Nashville Sounds Baseball
Infielder Taylor Green Goes Yard To Record Nashville’s Only Run
Des Moines, IA – The Nashville Sounds failed to keep up with the Iowa Cubs Wednesday afternoon at Principal Park, losing by a 6-1 margin: the team’s largest deficit of the season.
Tied 1-1, the I-Cubs took control of the game by scoring two runs off Sounds starter Johnny Hellweg (1-1) in the fifth inning. The 6-foot-9 hurler surrendered a wild pitch to score Arismendy Alcantara, who reached base on balls and moved to third on Javier Baez’s double over a leaping Kevin Mattison in centerfield.
Hellweg took the loss, his first, allowing three runs on five hits and four walks over five innings of work. He fanned a total of five I-Cubs before reliever Alfredo Figaro started the sixth inning by allowing Brett Jackson a lead-off home run.
Figaro remained in the game and was touched for a two-run homer in the seventh inning off the bat of Josh Vitters. The dinger scored Baez, 2-for-4, who singled into right-field earlier in the frame. Dustin Molleken finished up for the Sounds by striking out the side in the eighth.
Nashville scored their only run in the second inning when Taylor Green, 2-for-3, lifted a solo home run over the right-center field wall. Green’s two-out bomb is his first and the team’s fifth of the young season.
I-Cubs starting pitcher Carlos Pimentel (1-1) helped his own cause in the home half of the second inning, slapping a two-out single through the infield to drive home Coghlan and level the game.
Pimentel held Sounds batters to three hits en route to his first win of the season, collecting 10 strikeouts along the way. Iowa pitchers combined for 16 strikeouts on the day, the most allowed by Sounds batters this season.
Sounds outfielder Eugenio Velez entered as a pinch hitter for Hellweg in the sixth inning and failed to record a hit for the first time at the Triple-A level since August 11th, 2013. The utility man ended last season on a 22-game hit streak and began his 2014 campaign with hits in five consecutive games. Hunter Morris, 0-for-4, also saw his five-game streak end today.
The Sounds conclude their season-opening road trip on Thursday at 12:05pm in Iowa. Nashville sends RHP Jimmy Nelson (1-0, 1.50) to the hill opposite the I-Cubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (0-1, 11.57). Sounds broadcaster Jeff Hem has the call on 102.5-FM “The GAME”. The Sounds home opener, presented by PPG Porter Paints, is scheduled for Friday, April 11th at Greer Stadium against the reigning PCL Champion Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA-Royals).
Box Score
April 9th, 2014
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville Sounds | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| Iowa Cubs | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | x | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| Nashville | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falu, SS | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .176 |
| Orr, 2B | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .385 |
| Gindl, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .111 |
| Morris, H, 1B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .296 |
| Hermida, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .214 |
| Green, T, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .300 |
| Pagnozzi, C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 |
| Mattison, CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .000 |
| Hellweg, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| a-Velez, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Figaro, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| b-Halton, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .158 |
| Molleken, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 31 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 9 | .228 |
| a-Flied out for Hellweg in the 6th. b-Struck out for Figaro in the 8th. | ||||||||
| BATTING HR: Green, T (1, 2nd inning off Pimentel, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Hermida; Orr 2; Green, T 5. RBI: Green, T (1). 2-out RBI: Green, T. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Gindl; Hermida. Team RISP: 0-for-3. Team LOB: 4.BASERUNNING SB: Falu (2, 2nd base off Pimentel/Flores, L). |
||||||||
| Iowa | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Szczur, CF | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | .192 |
| Alcantara, 2B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .238 |
| Baez, J, SS | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .136 |
| Vitters, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .350 |
| Coghlan, 1B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .273 |
| Villanueva, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .300 |
| Jackson, B, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .143 |
| Flores, L, C | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .167 |
| Pimentel, P | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .333 |
| a-Watkins, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 |
| Rosscup, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| b-Anderson, La, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .077 |
| Hatley, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 32 | 6 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 11 | 12 | .197 |
| a-Struck out for Pimentel in the 6th. b-Struck out for Rosscup in the 8th. | ||||||||
| BATTING 2B: Coghlan (2, Hellweg), Baez, J (1, Hellweg). HR: Jackson, B (1, 6th inning off Figaro, 0 on, 0 out), Vitters (2, 7th inning off Figaro, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Jackson, B 4; Alcantara; Baez, J 3; Coghlan 3; Vitters 4; Villanueva; Pimentel. RBI: Pimentel (1), Coghlan (1), Jackson, B (1), Vitters 2 (4). 2-out RBI: Pimentel. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Vitters; Szczur; Pimentel. SF: Coghlan. Team RISP: 1-for-6. Team LOB: 7.BASERUNNING SB: Alcantara (2, 2nd base off Hellweg/Pagnozzi). |
||||||||
| Nashville | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hellweg (L, 1-1) | 5.0 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 4.35 |
| Figaro | 2.0 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5.79 |
| Molleken | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3.86 |
| Totals | 8.0 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 3.42 |
| Iowa | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pimentel (W, 1-1) | 6.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 4.09 |
| Rosscup (H, 1) | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Hatley | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 1 | 4.86 |
WP: Hellweg, Pimentel.
Pitches-strikes: Hellweg 87-49, Figaro 33-21, Molleken 13-9, Pimentel 85-58, Rosscup 27-20, Hatley 14-11.
Groundouts-flyouts: Hellweg 6-4, Figaro 1-1, Molleken 0-0, Pimentel 3-4, Rosscup 0-1, Hatley 1-0.
Batters faced: Hellweg 24, Figaro 10, Molleken 3, Pimentel 21, Rosscup 7, Hatley 4.
Umpires: HP: Shaun Lampe. 1B: Thomas Newsom. 2B: Brian Hertzog. 3B: Marcus Pattillo.
Weather: 60 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 11 mph, L to R.
T: 2:32.
Att: 4,747.
Venue: Principal Park.
April 9, 2014
