Howie Kendrick homered and Odubel Herrera added another key extra-base hit as the Phillies manufactured enough damage against a recently stingy Jaime Garcia to claim their fourth straight victory, a 3-1 win over the Braves on Tuesday night at SunTrust Park.

Cesar Hernandez and Herrera recorded consecutive doubles to begin a decisive two-run sixth inning that provided sufficient support for Aaron Nola, who surrendered a first-inning run and then blanked the Braves over the remainder of his eight-inning effort. Herrera had two doubles in each of the previous three games, becoming the first Phillies player to do so.
“I can’t say enough about Nola,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. “[Pitching coach Bob] McClure and I had a meeting with him and [Jerad Eickhoff] the other day and we challenged them to pitch better — it was as simple as that — and boy, did he rise to the challenge. He was outstanding.”
Kendrick’s game-tying solo homer with two outs in the fourth accounted for Philadelphia’s first baserunner and the first earned run Garcia had surrendered over a span of 22 innings. The homer traveled a projected 417 feet with an exit velocity of 106 mph — the fifth hardest home run Kendrick has hit during the Statcast™ era.
As the Braves were handed their fourth straight home loss for the third time this season, they received yet another encouraging start from Garcia, who allowed three earned runs and eight hits over 7 2/3 innings. The lefty has pitched into the seventh and allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his past four outings.
“It was a great job,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I think he hung one [slider] to Kendrick. It wasn’t like they were banging him all around.”
After Hernandez and Herrera opened the sixth with doubles, Kendrick followed with a single to put runners at the corners with none out. Before quieting the threat with a strikeout of Tommy Joseph, Garcia was charged with a run-scoring balk as he attempted a pickoff move to first base. This marked the second straight start he was called for a balk. He had just three balks through his previous 156 career starts.
Nola seemed to be heading toward a third straight disappointing start when Brandon Phillips doubled and scored on Nick Markakis’ one-out single in the first. But the Braves didn’t put another runner in scoring position until the fifth, when Dansby Swanson singled and advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt. Swanson was left stranded when Nola induced a popout from Ender Inciarte, who had combined to go 7-for-7 on Sunday and Monday.
Since winning the first four games at SunTrust Park, the Braves have lost 14 of 20 at their new home park. Their pitchers have produced a 6.00 ERA within this 20-game span.
Mike Foltynewicz (3-5, 3.90 ERA) will take the mound when this four-game series against Philadelphia resumes Wednesday. The righty matched a career-best 10 strikeouts over seven scoreless innings on Friday in Cincinnati.

The Nashville Sounds hit back-to-back home runs two different times en route to a 7-3 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers Tuesday afternoon at Werner Park.

Right fielder Jaff Decker was in on both in his sixth multi-homer game of his career. With Omaha leading 1-0 in the top of the second, Decker belted a home run to left field just moments after Matt Chapman drew a walk. Decker’s first long ball of the season gave Nashville (30-26) the lead for good at 2-1.

On the very next pitch from Omaha starter Josh Staumont, Matt McBride clobbered a solo homer to deep left field to extend the lead to 3-1.

With one out in the fourth, Ryan LaMarre started another rally with a single to center. Two batters later, Jaycob Brugman lined an RBI triple to the right-center gap to make it a 4-1 game.

While the offense was chewing up Staumont, Sounds starter Michael Brady was dialed in. Making another spot start, Brady was dominant in his third win of the season. The right-hander worked five innings and allowed one run while matching a career-best 10 strikeouts. He struck out three in the first and recorded at least two strikeouts in all of his innings except the second.

Nashville struck with the long ball again in the fifth. With one out, Renato Nuñez singled to put a runner on for Chapman. The third baseman drilled an offering from Staumont into deep left field for a two-run homer and 6-1 lead. It was Chapman’s 14th of the season, one shy of the Nuñez’s team-high 15.

Decker followed Chapman and launched a 3-2 pitch out to left field for another home run – his second of the game.

With two Tuesday afternoon, the Sounds have gone back-to-back four times this season. Decker joins Chapman and Matt Olson (twice) as Sounds to have a multi-homer game in 2017.

Chris Jensen followed Brady with two scoreless innings in relief before giving way to Aaron Kurcz in the eighth. The right-hander allowed a two-run homer to Jorge Soler before Jake Sanchez shut down the Storm Chasers in the ninth.

Game three of the four-game series is set for Wednesday night at Werner Park. Right-hander Chris Smith (3-2, 3.35) starts for Nashville against right-hander Christian Binford (3-2, 3.94) for Omaha. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.

The Coffee County Lady Raiders opened play in the Cumberland County play day on Monday with 2 varsity games and 2 JV games.   The varsity team went 1 and 1 on the day with a big win over Grundy County in the first game for coach Joe Pat Cope before losing to Cleveland.  Coach Joe Pat Cope was “pleased with energy, effort and hustle” of his team while admitting that the press of Cleveland hurt his team.  “We have not had much practice time yet and I think that once we get some more of our system down, we will be ok”, added Cope.

Cope is looking for improved offensive production when the Lady Raiders return to Crossville on Tuesday.   Coffee County was a dismal 8 of 23 at the free throw line and 0 for 12 on 3 point attempts against Cleveland in the loss.   “We missed a lot of wide open shots”, added Cope.

