Call it Thunder and Thunder.
Call it “exotic smashmouth.”
Whatever you want to call the Titans’ improved running game, the team’s performance in Saturday night’s 27-10 preseason win against the Chargers has to be called a success.

Running backs DeMarco Murray and Derrick Henry were equally impressive for the Titans right out of the gate on a night when the offense rolled early against the Chargers. Later in the game, third-year running back Bishop Sankey stepped in and added an impressive run of his own.

The Titans ran for a whopping 288 yards on the night. Murray led the way with 93 yards, while Henry (74) and Sankey (53) also had big moments.

“It was a nice start for our team,’’ coach Mike Mularkey said. “It was fun to see the style of play. I was proud of them. … I’d love to see that all season (in the run game). But that shows what they are capable of doing. They had a really good night.”

Murray busted loose for a 71-yard touchdown run on the team’s third offseason series. On the run, he started in the middle of the field, cut to his left, and then raced downfield en route to the end zone. He made sure he got there with a stiff-arm, and the result gave the Titans an early 10-7 lead.

“It was a great blocking job by the offensive line and the receivers, tight ends,’’ Murray said. “It was a power play, so they caved the entire side, and the linebacker sprinted over to the right. I felt it, and I felt the backside A-gap. DGB [Dorial Green-Beckham] made a helluva block as a receiver. Those are how big plays—especially run plays—that’s how they break, by receivers blocking downfield. Him and Harry (Douglas) did a great job, and obviously Marcus (Mariota) got us in the right look.”

On the next series, Henry replaced him in the backfield, and the Titans just kept on rolling. Henry scored on a six-yard touchdown run to give the Titans a 17-7 lead midway through the second quarter.

“That’s how we want it to look,’’ Henry said. “It was my first NFL game, so I was ready to get out there and make something happen.

“We definitely want to be a physical team, especially running the ball. We want to be smashmouth. … Today was a good day with the o-line blocking and us running.”

The one-two offensive punch put on display by the Titans running backs provided even more reason for optimism following an offseason when the team bolstered personnel behind quarterback Marcus Mariota via trade, and the NFL Draft.

Murray needed just six carries to get to 93 yards. The Titans traded with the Eagles for Murray, the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2014 while in Dallas, in March. Henry, last year’s Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama, carried the ball 10 times, and busted off a 16-yard run.

The Titans had 179 yards by halftime on the ground. Sankey scored on a 41-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Titans stretched the lead to 27-10.

“I have been blessed and lucky to be here as a Titan, and I am excited about this year,’’ Murray said. “It is preseason and we understand that, but at the end of the day we have to go out there and make plays. We are headed in the right direction.”

Mariota played three series and completed all five of his passes, for 45 yards. It was good for passer rating of 104.2.

The Titans gave up some plays early on defense, but held the Chargers to just 10 points in the first half before both teams emptied their benches and played with reserves. The Chargers scored a touchdown on their first possession of a 44-yard completion from Philip Rivers to running back Melvin Gordon.

Rookie safety Kevin Byard, the team’s third-round pick from MTSU, had an interception in the second half.

“We obviously wanted to start a little bit better,’’ cornerback Jason McCourty said. “We didn’t want to give up a touchdown, but it’s just something we’ve got to work back from. We came back out and got a stop, but we want to go out there and start the game a lot better than we did tonight.

“It’s only the preseason, but just being in front of our home fans, hearing how loud they are, the excitement that’s in the air—it’s just a blast to be back out there with the guys. And for our team, we’ve worked so hard in training camp just to be able to come out here and try to do our best. It was a blast and it lets us know the regular season is around the corner.”

The fifth spot in the Nationals’ rotation has been a bit of a revolving door during the past month, bouncing back and forth between two of the club’s top prospects while Joe Ross has been on the DL. But right-hander Reynaldo Lopez may have provided some stability in the rotation for the time being, after he tossed seven innings of one-run ball to help guide the Nationals to a 7-6 victory Saturday night against the Braves at Nationals Park.

Daniel Murphy drove in four runs, including his 22nd homer in the first, and Trea Turner homered as part of a three-hit night, finishing a double shy of the cycle as Washington secured its seventh victory in the past 10 games.

