In a 10-inning game that lasted over four hours, the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A affiliate, Milwaukee Brewers) rallied back to beat the Memphis Redbirds, 4-3, at First Horizon Park. The Sounds have won three of the first five games in the six-game series.
The game remained scoreless until the eighth, as the ‘Birds (3-8) did not surrender a hit to the Sounds (6-4) in the game’s first seven innings. Daniel Ponce de Leon started the game for Memphis – the MLB rehabber pitched two scoreless frames with two strikeouts and three walks. Tommy Parsons went the next five frames, scattering three walks across the innings while striking out four. The Ohio native wiggled his way out of trouble in the sixth, stranding two on base after issuing consecutive walks with one out.
The action picked up in the eighth, with the Redbirds breaking open the scoring seal with two runs. First, José Rondón’s opposite-field single to right scored Evan Mendoza – he had doubled with one out. Then, back-to-back walks and a balk brought home Rondón, made the game 2-0, and set the stage for potentially the first no-hitter in Memphis Redbirds franchise history.
Sadly, history didn’t happen. Nashville scored three times in the bottom of the eighth on two hits, two walks and a sacrifice fly to briefly take a 3-2 lead. Jace Peterson and Hernán Pérez provided the runs via a two-run single and a sacrifice fly respectively.
But wait…Memphis wasn’t done! The Redbirds scrapped their way back in the ninth, tying the game back up at 3 without registering a hit. Two hit batters, a walk, and an RBI groundout by Rondón evened the score again. The Venezuelan infielder has at least four games this season with multiple RBIs.
The game stayed tied until the bottom of the 10th, when the Sounds sent their sellout crowd home happy. Weston Wilson’s two-out RBI single to deep left field scored Peterson and ended the ballgame.
The Memphis Redbirds are proud to welcome fans back to AutoZone Park this season. The team returns home next week from Tuesday – Sunday (May 18-23) for a six-game series against the Louisville Bats. Ticket information can be found at memphisredbirds.com.
