MEMPHIS, Tennessee – The Memphis Redbirds (22-16) led the Nashville Sounds (Athletics) 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh inning, before Nashville scored seven times in its final three at-bats en route to an 8-3 winSunday afternoon in Memphis, Tenn.
Memphis has lost four-straight games for the second time this month, with a three-game winning streak sandwiched in between.
Tyler O’Neill homered for the 11th time this season and second time in two games, marking the third time this year he has homered in back-to-back games. Alex Mejia was 3-for-4 for Memphis. Four Sounds had two hits apiece in the game, and Jorge Mateo drove in three runs.
Sean Gilmartin was solid on the mound, striking out seven in 5.2 innings and giving up just one earned run. He was lifted for Mike O’Reilly in the sixth, who then gave up eight hits and seven runs, five earned, in the final 3.1 innings and was saddled with the loss.
The Redbirds led 2-0 into the fifth inning, with Oscar Mercado hitting a sacrifice fly and O’Neill having an RBI double in the third. Nashville scored a run in the fifth off Gilmartin, and the score remained 2-1 in favor of Memphis through six innings.
Nashville scored three times in the top of the seventh and once in the eighth to take a 5-2 lead, before O’Neill’s blast in the home-half of the eighth brought the Redbirds back within a run at 5-3.
But the Sounds plated three more in the top of the ninth, putting the game out of reach and sealing the win after Memphis went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.
Six Redbirds finished with hits in the ballgame.
The Redbirds and Sounds continue their series with 11:05 a.m. games the next two days, before Memphis goes on the road to Colorado Springs after an off-day on Wednesday. For more information on single-game tickets and ticket mini-memberships, visit www.memphisredbirds.com.