“It all starts with Rey-Rey on the mound. He did a great job tonight,” Murphy said. “That was not the easiest conditions… to give up the homer and then go seven in those conditions was impressive.”
The Nats led 7-1 after six innings, but the Braves got a run in the eighth and four in the ninth — two on Erick Aybar’s double in which he was thrown out trying to extend it to a triple — before Mark Melancon retired Matt Kemp on a grounder to short to pick up the save.
Atlanta was trying to win its first series in Washington since April 2014, but could not overcome a rough outing from right-hander Rob Whalen, who gave up six runs on six hits in five innings. The Braves’ only offense against Lopez came from a first-inning solo home run from Freddie Freeman — his 23rd of the season.
“We’re never out of it,” Freeeman said. “That’s just kind of our team. We put ourselves in a hole, so we had nothing to lose and we came out swinging. We just came up a little short.”
After a pair of uneven performances in his first two Major League starts, when he allowed nine runs in 8 2/3 innings, it was fair to wonder exactly what the Nationals would get in Lopez’s third career outing. But Lopez — the Nats’ No.3 prospect according to MLBPipeline.com — turned in the strongest outing of his career. In his two previous starts, Lopez had allowed nine runs in 8 2/3 innings. On Saturday, Lopez made it past the fifth inning for the first time, limiting the Braves to one run on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Manager Dusty Baker said earlier this week he would like to settle on one starter to fill in while Ross is out, but those decisions would come based on performance.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Lopez said through an interpreter. “Especially since I’m trying to help the team get a playoff spot.”
Manager Dusty Baker said earlier this week he would like to settle on one starter to fill in while Ross is out, but those decisions would come based on performance. So has Lopez earned another start?
“Probably,” Baker said.
Whalen has allowed four home runs through the first 16 innings of his career, including three within his past seven innings. He surrendered four home runs over 120 innings for Double-A Mississippi, Triple-A Gwinnett and the big leagues this season. Jason Hursh entered in the sixth to make his big league debut. Hursh allowed one run and three hits over one inning, but his line would have been uglier had Jace Peterson’s not robbed Turner of a hit with a diving stop to end the sixth.
“I thought I made a lot of good pitches today,” Whalen said. “I had a good feel for the strike zone. I was throwing a lot of strikes and getting ground balls. They’re just a good team with good hitters. The top of the lineup, they didn’t miss those mistakes I made.”
Turner put on display the skills that have made him such a dynamic leadoff hitter for the Nationals. He tripled in the first — his fifth of the season, all of which have come since the All-Star break, which leads the Majors. Turner also added a solo homer, and a single to finish a double shy of a cycle, for what he said would have been the first cycle of his life.
“It’s hard to just tell yourself to just do the same thing, but that’s what you’ve gotta do,” Turner said. “I think the reason why you get three hits is that you have three good at-bats. I was just trying to tell myself to do that. Obviously, I was just hoping to hit something somewhere where I could run to second. It didn’t happen, but it was fun.”
Peterson sparked a four-run ninth with a leadoff triple and Ender Inciarte fueled the rally by greeting Melancon with an RBI single. Aybar followed with a two-run double, but he was thrown out attempting to reach third. The Braves unsuccessfully challenged the ruling at third base and then saw their comeback bid end when Melancon retired Freeman and Kemp.
“We didn’t wanna blow that one, [Lopez’s] first win,” Baker said. “But [the Braves], they don’t quit.”
Tyrell Jenkins will be on the mound when Atlanta concludes a 10-game road trip with Sunday’s series finale against Washington at 12:35 p.m. CT. Jenkins has allowed just two earned runs over his past three starts, despite issuing 11 walks and recording nine strikeouts within this span.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on Braves Radio Network beginning at Noon.

Freddie Freeman showed why he is a nemesis to the Nationals on Friday night. He homered and drove in four runs to lead the Braves to an 8-5 win at Nationals Park.

