JACKSONVILLE, FL — The Nashville Sounds fell to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp for the second straight night with a 3-2 loss at VyStar Ballpark on Wednesday. Tyson Hardin suffered his first Triple-A loss, while Luke Adams belted his first Sounds homer in 59 days.
In the bottom of the second inning, Hardin issued two singles and a walk to load the bases for the Jumbo Shrimp. Luckily, the Sounds got out of major trouble early in the game, ending the frame on a flyout to Akil Baddoo. The Sounds took the early advantage for the second straight night as Adams crushed a leadoff homer to left field in the top of the third inning and gave Nashville the 1-0 lead. Hardin started to get into a groove in the bottom half of the inning, tossing his first 1-2-3 inning of the night, including a strikeout.
The Jumbo Shrimp answered right back with a three-run inning as Hardin allowed a leadoff single. After Gage Miller drew a walk and stole second, Drew Rom replaced Hardin with two outs in the bottom of the fourth and allowed an RBI-single and RBI-double for the 3-1 Jumbo Shrimp lead. The Sounds had their best threat of the game in the top of the sixth inning as Cooper Pratt drew a leadoff walk to begin the frame. After Jett Williams struck out swinging, Pratt advanced to second with his 14th stolen base of the season, and advanced to third on a throwing error that ended up in center field. The Jumbo Shrimp neutralized the threat, stranding Pratt on base with a fly out by Jeferson Quero.
Rom ended his night allowing a run on two hits and two strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work and Jared Koenig relieved him in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Koenig struck out the first batter of the sixth inning, he issued a single and a walk. Quero caught Andrew Pintar stealing third base and made a beautiful throw to Adams to get the second out. Back-to-back walks issued by Koenig, loaded the bases before Junior Fernández came to the rescue and struck out the final batter, stranding all three Jumbo Shrimp runners on base.
The Sounds cut into the Jumbo Shrimp lead in the top of the seventh inning with Baddoo getting on base with a leadoff double, his first of the season. Three at-bats later, Ethan Murray drew a two-out walk putting two runners on base, which set up Tyler Black to rip an RBI-single over the third basemen and score Baddoo for the 3-2 deficit. Nashville hung into the game with Craig Yoho entering the bottom of the eighth inning and was able to strike out the side, while extending his streak without allowing an earned run to 13 consecutive games. Nashville had one last chance in the top of the ninth inning but was shut down on an eight-pitch frame, falling to the Jumbo Shrimp for the second straight night 3-2.
POSTGAME NOTES:
NUKE ADAMS: Luke Adams obliterated a solo shot to left field in the top of the third inning Wednesday, finishing his night 1-for-4. It marked Adams' third homer of the season and his first since April 5 vs. Charlotte, his second solo shot of the season, his first against a left-hander, on the road and his first go-ahead blast. He has posted a hit in 7-of-his-last-9 games for the Sounds, dating back to April 3 vs. Charlotte. Adams is hitting .200 (9-for-45), four XBH and nine RBI this season for the Sounds. He made a brief rehab assignment with the ACL Brewers from May 26-30 and posted a .385 batting average (5-for-13), four XBH and five RBI.
JUST LIKE PRATT: Cooper Pratt extended his on-base streak to 23 consecutive games on Wednesday, earning a walk in the top of the sixth inning. The 23 consecutive games marks the best on the team, ties for the second-longest active streak in the International League and ties for the fourth-longest active streak at the Triple-A level. Pratt is hitting .273 (24-for-88), eight XBH and 18 RBI since May 7. Pratt ranks third in RBI (18) and TB (41), T-4th in HR (4), fifth in hits (5), T-6th in XBH (8), T-9th in runs (17) and 10th in OPS (.856) amongst qualified minor league players in the Brewers' system during his streak.
CONSISTENT: Luis Matos extended his on-base streak to 16 consecutive games, going 1-for-3 with a walk. Matos is currently hitting .288 (15-for-52), four XBH and eight RBI in his current 16-game streak. Matos' has earned a hit in 12-of-16 games for the Sounds this season. His career-high continues to sit at 21 consecutive games with Low-A San Jose during the 2021 season. He posted a .310 batting average (26-for-84), added nine XBH and 14 RBI from May 28-June 24, 2021.
YO-YO: Craig Yoho continued his dominance on the mound Wednesday night by striking out the side and extending his streak to 13 consecutive games (14.2 IP) without allowing an earned run (3 SV, 6 H, 19 K, 4 BB). The 13 consecutive games ranks third at the Triple-A level and ties for eighth amongst full season minor league pitchers. He is one game shy of tying Brian Fitzpatrick's streak for the longest of the season for a Nashville pitcher. Yoho is emerging in his young career, posting a 1.00 ERA this season for the Sounds (16 G, 3 SV, 18.0, 9 H, 2 ER, 24 K, 5 BB).