Lawrenceville, GA – The Nashville Sounds and Gwinnett Stripers had an old-fashioned pitcher’s duel at Coolray Field on Friday night. Neither team was able to cross the plate though the first nine innings and the Sounds came out on the wrong side of their first walk off decision in 2025 with a 2-1 loss in the 11th. Right-hander Evan McKendry got the start on the mound opposite Spencer Strider for Gwinnett. Both pitchers worked 1-2-3 first innings. McKendry navigated a bases loaded situation in the second after allowing back-to-back one out singles and hitting a batter. The first of five Nashville double plays on the night helped McKendry get out of the inning without any damage done.
Strider issued two walks over his five hitless frames and struck out eight as he gears up for an imminent return to Atlanta from his rehab assignment.
After allowing a baserunner on an errant throw, McKendry quickly made up for it by picking off Eddy Alvarez to face the minimum in the third. He then pitched his way to another three-up-three down bottom of the fourth to give him four scoreless on just two hits with a couple of strikeouts for his final line.
Jesus Liranzo saw an inning of relief for Nashville. Nick Mears made his second appearance during his rehab assignment with the Sounds and pitched a hitless inning in the bottom of the sixth.
Caleb Durbin broke up Gwinnett’s no-hit bid with an infield single to start the seventh. Right-hander Ryan Middendorf was the beneficiary of the fourth double play turned by the Sounds defensively to negate the only hit he allowed during his two innings in relief. Brewers’ no. 19-rated prospect Craig Yoho pitched two innings and struck out two in the ninth to send the game to extra innings.
A balk moved Durbin over to third to start the 10th where he was able to score easily on Jorge Alfaro’s sacrifice fly for the game’s first run. Yoho surrendered a single to start the bottom of the 10th and the Stripers were able to plate the tying run on the second Nashville error of the night. In the 11th, the Sounds had runners on second and third with no outs but back-to-back strikeouts and a ground out kept the game tied at one.
Blake Holub took over on the mound for Yoho and got the first batter he faced to roll over to Durbin at third base. A wide throw on a pickoff attempt behind the inherited runner at second sailed into center field and allowed Luke Williams to score the game-winning run for Gwinnett in their first extra innings game of the season.
RHP Jacob Misiorowski (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is set to take the ball for the Nashville Sounds in game five of the series Saturday night. Fresh off earning International League Pitcher of the Week honors after his first start last week, the Brewers no. 4-ranked prospect will aim to get the Sounds back into the win column and a chance to salvage a series split.
The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05pm on Saturday.
