Nashville, TN – Jamie Westbrook’s walk-off base hit to right field in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the Nashville Sounds a dramatic 8-7 win over the Charlotte Knights in front of 9,103 fans at First Horizon Park Thursday night.
The Sounds trailed for most of the night and didn’t lead until the final swing of the game. Tim Lopes started the bottom of the ninth by reaching on an error by Charlotte shortstop Tim Beckham. He moved to second on a wild pitch by Nik Turley and raced home when Westbrook lined a base hit down the right field line. It was the third walk-off win of the season for Nashville.
After trailing 4-1 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, Nashville plated three runs to even the game at 4-4, but Charlotte came right back with three runs of their own in the top of the seventh to take a 7-4 lead.
Nashville got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Pablo Reyes doubled and later scored on Westbrook’s RBI groundout.
Cooper Hummel sparked another Nashville rally with a leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth. He was able to trot home when Weston Wilson launched a game-tying two-run homer off Hunter Schryver.
Making his Triple-A debut, Ethan Small struggled with his command and was relieved in the third after throwing 35 pitches in the frame. Jake Burger’s two-run single off Small gave the Knights a 2-0 lead. Small allowed just the two runs on three hits, but the southpaw walked five in the no-decision.
Blaine Hardy relieved Small and tossed 2 1/3 scoreless relief innings to keep it close. Nashville got one run back on a Zach Green groundout in the fourth, then tied it with the three runs in the sixth.
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Sounds rally started when Zach Green was hit by a Mike Wright pitch. Cooper Hummel made it a 4-2 game with a triple off the right field wall, and he scored just moments later when Burger botched a ground ball at third base. After a Weston Wilson single to keep the inning going, Christian Kelley made the mistake hurt with a game-tying RBI single.
The tie game didn’t last long as the Knights answered with a three-run seventh to take the lead. The first three batters of the inning reached against Quintin Torres-Costa. Matt Reynolds’ RBI double broke the tie and a two-run single by Gavin Sheets gave Charlotte a 7-4 lead.
After the two-run homer by Wilson in the bottom of the eighth, Nashville reliever Luke Barker struck out the side in the top of the ninth to setup the heroics from the hitters.
Game four of the six-game series is scheduled for Friday night at First Horizon Park. Right-hander Alec Bettinger (1-2, 3.00) starts for Nashville against right-hander Jonathan Stiever (2-3, 6.03) for Charlotte. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Post-Game Notes
- The walk-off win was Nashville’s third of the season…they are now 3-12 when trailing after seven.
- Pablo Reyes has hit safely in eight straight games…batting .424 (14-for-33) with 13 runs, 4 doubles, 2 home runs, and 4 RBI.
- Jamie Westbrook extended his on-base streak to 14 games and is hitting .414 (24-for-58) with 10 runs, 6 doubles, 3 home runs, and 15 RBI…he has 8 multi-hits efforts during that span.
- Ethan Small (2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 1 K) and Payton Henry (0-for-4, R) both made their Triple-A debuts tonight.
Box Score
Charlotte 7, Nashville 8
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Charlotte | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 2 |
| Nashville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets are on sale now for all remaining 2021 home games. For more information call 615.690.4487 or e-mail tickets@nashvillesounds.com.
