Nashville, TN – The Nashville Sounds dropped game two of a six-game series against the Indianapolis Indians on Wednesday night at First Horizon Park. Sal Frelick continued his Major League rehab assignment with the Sounds and reached base four times, including his third straight game with a hit. Nashville stranded 11 runners in the 4-3 loss.
Indianapolis jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on back-to-back home runs in the top of the first inning of Sounds’ starter Colton Gordon. Nick Yorke started the back-to-back and added his second home run of the night with another solo blast in the third to give the Indians a 3-0 advantage with just three hits off Gordon. The southpaw worked a couple of three-up, three-down innings in the fourth and fifth innings.
Consecutive two-out baserunners reached in the top of the sixth, including the first single allowed by the left-hander, but he stranded them both. He finished his fifth start with Nashville after beginning the top of the seventh on the mound, working a season-high 6.1 IP (4 H, 4 ER) with seven strikeouts. The lone walk allowed in his outing came around to score on a two-out RBI single off Gerson Garabito and end a shot at his second straight quality start, and third overall with Nashville.
Nashville stranded five baserunners through the first two innings, including a bases-loaded opportunity in the first. They finally broke through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. Tyler Black drew a leadoff walk, and Frelick kept the inning alive with a two-out hustle double. Bo Naylor scored both with a two-RBI single to cut the deficit to one run at the time.
Garabito worked a four-pitch top of the eighth inning to retire the side in order. Nashville’s second bases-loaded opportunity of the night came in the bottom of the eighth without a hit. Luis Matos drew a leadoff walk, and Black was hit by a pitch before Ethan Murray reached on an error. Eduardo Garcia flied out to right field, but deep enough to allow Matos to score and once again cut the deficit to a run at 4-3.
Grant Anderson took over in relief in the top of the ninth inning and worked around a one-out free pass with a pair of infield pop ups to send the game to the bottom of the ninth. Blake Burke collected his first Triple-A hit with a single to start the inning and put the potential tying run aboard. Jacob Hurtubise ran for Burke but a double play erased the imminent threat and a strikeout of Akil Baddoo ended any late-inning comeback aspirations Nashville had.
Even through the first two, the Nashville Sounds and Indianapolis Indians continue their series on Thursday night at First Horizon Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm.
