NASHVILLE - The Sounds won their third straight game with an 8-2 victory over the Durham Bulls on Tuesday night at First Horizon Park. Brewers no. 16-rated prospect Tyson Hardin tossed his third quality start in five games with Nashville and set a career-high with 11 strikeouts to earn his second Triple-A win. Akil Baddoo and Cooper Pratt provided Hardin with four runs of support on a pair of two-run home runs as the Sounds cruised to the series opening win.
Hardin started his night by striking out the side in the top of the first to work around a one-out infield single and added another strikeout as part of a 1-2-3 top of the second. It was the first of three straight three-up, three down innings for the right-hander who added two more strikeouts in the fourth to record strikeouts of six of the first 12 batters he faced. He added three more in the top of the fifth to work around a one-out double and tie his career-high with nine strikeouts through five innings of work. The lone run he allowed came via a leadoff home run by Logan Davidson to begin the top of the sixth. Hardin then retired three straight, including back-to-back strikeouts to help set a new career-high with 11 and finish his outing facing just three over the minimum.
Baddoo started the scoring for Nashville in the bottom of the second with a two-run home run. All three of his home runs this season have coming against Durham including the multi-home run game he had against the Bulls on May 20. The Sounds tacked on another run their next trip to the plate as Luis Lara reached base with a single and came around to score on a two-out RBI single for Jeferson Quero. The Sounds were unable to add any more runs on a bases-loaded opportunity as the game remained 3-0 until the bottom of the fifth.
Brock Wilken hit a two out double and was followed by a triple for Eddys Leonard as the Sounds strung together consecutive extra-base hits off Cam Hill. Jett Williams kept the inning alive with a walk. His speed forced an errant pickoff attempt and allowed Leonard to score and move Williams to third. The last 90 feet were made easy with Pratt capping the four-run inning with a two-run home run to give the Sounds a 7-0 cushion after five innings.
Jared Koenig continued his Major League rehab assignment with his fourth straight scoreless appearance as he added a strikeout and picked off Homer Bush Jr. to end the top of the sixth to erase the lone hit he surrendered. The Bulls worked across their second run of the night with a RBI single for former Sound Oliver Dunn as part of two hits allowed by Junior Fernandez in the top of the eighth. Nashville cashed in on another bases-loaded situation when Baddoo collected his third RBI of the night with a two-out free pass for the eighth run of the night to make it 8-2.
Reiss Knehr struck out three of the four batters he faced in the top of the ninth as the Sounds set a new season-high for strikeouts with 16 for the game.
Nashville and Durham will continue their series on Wednesday night at First Horizon Park. RHP Brett Wichrowski (1-0, 4.76 ERA) will make his First Horizon Park debut on the mound for the Sounds. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
POSTGAME NOTES:
BULL-IED: Tyson Hardin struck out a new career-high 11 batters against the Durham Bulls Tuesday night, retiring 18-of-the-21 batters he faced. Hardin ended his night allowing a run on three hits to go along with his third career 6.0+ inning quality start with the Sounds, fourth overall quality start this season. The 11 strikeouts ties for the most strikeouts on the team matching Robert Gasser, who fanned 11 Norfolk Tides batters in the season opener on March 27. Hardin is just the sixth player to record 11+ strikeouts at the Triple-A level this season and ties for the sixth-most strikeouts by a Nashville pitcher since 2021. Since 2005, the most strikeouts by a Sounds pitcher sits at 13 when Mike Fiers and Ben Mills did so during the 2014 season.
SMACK PRATT: Cooper Pratt went yard for his sixth homer of the season in the bottom of the fifth inning with a two-run homer into left field for the 7-0 Sounds lead. That homer marked his second two-run shot of the season and the fifth off a right-hander. Pratt's been on a tear during the 2026 season and ranks tied for first in triples (4) and ties for fourth in hits (51) amongst Milwaukee Brewers' minor league hitters. He also ranks tied for 1st in triples (4), tied for 2nd in hits (52), tied for 3rd in home runs (6), 3rd in batting average (.252) and 4th in RBI (31) on the team.
TWOS-DAY: Eddys Leonard and Cooper Pratt each recorded two-hit nights in Tuesday's win over Durham as Leonard went 2-for-4 with a triple, while Pratt went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and marked their 16th multi-hit game of the season. It marked Leonard's first multi-hit game since May 16 against the Iowa Cubs when he clubbed his second grand slam of the season for the Sounds. Leonard ranks tied for second in doubles (12), tied for third in XBH (23), fourth in total bases (95), fifth in AVG (.289), tied for fifth in homers (9) and tied for sixth in RBI (35) amongst Milwaukee Brewers' minor league hitters.
ON THE HORIZON: Akil Baddoo crushed his third homer of the season with the Sounds on a two-run blast to left field, giving Nashville the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. It marked his first career homer at First Horizon Park, his first two-run shot of the season, the third against a right-hander, and the third go-ahead homer. He has posted a .250 batting average (5-for-26), four RBI and added five walks at First Horizon Park. The 11-year veteran has posted a .262 batting average (243-for-926), 101 XBH and 114 RBI in his Triple-A career.
STANDING FIRM: The Nashville Sounds sit at the top of Triple-A in ERA (3.81) through 64 games of the season. The Sounds rank first in earned runs (231) in 546.0 IP and are tied for sixth in BAA (.242), while having the best home record amongst all 120 minor league teams (24-6). The 16 strikeouts in Tuesday's win marked the most in a game this season for the Sounds, and the most since posting 18 strikeouts last season against the Indianapolis Indians on May 31. The most punchouts the Sounds pitching staff put together sits at 19 when they did it in three separate seasons (2006, 2022, 2023) with the most recent one coming on May 11, 2023.