NASHVILLE - The Sounds claimed the series with a 8-3 win over the Gwinnett Stripers on Saturday night at First Horizon Park. Nashville jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Left-hander Thomas Pannone tossed his first quality start in 616 days while Freddy Zamora set his Triple-A single-game career-high with four RBI to lead the way.
Nashville could not have asked for a better start to Saturday night. Pannone worked a three-up, three-down top of the first on the mound to get the night started. The Sounds offense faced Braves no. 2-rated prospect JR Ritchie for the third time this season and were looking for more success than the first two appearances in Gwinnett. The first two times against Ritchie, the right-hander worked 12.2 IP and allowed just three hits and one run with 12 strikeouts and three walks to earn a pair of wins. Saturday night he faced just six batters and his night began with a leadoff double for Tyler Black. Ritchie would then walk four of the next five batters he faced before exiting after walking in the first two runs of the night. Jeferson Quero welcomed Javy Guera to the game with a two-RBI double to make it 4-0. Zamora then added to the lead with a two-RBI single as the Sounds batted through the order in the first inning. Five of the six runs in the bottom of the first were charged to Ritchie, who saw his ERA jump from 1.36 to 2.70 in a matter of 31 pitches.
Pannone cruised through six quality innings on the mound with four 1-2-3 frames. He earned his lone strikeout to begin his sixth and final inning of work and ended the night with two runs allowed on four hits. The Sounds offense stranded a pair of runners in both the second and fourth innings as they were unable to build on the early advantage. That changed in the fifth when Quero reached base for the second time as he drew Nashville's eighth walk of the night. Following a flyout, Zamora headed back to the plate and did more damage, adding his second hit and fourth RBI of the game with a two-run home run to make it an 8-2 game. The Sounds drew two more two-out walks in the inning but left both stranded.
In relief of Pannone, right-handers Easton McGee, Jacob Waguespack, and Will Childers each threw an inning out of the bullpen for Nashville. McGee and Waguespack each turned in scoreless innings with Waguespack stranding two on base after allowing consecutive singles to start his appearance. Childers also allowed a pair of hits and allowed one unearned run to cross the plate as the Stripers scored the final run of the night on Jose Azocar's second hit of the ballgame.
The Sounds and Stripers will close out their series on Sunday afternoon as the Sounds look to end the month of May with their 19th win in 27 games. Nashville has already secured the series win this week, their fifth of the season. RHP Garrett Stallings (3-2, 3.72 ERA) will make his second start of the series in a pitching rematch with LHP Austin Gomber (0-7, 8.02 ERA). First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. CT.
POSTGAME NOTES:
ZAM-AURA: Freddy Zamora clubbed his second homer of the season on a two-run shot to left field Saturday night against the Stripers and posted his second homer in the last two weeks. The homer marked his first of the season at First Horizon Park, to go along with his first two-run shot and first off a right-hander on the year. The home run marked his second career blast at First Horizon Park, with his first career home run coming during the 2025 season against the very same Stripers at home on September 11 when he went 3-for-3 that night. Zamora owns a .247 batting average (379-for-1536), 102 XBH and 193 RBI in his minor league career. Zamora's monstrous night was just his second career 4-RBI game in his six-year campaign. His career-high in RBI continues to sit at five as he earned it during the 2023 season on August 13 with Double-A Biloxi after going 3-for-4 with his first and only career grand slam.
PRATT-A-TAT: Cooper Pratt extended his on-base streak to 20 consecutive games in Saturday game against the Stripers, going 2-for-3 with two walks and a strikeout to finish his night. The 20 consecutive games leads the team, ties for the fifth-longest active on-base streak in the International League and ties for ninth at the Triple-A level. Pratt is hitting a .286 batting average (22-for-77), eight XBH and 17 RBI in his 20-game on-base streak. He has recorded a hit in six consecutive games and has a hit in 10-of-his-last-12 games posting a .333 batting average (17-for-51), six XBH and 11 RBI since May 14. He also racked up his 13th two-hit game of the season on Saturday night.
CHARMIN: Thomas Pannone made a stellar eighth start of the season for the Sounds in Saturday night's series win against the Striper, posting 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits and striking out one in the process to earn his first quality start of the season. The quality start was his 23rd of his Triple-A career and his 51st of his minor league career. Pannone has posted a 1-1 record with a 3.03 ERA this season for the Sounds and has a minor league record of 51-44 with a 3.83 ERA in 894.2 innings of work.
QUER-DOS: Jeferson Quero tallied his 10th multi-RBI game of the season, ripping a two-run double in the bottom of the first inning to left field and giving the Sounds the 4-0 lead. The two-RBI night marks the second of the week against the Stripers as he went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI on Wednesday night. The two RBI Saturday night marked his 34th of the season, surpassing Eddys Leonard (33) for the team lead and tied for 12th in the International League. Quero has posted a .253 batting average (41-for-162), 15 XBH and 34 RBI for the Sounds this season.
WAGS-IS-BACK: Jacob Waguespack extended his consecutive appearances to eight without allowing an earned run in Saturday night's win, tossing a scoreless inning, allowing two hits and striking out one in the process. Waguespack currently has the third-longest active-streak without allowing an earned run on the team and is tied for the 11th longest active streak in the International League. During his streak, Waguespack has posted 11.0 consecutive innings on six hits and added 19 strikeouts. Waguespack has posted a 1.93 ERA in 14 overall appearances and 18.2 innings with the Sounds this season.