On Tuesday, the varsity team has games at 2 PM and 4 PM at Cumberland County.  The Lady Raiders will take on Clay County at 2 PM and Stone Memorial at 4 PM.  The JV team will be in action at 3 and 5 PM.  The Lady Raiders will also take part in a team camp at MTSU on Wednesday and Thursday.  Wednesday night’s games are at  6 & 8 PM on the main floor at Murphy Center.

Coffee County Middle School softball
Date – June 6th(all grades)
Times – 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM
Location – CCMS Softball Field
Coach – Lana Creek
Contact – creekl@k12coffee.net

Coffee County Middle School baseball
Date – June 6th(rising 6th graders) and June 8th(rising 7th and 8th graders only)
Time – 5 PM
Location – CCMS Baseball Field
Coach – Brock Freeze
Contact – freezeb@k12coffee.net

Coffee County CHS Golf
Date – July 10
Time – 8:00 AM
Location – Willowbrook Golf Club
Coach – Mike Ray
Contact – raym@k12coffee.net

NOTE – Westwood basketball, baseball & softball, along with CHS Boys’ soccer, will have tryouts when school starts.

To add your tryout time, or submit a correction, send an email to: Dennis Weaver at CoachWeave@gmail.com

Frederick Gaudreau sure is doing his best to earn his own locker with the Nashville Predators with a Stanley Cup Final debut for the ages.

And with Pekka Rinne turning in his best performance in this series, the Predators are going back to Pittsburgh having tied up the defending champs at 2-2, turning this into a best-of-three sprint to the Stanley Cup.

Gaudreau, an undrafted free agent playing just his sixth postseason game, scored the go-ahead goal 3:45 into the second period, and Rinne made 23 often-spectacular saves as the Predators beat the Penguins, 4-1, on Monday night.

The 24-year-old rookie only has a chair in the Predators’ locker room, but he now is the second player in NHL history to score his first three career goals in a Stanley Cup Final, joining Johnny Harms with the 1944 Blackhawks.

Calle Jarnkrok, Viktor Arvidsson and Filip Forsberg also scored for Nashville, which improved to 9-1 at home.

Sidney Crosby scored his first goal in the series after not getting a shot on goal in Game 3. The goal was his first in the Stanley Cup Final since June 4, 2009 — a span of 12 games. The goal came after he was held without a shot for only the fifth time in his career in the playoffs.

The Penguins now have lost two straight for the second time this postseason. They also lost Games 5 and 6 against Washington. Goalie Matt Murray lost consecutive games for the first time in his young career.

Game 5 is Thursday night in Pittsburgh.

Nashville tapped country singer Dierks Bentley as the latest to sing the national anthem, while country singer Jason Aldean waved the towel to rev up the crowd. Former NBA star and TV commentator Charles Barkley also was on hand, accepting NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman’s invitation to watch in person.

Rain most of Monday kept the crowd outside from reaching the more than 50,000 who turned Saturday night for the first Stanley Cup Final game in Tennessee. Enough people turned out to fill up Broadway for three blocks with three giant TV screens, even with Nashville opening up a downtown amphitheater for fans to watch.

After the anthem, two catfish and one stuffed penguin hit the ice despite Nashville coach Peter Laviolette’s video plea earlier Monday asking fans not to throw anything.

Craig Smith, who had two of Nashville’s first six shots, ricocheted a puck off Murray’s pads that Jarnkrok tapped in at 14:51 to start the fans yelling. Pittsburgh lost a challenge for goalie interference.

Then Crosby, held without a shot for only the fifth time in the postseason in his career, tied it up for Pittsburgh on a breakaway. He skated in on Rinne, holding the puck before scoring behind the goalie’s leg just 66 seconds later for his eighth goal and 24th point of the playoffs.

Rinne kept it tied in the early minutes of the second first with a stop of Jake Guentzel before a big save on Chris Kunitz on a breakaway.

Play was underway when the horn sounded, and officials reviewed a play and ruled Gaudreau’s wraparound attempt slid the puck just over the line before Murray stopped it. Referee Dan O’Halloran announced it as a goal, giving Nashville a 2-1 lead 3:45 into the second.

Crosby had another breakaway nearly midway through the period, and Rinne stopped him not once, but twice. Then the goalie slid to his right stopping Guentzel with an assist from Nashville defenseman Roman Josi.

Arvidsson made it a 3-1 Nashville lead with his first goal since the end of the first round. James Neal started the play, getting the puck to captain Mike Fisher who fed the puck up to Arvidsson while falling to the ice. Arvidsson beat Murray under his glove, putting the puck just inside the right post at 13:08.

Forsberg sealed the win with an empty-netter with 3:23 left.

Notes: Fisher, scoreless until the Final, now has four points. He got his fourth on his 37th birthday. … With his goal, Crosby now has 161 career playoff points and moved past Mike Bossy, Gordie Howe, Al MacInnis and Bobby Smith for 20th all-time by himself. … The Penguins now are 13-3 after a playoff loss under coach Mike Sullivan, and Murray is 7-1 in playoff games started after a loss.

Pete Weber’s Post Game Report