Norfolk, VA – The Nashville Sounds dropped their first game of the 2026 campaign Friday night, falling 6-4 at Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA. Robert Gasser was spectacular on the mound as the Brewers no. 17-rated prospect racked up 11 strikeouts over 5.2 IP without allowing a run but did not receive a decision.
Nashville scored a run in each of the first three innings to back Gasser on the mound. Brewers no. 12-rated prospect, Luis Lara, collected the first RBI of the year when he drew a bases-loaded walk in the top of the first inning. Fellow top prospect and Triple-A newcomer, Cooper Pratt, made it a 2-0 game in the second with a RBI single. A Lara two-out single and Luke Adams walk in the top of the third sent Greg Jones to the plate where he delivered his second hit of the night to make it 3-0.
Gasser struck out seven of the first 11 batters he faced while not allowing a hit through the first three frames. The first hit he did surrender was a leadoff double in the fourth before quickly retiring each of the next three in order to strand a runner in scoring position.
The left-hander stranded two more in the fifth with a pair of strikeouts before heading back to the mound to start the bottom of the sixth. His 11th and final strikeout came as he struck out Jhonkensy Noel for a second time ahead of a walk that ended his night on the mound.
Right-hander Jacob Waguespack needed just one pitch to get the final out of the inning and keep it a 3-0 Nashville advantage. Lara added to his Triple-A debut with a two-out, towering solo home run to right field to cap a 2-for-3, two RBI night at the plate.
Sammy Peralta inherited a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the seventh and walked in Norfolk’s first run of the year before a two-RBI double drew the Tides within one run. The second straight hit allowed made it a 4-4 game and brought an end to Peralta’s night.
The Tides took advantage of a wild pitch from Will Childers for their first lead of the game before rattling off back-to-back strikeouts. Norfolk’s third hit of the inning capped a six-run frame that quickly evaporated the Sounds lead and put them into a two-run deficit before the rain began to really come down.
At the end of the half-inning, the tarp was pulled, and the game eventually called following a 32-minute delay and no sign of slowing up.
The Nashville Sounds will continue their first road trip of the year in Norfolk on Saturday night. RHP Coleman Crow is scheduled to take the ball for Nashville in the third Triple-A start of his career. The Brewers no. 27-rated prospect and the Sounds will face the Tides at 5:35 p.m. CT from Harbor Park.
