JACKSONVILLE, FL - Nashville earned an 8-3 win on Thursday night to get their first win of the series in Jacksonville and snap an 11-game losing streak to the Jumbo Shrimp. Brett Wichrowski picked up the win in his Triple-A debut backed by a six-run top of the third inning for Nashville.
Wichrowski pitched around two Nashville errors in the bottom of the first inning, including one of his own doing, to strand two Jumbo Shrimp on base despite not allowing a hit. Nashville was held to singles from Jett Williams in the first and Luke Adams in the second before breaking the game open in the top of the third.
Ethan Murray started a barrage of hits with the first of three straight singles with Cooper Pratt collecting the games first RBI to extend his on-base streak to 24 consecutive games. Williams made it 3-0 with a two-RBI triple and the first out of the inning was still productive with Akil Baddoo bringing home Williams to make it a four-run lead. Nashville added three more singles over the next four at-bats to make it a five-run game, and Murray capped the big inning with his second hit of the frame to bring home Luis Matos to make it 6-0. After being held to nine hits through the first two games of the series, Nashville used eight hits in the third inning alone to build their lead.
Wichrowski held the Jumbo Shrimp off the scoreboard through his first three Triple-A innings and just one hit allowed. He worked around a leadoff single in the bottom of the second and back-to-back runners reaching in the third on a hit by pitch and walk to strand his fourth runner of the game. Consecutive walks and a double steal in the bottom of the fourth set up former Sound Brian Navarreto to plate the first Jacksonville run on a sacrifice fly. The Nashville right-hander stranded his sixth of the game after allowing a two-out double in the bottom of the fifth on his third and final strikeout of the night to set himself up for the win by making it through the fifth inning. He started the inning on the mound in the bottom of the sixth but saw another two runs come across after putting both aboard via a walk and second hit batter of the game. Navarreto cashed in with his second and third RBI of the night and chased Wichrowski after 5.2 IP and a career-high 96 pitches.
Reiss Kneher cleaned up the bottom of the sixth before pitching a scoreless seventh with a pair of strikeouts to negate a one-out single. Murray began a mini two-out rally in the top of the eighth with his second walk of the night as he reached base in all four plate appearances. Tyler Black doubled to put runners on second and third for Pratt. The Brewers no. 4-rated prospect added his second hit of the night, and another two RBI with a triple of his own to push the lead back to five runs at 8-3.
Jacob Waguespack closed out the game with two perfect innings that included four strikeouts as he extended his current streak to nine games and 12.1 IP without allowing an earned run.
The Sounds look to even the series and keep pace in the race for the International League first half crown on Friday night. LHP Thomas Pannone (1-1, 3.03 ERA) is scheduled to get the start for Nashville against RHP Bradley Blalock (1-5, 6.70 ERA) and the Jumbo Shrimp.
POSTGAME NOTES:
TWO FOR ONE: Ethan Murray finished Thursday night 2-for-2 with a RBI, two walks, and a pair of runs scored to reach base in all four plate appearances. Both of his hits came in the top in the top of the third inning as he started Nashville's six-run inning with the first of eight total hits in the frame. He is the first Nashville player to record two hits in the same inning since Abraham Toro did it with two singles in the sixth inning on July 23, 2023, vs. Jacksonville. It was the fifth multi-hit game of the season for Murray and first since he went 2-for-4 on May 15 vs. Iowa when he walked off the I-Cubs and earned the win in his professional pitching debut after tossing a scoreless top of the 11th inning.
SKI TRIP: Brett Wichrowski made his Triple-A debut after pitching in 53 career games (50 GS) prior to joining the Sounds. He is the fifth member of the Brewers 2023 Draft Class to reach Triple-A, joining Brock Wilken (1st Round), Cooper Pratt (6th Round), Tate Kuehner (7th Round), and Craig Yoho (8th Round). Wichrowski was the Opening Night starter for Double-A Biloxi to open the season, his second career Opening Night start after also getting the ball for High-A Wisconsin in his professional debut in 2024. Thursday's win was his 10th career win and he set a career-high with 96 pitches in his Sounds debut. He is the first Nashville pitcher to win his first Triple-A start since Bowden Francis did so on May 31, 2021, on the road in Columbus.
TRIPLE DOUBLE: Jett Williams and Cooper Pratt matched one another with two-RBI triples in Thursday's win. The pair of top prospects are each tied with four triples on the season. For Pratt, it sets a new single-season career-high in three-baggers and the ninth of his minor league career. It was the second triple in his last six games played and he owned the most recent Nashville triple before Jett Williams hit his in the third inning. Thursdays triple was the 21st of Williams career and his first since M May 17. It was the first time the Sounds have hit multiple triples in the same game since they did so on June 19, 2025, vs. Iowa at First Horizon Park. Thursday night was Nashville's 25th game with 2+ doubles since 2015 and just the eighth time in since 2021.