NASHVILLE - Nashville took control of the series against Gwinnett with the third shutout win of the season, blanking the Stripers 2-0 on Thursday night in a pitcher's duel that saw both starters earn a quality start. The teams combined for just eight hits in the first sub-2 hour nine-inning game Nashville has played since 2022. Luis Lara recorded two of the five Nashville hits and drove in the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Brewers no. 17-rated prospect Tyson Hardin tossed his second Triple-A quality start in three games with Nashville. The right-hander worked 6.0 IP and allowed just two hits with five strikeouts and a walk without a decision. He retired the side in order in four of his six innings with his hits allowed coming via a two-out single to former Sound Brewer Hicklen in the top of the first. He then stranded a two-out double off the bat of Luke Williams in the third.
The Sounds offense had their own trouble getting much off of Elieser Hernandez on the mound for Gwinnett. Nashville mustered just two hits through six innings with Akil Baddoo hitting a single in the bottom of the second that was followed by an inning-ending double play. Lara collected the first of two extra-base hits on the night with a two-out double in the fourth. Hernandez faced just one over the minimum through six innings with the help of another double play in the bottom of the fifth to erase the lone walk issued by the Stripers starter.
Nashville's offense finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Cooper Pratt started the inning with a single back up the middle and raced around the bases when Lara broke the scoreless tie with a RBI triple that rattled around the Gwinnett bullpen in the right field corner. Luis Matos made it three straight hits and extended his hitting streak to nine consecutive games with a double to make it 2-0 and bring an end to Hernandez's night. Rolddy Munoz relieved Hernandez and issued a walk to the first batter he faced but worked the third double play Nashville hit into on the night and ended the frame with a ground out to strand Matos at third base.
Reiss Kneher took over for Hardin in the top of the seventh and spun two scoreless innings in which he retired all six he faced with three strikeouts to pick up the win. Brewers no. 27-rated prospect Craig Yoho slammed the door on Gwinnett with a scoreless ninth inning as he struck out the side to work around a one-out single for his third save of the year. Hardin, Knehr, and Yoho combined to retire 19 of the final 20 batters the trio faced.
The Sounds and Stripers will be back in action on Friday night with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m. CT. LHP Robert Gasser (0-0, 3.74 ERA) will get the start for Nashville against RHP Anthony Molina (2-2, 4.50 ERA) and Gwinnett.
POSTGAME NOTES:
LOCKED IN: Tyson Hardin was tremendous on the mound in Thursday night's game against the Stripers and worked 6.0 scoreless innings on two hits and struck out five Stripers batters to earn his second quality start in three Triple-A starts for the Sounds. That quality start marked his ninth career quality start in his three-year campaign. His first quality start with Nashville came in his first career Triple-A start against the Iowa Cubs on May 17 (7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 6 K, 3 BB). The Sounds have won in all three games that Hardin has started this season, including taking his first career Triple-A win on May 23 against Durham (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 7 K, 3 BB).
FOUR-LOKO: Reiss Knehr tallied his fourth win of the season, posting two scoreless innings and striking out three hitters in the process while the offense went ahead pushed two runs across the plate in the bottom half of the seventh inning. This win ties Knehr's longest win streak of his career, the first one came during the 2021 season from May 28-July 1 with Double-A San Antonio (3.47 ERA, 36.1 IP, 24 H, 14 ER, 30 K). He added two quality starts during that streak, earning the victory in both of them. Knehr's fourth win is tied for the most wins on the team with Easton McGee, while he is tied for the third-longest active win-streak in the International League and tied for fourth in the Triple-A. He has posted a 2.35 ERA, allowing just four runs in 13 relief appearances for the Sounds this season.
LU-THREES LARA: Luis Lara earned his second triple of the season, both coming against the Stripers, on a liner to right field to score Cooper Pratt and gave the Sounds the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lara has been hitting lights out for the Sounds this season, leading the team in batting average (.346), hits (66), runs (47) and stolen bases (18). The .346 batting average is ranked fourth in the International League and sixth at the Triple-A level, while he leads the International League in runs, tied for second in Triple-A and tied for sixth amongst full-season minor league hitters.
GONE FISHING: The Sounds shutout the Stripers in a 2-0 win Thursday night, marking Nashville's third shutout victory of the season and the second at home. The other two shutout wins came against the Charlotte Knights on April 2 and Louisville on May 10. This was the 20th shutout win when allowing three hits or less since 2021 and the 63rd overall shutout win when allowing three hits or less in a game since 2005 during the regular season.
I AM SPEED: Thursday night's game against the Sounds and the Stripers marked the shortest completion of a game (9 IP) this season for Nashville (1:57). That marked the quickest game in the International League this season so far this season and the second fastest in the Triple-A level behind Tacoma and Sugar Land's game (1:54). These two games are the only contests that have been completed under two hours this season so far. The last time the Sounds had a sub-two hour game was on June 25, 2022, against the Stripers as well (1:59) and marked the first time the pitch clock was implemented that same year in the International League.