The Nashville Sounds drilled three home runs to power past the Iowa Cubs in a come-from-behind 7-4 win in front of a sellout crowd of 11,157 at First Tennessee Park Saturday night.
Patrick Wisdom hit a solo blast in the second and Scott Heineman and Nick Solak launched a pair of two-run homers in a four-run bottom of the sixth inning.
Trailing 4-2 in the sixth, Matt Davidson reached on an infield single to spark a rally. Heineman followed and launched a two-run blast to the opposite-field to even the game at 4-4. Andy Ibanez followed and reached on what proved to be a costly error. Solak made the miscue hurt when he belted a two-run homer down the left field line to give the Sounds a 6-4 lead.
The bullpen tandem of Rafael Montero and David Carpenter protected the lead with 3 1/3 shutout innings. Montero was summoned after Seth Maness went 5 2/3 innings and worked 2 1/3 scoreless inning in his Sounds debut. The right-hander notched four strikeouts and picked up the win. Carpenter worked the ninth and picked up his 16th save of the year.
The two teams were tied at 2-2 after five innings when play was halted by rain. The delay lasted only 42 minutes before the game resumed.
Iowa got on the board first in the top of the second with three consecutive hits to start the frame. Ian Happ singled to start the rally, Phillip Evans followed with a run-scoring double, and Jim Adduci gave Iowa a 2-0 lead with an RBI single.
Nashville answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Andy Ibanez walked, stole second base, and sprinted home when catcher P.J. Higgin’s throw sailed into center field. Two batters later, Wisdom belted a solo homer to even the game at 2-2. It was Wisdom’s 17th long ball of the season.
Heineman was the catalyst on offense with a two-hit, three-RBI night. His run-scoring base hit in the bottom of the seventh gave the Sounds an insurance run to make it 7-4.
The series finale is scheduled for Sunday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Pedro Payano (2-2, 4.34) starts for Nashville against right-hander Trevor Clifton (3-8, 5.59) for Iowa. First pitch is scheduled for 6:15 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
– With tonight’s 7-4 win, the Sounds improved to 42-57 in 2019.
– The Sounds have hit seven home runs over the last two games – the most in a two-game span in 2019.
– Willie Calhoun matched a season-high with 3 walks.
– The attendance at First Tennessee Park was 11,157, the 17th sellout of the season.
