Nashville, TN – A six-run top of the third inning proved too much for the Nashville Sounds to overcome in a 7-4 loss to the Durham Bulls on Friday night at First Horizon Park. Luke Adams doubled in the fifth and homered in the sixth as the only Nashville hitter to record a multi-hit effort in the loss.
Easton McGee got the start on the mound for the Sounds and worked a double play to help strand a runner in the first inning after allowing each of the first two batters of the game to reach via a single and the first of his two hit batters for the game.
He worked a 1-2-3 second but ran into trouble in the third. The first four batters McGee faced in the third all reached with back-to-back singles providing the Bulls a 2-0 lead. The lead grew to six as Tatem Levins hit a grand slam. McGee struck out Brock Jones to strand a pair of runners and stop the bleeding.
After four perfect innings for Ty Johnson, Adams broke it up with a leadoff double in the bottom of the fifth and moved to third on an error. Luis Matos brought him home with a sacrifice fly for the first run of the night. Kaleb Bowman tossed four innings in relief of McGee, allowing three hits and one earned run with four strikeouts. Nashville brought themselves within striking distance in the sixth.
Ramon Rodriguez started the inning with a single and moved to third on a pair of groundouts. Luis Lara kept the inning alive and made it 7-2 with a RBI single before Adams cut the Bulls lead to 7-4 with a home run down the left field line. Nashville sent Ethan Murray to the plate to serve as the tying run in the seventh after an Eddys Leonard single and Brock Wilken walk but a double play and strikeout followed to get Evan Reifert out of the jam.
The final eight Nashville batters were retied by Durham pitching after sending the potential tying run to the plate. Junior Fernandez closed out the game on the mound for the Sounds tossing two hitless innings with three strikeouts to negate a pair of walks for a scoreless appearance.
The Sounds will look to rebound on Saturday night with RHP Garrett Stallings (3-2, 3.40 ERA) taking the ball on the mound. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.
