NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Top St. Louis Cardinals prospect Alex Reyes earned his second win of the season, and Dean Anna was on base three times and drove in two runs to go along with three Matt Williams stolen bases in a 4-3 Memphis win over the Nashville Sounds (Triple-A Athletics) Monday night.
Reyes pitched 5.0 innings and gave up just two hits and one run, and he struck out nine. The nine strikeouts were two shy of his season high of 11, which came in 6.0 innings in his first win of the season.
Through 21.2 innings at the Triple-A level this season, Reyes has fanned 39. He is averaging 7.8 punchouts per outing, and he has a 16.6 K/9 IP ratio through five starts.
Nashville (39-25) entered the game with the best winning percentage in the Pacific Coast League, and the Sounds were 29-12 since May 1.
Anna had two singles, a sacrifice fly and drew a walk for Memphis (27-34), and Franklin native Williams swiped three bases after having one all season entering the game. David Washington was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple, and Tommy Pham had a triple and scored twice. Kolten Wong, starting at center field for the first time this season, had a hit and a walk and now has a hit in all five games he has played in Memphis.
Reyes’ only blemish was a fifth-inning home run that came with two outs, which ended a streak of 22.2 scoreless innings pitched by Memphis starting pitchers dating back to the last inning of Arturo Reyes’ start against Colorado Springs Fridaynight. Jerome Williams and Deck McGuire worked 17.0 scoreless innings against the Sky Sox over the weekend.
The Redbirds led 3-0 after their first five at bats, which came in handy when the Sounds scored a run in the eighth off Juan Gonzalez and a run in the ninth of Sam Tuivailala.
Tuivailala ended up picking up his sixth save of the season after striking out the side in the ninth. Ryan Sherriff threw 2.0 scoreless innings in relief of Reyes and struck out three.
The Redbird pitchers matched a season high with 15 strikeouts in the game. Memphis won three-straight games two other times this season, which most recently came May 30-June 1.
The Redbirds stole a season-high five bases in the game. The last time Memphis stole five bases in a game was July 23, 2013 against Round Rock.
Manager Mike Shildt picked up his 100th win as Redbird skipper in the game.
Memphis and Nashville continue their four-game series tomorrow night at 7:05 (CT). The Redbirds are back at AutoZone Park Friday through next Monday to host the Iowa Cubs (Triple-A Cubs). The upcoming homestand features an Adult Performance T-Shirt giveaway on Friday, a Redbirds Beach Towel giveaway on Saturday along with a Kolten Wong Hawaiian Jersey theme ticket and postgame fireworks, and a Father’s Day celebration and Cardinals adult socks giveaway on Sunday.
For tickets or for more information on the 2016 Redbirds season, contact the Redbirds front office at (901) 721-6000 or visit www.memphisredbirds.com.
