Nashville Honky Tonks
Nashville, TN -The Nashville Honky Tonks wrapped up the 2018 Battle for the Boot series with a 5-2 defeat Sunday night at the hands of the Round Rock Dance Halls.
Round Rock’s Drew Robinson picked up right where he left off from Saturday’s game. Robinson slugged a game-tying two-out home run Saturday night and then crushed an 0-2 pitch beyond The Band Box to lead off Sunday’s ballgame.
The Honky Tonks responded in the home half of the frame. Jorge Mateo singled and swiped second base. Four batters later he came around to score on a play that saw two errors committed by Round Rock shortstop Cliff Pennington.
Sheldon Neuse continued his hot-hitting with an RBI single in the fourth. With the infield in, Neuse lifted a base hit into shallow right center field to put the Honky Tonks in front 2-1. Neuse tried to start a rally in the ninth with another base knock but was left stranded on first base. Neuse is now batting .355 with 6 RBI in his last 11 games.
Round Rock went ahead for good in the sixth inning with a four-run frame on a pair of two-run doubles. Ryan Rua laced a double to right field off Nashville’s Kyle Finnegan while Nick Noonan ripped his into the right center field gap off Jake Sanchez. It was Finnegan’s first appearance since May 9th after suffering an oblique injury. Danny Coulombe, Ryan Dull, and J.B. Wendelken each turned in a shutout inning out of the Honky Tonks bullpen.
After leading 2-1 after four innings, the Honky Tonks went quietly the rest of the way. Nashville recorded just one hit in the final five innings and struck out seven times, all by Dance Halls reliever Jeff Springs.
The Honky Tonks turn back into the Sounds as they hit the road for a four-game series against the Oklahoma City Dodgers. Game one of the four-game series is scheduled for Monday night at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. Right-hander Norge Ruiz (0-0, –) starts for Nashville in what will be his Triple-A debut against right-hander Brock Stewart (1-0, 2.55) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Post-Game Notes
With tonight’s 5-2 loss, Nashville dropped to 33-40 on the season.
Drew Robinson’s leadoff home run was the first belted against the Sounds since May 15th, 2015 when John Andreoli went deep for the Iowa Cubs.
Nashville is now seven games below .500. It is the low water mark of the season.
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