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg started for Washington and had his worst outing of the year, allowing a season-high six runs in 5 1/3 innings, and he was denied his 16th victory of the season.
“We’ve faced some pretty good pitching over the course of the summer,” Braves interim manager Brian Snitker said after his team won for the 11th time in the past 16 games. “But the guys are never down and they’re never out. They’ve been beat over the head for the majority of the season, but they come, they prepare, they grind out at-bats and leave it all out on the field. The record is no indication of how I feel this team is or how those guys play.”
Despite the loss, Jayson Werth reached base for the 41st consecutive game with a seventh-inning RBI double. Werth is two short of the Nationals record set by Ryan Zimmerman in 2009.
Freeman got the Braves on the board in the first inning with an RBI double. An inning later, Jace Peterson gave Atlanta a 2-0 lead with his sixth home run.
“It was too much Freddie Freeman. He has had a tremendous amount of success in this ballpark and it continued tonight,” Nationals manager Dusty Baker said.
By the fourth inning, however, the Nationals took a 3-2 lead against right-hander Mike Foltynewicz. Anthony Rendon highlighted the scoring with a two-run homer. But Atlanta retook the lead in the fifth, when Foltynewicz delivered a leadoff double and Freeman hit a three-run homer over the left-field wall to give Atlanta a 5-3 lead.
Strasburg left in the sixth inning with a runner on first with one out. Matt Belisle took over and allowed a two-run homer to Anthony Recker. Atlanta added one more run in the seventh inning when Freeman scored on Peterson’s sacrifice fly.
“He didn’t have anything in the tank in the middle innings,” Baker said. “He ran out of gas. The heat kind of got to him and the opposing pitcher [Foltynewicz].”
Strasburg didn’t have any excuses for his disappointing outing. He said he gave it everything he had, but needed to have better preparation before the game.
“It’s still a learning process. I have to keep working on the preparation part and see what I can do to keep my hand dry, keep my legs feeling good,” Strasburg said. “I don’t want to sit here and make excuses. I didn’t execute tonight. The Braves put some good swings on the ball.”
This marked the fifth time this season, and the second time within the past seven games, the Braves hit at least three home runs in a game. Freeman’s three-run shot gave him more home runs (four in 34 at-bats) than anybody against Strasburg, and Recker’s two-run blast was his first of the season. Peterson sparked the power barrage when he led off the second with his sixth homer of the season, matching the total he produced in 302 more at-bats last year.
“We started it in inning one and kept it going all the way through,” said Freeman, who is hitting .412 in his career against Strasburg and .327 against the Nationals. “Obviously Strasburg has been great all year. To come out and get on him early was a good thing for us.”
Rendon has hit safely in 17 out of his last 21 games, going 26-for-77 (.337) with five home runs and 17 RBIs.
Foltynewicz kept the Nationals hitless until Trea Turner recorded a two-out RBI single in the third and then paid for the curveball that Rendon sent over the left-center field wall in the fourth. The competitive right-hander might have allowed his emotions to get the best of him on a few occasions, but he was one out from recording a quality start before his outing ended with Brian Goodwin’s RBI single in the sixth.
“The main goal every time you go out there is to give your team the best chance to win,” Foltynewicz said. “I think I did an OK job of that tonight. The offense came out and attacked one of the best pitchers in baseball and got me an early lead. I kind of gave it up there for a minute, but the way this team has been hitting, I knew they were going to get me some runs. So, I just kept attacking.”
After making outs in his first three at-bats, Werth extended his on-base streak to 41 games in the seventh with a double off reliever Jose Ramirez. Werth has a chance to tie Zimmerman’s club-record streak of 43 this weekend against the Braves.
Rob Whalen will be on the mound when Atlanta and Washington resume this three-game series on Saturday at 6:10 p.m. CT. Whalen has impressed the Braves as he has created good movement on his sinker and shown poise during his only two previous career starts.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as a member of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.  We will begin our coverage at 6 PM.

Bryan Anderson clubbed a grand slam and Daniel Mengden tossed five scoreless innings to lead the Nashville Sounds to a convincing 10-0 win over the Reno Aces in front of a sellout crowd of 10,073 Friday night at First Tennessee Park.

The seventh inning slam for Anderson was his second home run of the season and the first grand slam by a Sounds (69-51) player at First Tennessee Park. It came after singles by Matt Olson, Renato Nunez and Matt McBride.

In his 10th start with Nashville, Mengden continued to dazzle. After a first inning jam he worked out of with back-to-back strikeouts, the right-hander faced two over the minimum. He dropped his ERA to 1.34 and improved to 6-1.

His teammates gave him some early run support to work with. With two on and two out in the bottom of the first, Renato Nunez sent a single up the middle to score a pair and make it 2-0.

They added another run in the third on a sacrifice fly by Jaycob Brugman. After Olson singled to start the third, Joey Wendle blasted his 11th home run of the season – a deep drive to right-center to extend the lead to 5-0.

Arismendy Alcantara tripled in the sixth and scored on base hit by Brugman to add on to the lead.

Angel Castro came on for Mengden after five and pitched well in relief. The veteran tossed four scoreless innings and limited the Aces to just two hits. He picked up his second save of the season in the process.

After the first, Reno did not put a base runner past second base. Ildamaro Vargas reached second in the fifth after an error but Mengden worked around it. Zach Borenstein reached second in the ninth but Castro worked around him to close it out.

The shutout by the two hurlers is the eighth of the season for the Sounds, and fifth over the last 16 games.

Nashville out-hit Reno, 12-4, and got multi-hit games from Olson, Nunez, McBride and Anderson.

The division lead remains at 10.5 games for the Sounds after Memphis won over Tacoma. The magic number to clinch a spot in the Pacific Coast League Playoffs is 14.

Game two of the four-game series is set for Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Raul Alcantara (3-0, 0.70) starts for the Sounds against left-hander Anthony Banda (4-3, 4.27) for the Aces. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.