Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds was blanked over the final five innings of the game and went 3-for-their-last-18 at-bats, dropping the series finale 3-2 to the Durham Bulls on Sunday at First Horizon Park. Eddys Leonard went 3-for-4 with a homer and two RBI and added his 18th multi-hit of the season in the loss.
The Bulls jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first two innings of the game as Tyson Hardin issued a leadoff walk to open the game. A double by Jonny DeLuca put runners in scoring position and set up Logan Driscoll to ground out to Hardin and score the first run of the game for Durham.
Hardin came out for the top of the second inning and got into trouble once again, allowing back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases. A sacrifice fly by Connor Hujsak plated the second run for Durham through two innings of the game.
The Sounds cut into the Bulls lead as Eddys Leonard ripped his 10th homer of the season with a solo shot to left field in the bottom of the third inning. Nashville tied the game at 2-2 as back-to-back two-out singles by Tyler Black and Luis Matos put the pair on base.
Leonard collected his second RBI of the day on a single to left field scoring Black in the bottom of the fourth inning. Hardin ended his day allowing two runs on three hits and striking out five hitters along the way in a no decision. Jared Koenig came in for an inning of relief in the top of the sixth but allowed a run to score as Durham regained a one-run lead.
Right-hander Will Childers entered the game for Koenig in the top of the seventh inning and worked around a leadoff single to get out of the frame. He returned for the eighth inning and issued a two-out single and was relieved by Lyon Richardson to get the final out of the frame and did so with a strikeout.
After a 1-2-3 inning was dealt by Richardson in the top of the ninth inning, the Sounds had one last opportunity to steal the series with a potential walk-off. A two-out single by Leonard was all Nashville could muster as Ramón RodrÃguez flew out to left field. Since Leonard’s RBI-single in the bottom of the fourth inning, Sounds batters went 3-for-their-last-18 at-bats and stranded five runners on base .
With Monday off, the Sounds will wrap the first half of the season in Memphis and take on the Redbirds in a six-game series with significant playoff implications. First pitch is slated to begin at 7:05pm on Tuesday at AutoZone Park.
