Jake Smolinski Goes 2-for-4, Raises Average to .427
Nashville, TN – The Memphis Redbirds won The Tennessee Lottery I-40 Cup with an 11-2 victory over the Nashville Sounds in front of 8,401 fans at First Tennessee Park on Sunday night.
Dean Anna led the contest off with a double and from there the hits just kept coming for Memphis. The Redbirds tagged Sounds starter Brad Mills for a season-high seven runs, chasing him after four plus innings. Dan Johnson and Tommy Pham led the way for the Redbirds, combining to go 5-for-6 with three runs and four RBI off the Sounds southpaw, as Memphis took an 8-0 lead after five.
The veteran would take advantage, lining a double down the left field line that pushed Smolinski to third, extending the inning for Max Muncy. The Sounds first baseman then drove in the two players with a single to right, making the score 8-2.
However the momentum did not last for Nashville as Memphis jumped on Sounds switch-pitcher Pat Venditte for three runs – two earned – the very next half inning. Venditte, who entered the game with 1.18 ERA, gave up three extra-base hits in 2/3 of an inning, including a home run to Cody Stanley and a double to Pham. Pham finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBIs.
With the victory, Memphis (8-8) retains the Tennessee Lottery I-40 Cup between the cross-state division rivals. The Sounds last won the cup in 2012.
Nashville will enjoy a league-wide off day tomorrow, their first break in almost four weeks. The Sounds will then return to action on Tuesday night at the Iowa Cubs’ Principal Park when they begin a four-game set with the I-Cubs. Nate Long (2-4, 6.05) is expected to get the ball for Nashville and will be opposed by Tsuyoshi Wada (3-4, 3.84). First pitch is scheduled for 7:08pm.
Box Score
Nashville Sounds (52-64) 2, Memphis Redbirds (61-55) 11
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memphis Redbirds | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| Nashville Sounds | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 2 |
| Memphis | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anna, 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | .268 |
| Easley, C | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .256 |
| Johnson, D, 1B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .267 |
| Pham, CF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .365 |
| Ortega, R, CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .278 |
| Garcia, G, SS | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | .291 |
| Scruggs, LF | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .239 |
| Stanley, DH | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .248 |
| Wilson, J, 3B | 5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .231 |
| Hazelbaker, RF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .353 |
| Greenwood, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Waldron, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .200 |
| Thomas, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Wright, J, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 42 | 11 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 28 | .259 |
| BATTING 2B: Anna (19, Mills), Johnson, D (12, Mills), Easley (8, Venditte), Pham (9, Venditte). HR: Stanley (6, 7th inning off Venditte, 0 on, 0 out). TB: Hazelbaker; Stanley 6; Anna 3; Pham 5; Johnson, D 3; Wilson, J; Easley 2. RBI: Pham 4 (38), Johnson, D (45), Scruggs (45), Wilson, J 2 (41), Anna (37), Stanley (38), Easley (26). 2-out RBI: Johnson, D; Pham 2; Anna; Easley. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Garcia, G 3; Anna 2; Easley; Johnson, D. GIDP: Garcia, G. Team RISP: 8-for-20. Team LOB: 11.FIELDING E: Garcia, G (14, fielding). |
||||||||
| Nashville | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gentry, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .241 |
| Wendle, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .277 |
| Smolinski, RF | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .427 |
| Roberts, R, LF | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .297 |
| Muncy, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .260 |
| Freiman, DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .208 |
| Parrino, SS | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .274 |
| Morel, 3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .209 |
| Blair, C, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .243 |
| Mills, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Kurcz, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Huntzinger, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Venditte, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Coke, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Otero, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Alvarez, R, P | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Totals | 35 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 9 | .259 |
| BATTING 2B: Roberts, R (27, Greenwood), Smolinski (13, Thomas). TB: Freiman; Roberts, R 2; Smolinski 3; Blair, C; Muncy; Morel. RBI: Muncy 2 (25). 2-out RBI: Muncy 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Blair, C; Freiman. Team RISP: 1-for-4. Team LOB: 7.FIELDING E: Muncy (3, fielding), Morel (2, fielding). DP: (Parrino-Wendle-Muncy). |
||||||||
| Memphis | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenwood (W, 11-3) | 5.2 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5.02 |
| Waldron | 1.1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4.12 |
| Thomas | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1.13 |
| Wright, J | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.60 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 3.91 |
| Nashville | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mills (L, 4-11) | 4.0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4.45 |
| Kurcz | 1.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.38 |
| Huntzinger | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.62 |
| Venditte | 0.2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.63 |
| Coke | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8.53 |
| Otero | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.87 |
| Alvarez, R | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.41 |
| Totals | 9.0 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3.75 |
Mills pitched to 4 batters in the 5th.
Game Scores: Greenwood 54, Mills 18.
WP: Mills, Kurcz.
HBP: Hazelbaker (by Mills).
Pitches-strikes: Greenwood 89-58, Waldron 15-11, Thomas 19-12, Wright, J 8-7, Mills 91-51, Kurcz 20-14, Huntzinger 18-10, Venditte 27-14, Coke 5-3, Otero 13-9, Alvarez, R 12-10.
Groundouts-flyouts: Greenwood 8-4, Waldron 1-2, Thomas 0-1, Wright, J 3-0, Mills 5-3, Kurcz 1-0, Huntzinger 0-1, Venditte 1-0, Coke 0-0, Otero 3-0, Alvarez, R 1-2.
Batters faced: Greenwood 23, Waldron 5, Thomas 5, Wright, J 3, Mills 23, Kurcz 6, Huntzinger 4, Venditte 7, Coke 1, Otero 5, Alvarez, R 3.
Inherited runners-scored: Waldron 1-0, Kurcz 3-3, Coke 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Ron Teague. 1B: Ramon DeJesus. 3B: Adam Schwarz.
Weather: 88 degrees, partly cloudy.
Wind: 5 mph, Out to CF.
T: 3:05.
Att: 8,401.
Venue: First Tennessee Park.
August 9th, 2015
