one of the series between the Sounds and the Redbirds is scheduled for Friday night at AutoZone Park. Left-hander Jesus Luzardo (1-0, 3.46) starts for Nashville against left-hander Kevin Herget (8-10, 4.49) for Memphis. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Nashville Sounds Post-Game Notes
With tonight’s 4-2 win, the Sounds improved to 68-61 on the season.
Third baseman Sheldon Neuse extended his hitting streak to nine games with a single in the fourth inning.
Eric Jokisch logged his ninth quality start of the season…6 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Franklin Barreto went 2-for-3 with a home run and a single. He’s hitting .396 (19-for-48) in 14 games in the month of August.
Liam Hendriks picked up his sixth save of the season in what was his 14th straight scoreless outing. He has gone 16 1/3 straight innings without allowing a run, the second longest streak of the season by a Sounds pitcher.
The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling 615.690.4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com
