Nashville, TN – Starter Colin Rea struck out nine batters and tossed 5 2/3 shutout innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 3-0 win over the Gwinnett Stripers in front of 7,917 fans at First Horizon Park Friday night. The shutout performance was Nashville’s eighth of the season.
Rea didn’t allow a base hit until the top of the fourth inning when Jason Kipnis and Orlando Arcia collected back-to-back singles. Rea recorded at least one strikeout in every inning he pitched in, including three in the third.
Kipnis singled with two outs in the top of the sixth to chase Rea in a 0-0 game. Kyle Lobstein came on in relief and walked Arcia before retiring Johan Camargo on a pop up to keep the game scoreless.
The Sounds got on the board in the bottom half of the sixth when pinch-hitter Yeison Coca sparked a rally with a leadoff double down the left field line. Two batters later, Tim Lopes smashed a single up the middle to score Coca to give the Sounds a 1-0 lead.
Gwinnett starter Bryce Elder issued consecutive two-out walks in the bottom of the seventh. They came back to hurt the Stripers when Christian Kelley lined a base hit up the middle to score Zach Green and give the Sounds a 2-0 lead. Pinch-hitter David Dahl followed with a run-scoring single to left field to give Nashville a 3-0 lead.
The relief efforts of Lobstein, Patrick Weigel, Justin Topa and Chad Sobotka finished the job Rea started. Weigel tossed a scoreless seventh, Topa struck out the side in the eighth and Sobotka worked the ninth to pick up his first save of the season.
Game five of the six-game series is scheduled for Saturday night at First Horizon Park. Left-hander Ethan Small (1-0, 1.23) starts for Nashville against right-hander José Rodríguez (4-3, 6.02) for Gwinnett. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- Tonight’s shutout is the eighth thrown by Nashville pitchers this year…it’s the second-most in the Triple-A East behind only Durham’s 10.
- Colin Rea struck out a season-high 9 batters…5.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 K.
- Matt Lipka (1-for-4) is hitting .328 (20-for-61) with 13 runs, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 11 RBI and 5 walks in 20 games in the month of August.
- Matt Lipka stole his 22nd base of the season…16th with Nashville…9th in the month of August.
- David Dahl has hit safely in all eight of his games with the Sounds…batting .433 (13-for-30) with 7 runs, 5 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 4 RBI.
Box Score
Gwinnett 0, Nashville 3
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| Gwinnett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Nashville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | X | 3 | 6 | 0 |
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.
