Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds use a seventh inning three run rally to beat the Omaha Storm Chasers 5-3 at First Tennessee Park Friday night. The win for Nashville was their eighth over the last nine games.
Trailing 3-2 into the bottom of the seventh, the first six batters reached safely for the Sounds. After back-to-back singles to start the inning by Christian Lopes and Nick Solak, Zack Granite’s base hit to center field evened the game at 3-3.
Omaha elected to intentionally walk Ronald Guzman to load the bases and it came back to hurt when Ofreidy Gomez walked Andy Ibanez to force in the go-ahead run.
Scott Heineman provided an insurance run with a run-scoring single to give the Sounds a 5-3 lead.
Nashville’s bullpen trio of Kyle Bird, James Jones and Jake Petricka protected the lead with three shutout innings to lock down the win. Bird picked up the win, Jones earned a hold in his Nashville debut and Petricka recorded his sixth save of the season.
Tim Dillard started in another record-breaking appearance for the right-hander. Tonight’s game was the 239th in his Sounds career, surpassing Joey Vierra who was the all-time franchise leader with 238. Dillard turned in his team-high eighth quality start with six innings of three-run ball.
The two teams exchanged single tallies in the second. Chase d’Arnaud homered for Omaha and Heineman had a run-scoring double for Nashville.
Omaha scored in the third and fourth to take a 3-1 lead. It remained that way until Guzman launched a solo blast to left-center field to trim the deficit to 3-2. It was Guzman’s fourth long ball with Nashville.
The Sounds broke the game open after Omaha starter Arnaldo Hernandez exited after six solid frames.
Post-Game Notes
With tonight’s 5-3 win, the Sounds improved to 55-66 in 2019.
Tim Dillard pitched in his 239th game with the Nashville Sounds to become the all-time franchise leader in games pitched. He surpassed Joey Vierra’s 238 appearances.
Ronald Guzman hit his 4th home run with the Sounds and extended Nashville’s streak to 17 straight games with a home run. The team has hit a total of 31 in the 17-game stretch.
Nick Solak extended his hitting streak to 16 games with a single in the seventh inning. Solak is hitting .415 (27-for-65) with 13 runs scored, 4 doubles, 6 home runs and 18 RBI during the streak.
Next Up For The Nashville Sounds
Game three of the Nashville Sounds and Omaha Storm Chasers four-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Seth Maness (7-4, 5.85) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Foster Griffin (7-5, 5.43) for the Storm Chasers. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.
The 2019 season is the 42nd in Nashville Sounds franchise history and first as the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Single-game tickets are available now by calling 615.690.4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com