Nashville Sounds explode for 6 runs in the Seventh to beat Fresno Grizzlies 11-7

Stephen Parker, Anderson De La Rosa Each Contribute Four RBIs In Victory

Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds plated a season-high 11 runs, including six in the seventh frame, in an 11-7 victory over the visiting Fresno Grizzlies on Thursday evening at Greer Stadium.

The Sounds’ 5 through 8 hitters did most of the damage, combining to go 7-for-12 with 10 RBIs and six runs scored, as Nashville (10-22) recorded its third win in the last four contests.

Catcher Anderson De La Rosa also drove in four runs for Nashville during a 2-for-4 evening that included a pair of doubles.

Fresno first baseman Brett Pill belted a pair of home runs and drove in six of Fresno’s seven runs in the losing effort.

Pill spotted the visitors a quick 3-0 lead with a three-run homer to left off Sounds starter Frankie De La Cruz in the top of the first inning. Kensuke Tanaka drew a game-opening walk and Gary Brown singled before both scored on Pill’s one-out blast, the infielder’s eighth of the year.

Parker pulled Nashville back within a run in the second when he slugged a two-run homer to right-center. The blast, the infielder’s fourth of the year, came off Fresno starter Boof Bonser and extended Parker’s hitting streak to 12 games, the best effort by a Sound this season.

Nashville pulled ahead with a pair of runs in the fourth. Josh Prince led off with a double to right-center and Caleb Gindl drew a walk. After Hunter Morris grounded out to move up the runners, Sean Halton laced a game-tying RBI single to center and Parker followed with his third RBI of the night, a go-ahead sacrifice fly that plated Gindl for a 4-3 Sounds lead.

De La Cruz left in line for his second win of the year but took a no-decision after the Sounds’ bullpen failed to protect the lead. The veteran right-hander allowed three runs on four hits in 5 2/3 innings of action, walking a season-high five batters and striking out a pair.

The Sounds tacked on a run in the sixth when Halton doubled and later scored on De La Rosa’s sacrifice fly to deep left-center, stretching the home team’s advantage to 5-3.

Fresno pulled back even at 5-5 in the top of the seventh against Nashville reliever Donovan Hand. Pinch-hitter Chris Dominguez led off with a homer to left-center to greet the right-hander. The blast was Dominguez’s third roundtripper of the year and the first pinch-hit homer allowed by Sounds pitching since July 2011. Tanaka followed the dinger by drawing a walk and later came home to tie the contest on a Pill groundout.

The Sounds grabbed the lead right back in the home half of the frame, putting up a season-high six runs against Grizzlies reliever Brett Bochy.

Nashville loaded the bases before Parker drove in his fourth run of the evening by coaxing a two-out walk from the right-hander to force in Scooter Gennett, who has opened the frame by extending his PCL-best on-base streak to 27 games with a single.

De La Rosa followed with a three-run double to center that gave the Sounds a 9-5 cushion. The big inning continued for Nashville as Blake Davis and Hand knocked back-to-back RBI singles to make it an 11-5 game.

Fresno closed out the night’s scoring when Pill went yard for the second time in the contest, belting a two-out, two-run homer off Travis Webb in the top of the ninth.

Hand (2-1) was the beneficiary of the late Sounds rally, earning the win after allowing two runs in two relief innings. Bochy (1-1) suffered his first loss of the year after giving up the six -spot in just two-thirds of a frame.

The Sounds will look to capture their first winning series of the season when the teams meet for a 7:05pm finale on Friday evening. Right-hander Johnny Hellweg (1-4, 4.55) will man the bump for Nashville to face Fresno right-hander Justin Fitzgerald, who will make his Triple-A debut.

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