Frankie Montas went six solid innings and Anthony Garcia knocked in a pair of runs to lead the Nashville Sounds to a 3-1 win over the Memphis Redbirds in front of 9,259 fans at First Tennessee Park Friday night.
Montas earned his first win of the season and went six innings for the first time since 2015. The right-hander allowed a second inning home run to Adolis Garcia but settled in. He scattered six hits and finished his night by striking out Patrick Wisdom to end the sixth.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the third, the Sounds got a big two-out hit from Slade Heathcott to even the game at 1-1. With Nick Martini at third, Heathcott lined a base hit through the left side.
It stayed 1-1 until Garcia drilled a solo homer to lead off the bottom of the sixth. The right fielder’s blast to the seats in the Hyundai Deck was his team-leading fourth of the season.
Garcia was at it again with a clutch two-out hit in the seventh. Dustin Fowler set the stage when he lined a triple to the gap in right-center. After Franklin Barreto flied out to center for the second out, Heathcott walked to put runners at the corners. Garcia lined a base hit up the middle to give the Sounds a 3-1 lead.
The bullpen trio of Jake Sanchez, Jeremy Bleich and Raul Alcantara did the rest. Sanchez tossed a scoreless seventh, Bleich followed suit in the eighth, and Alcantara worked the ninth to pick up the save.
The four-game series continues Saturday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (1-0, 0.96) starts for Nashville against left-hander Austin Gomber (2-0, 2.45) for Memphis. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- With tonight’s 3-1 win, the Sounds improved to 13-14 on the season.
- Nashville starter Frankie Montas threw a season-high 6.0 innings. It was the first time Montas went at least 6.0 innings since August 21, 2015 while pitching with Double-A Birmingham.
- Left fielder Nick Martin extended his on-base streak to 16 games with a third inning walk. Martini has reached safely in every game he has played in since April 14.
- Right fielder Anthony García hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season in the sixth inning. It was the third go-ahead homer of the season for Nashville.
- Center fielder Dustin Fowler had another multi-hit game – his fifth over his last six games and team-leading 13th of the season. Fowler has hit safely in six straight and is hitting .420 (21-for-50) over his last 11 games.
The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.