Sounds Open Series With Win Over Worcester

NASHVILLE — The Nashville Sounds put together early runs and took command of Tuesday night's game against the Worcester Red Sox with a 9-4 win at First Horizon Park. Both top prospects, Jett Williams and Luis Lara led the way with 3-hit nights, while Jeferson Quero recorded four RBI.

The Sounds jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Williams reached base on a lead-off single. After Cooper Pratt walked and Lara was hit by pitch to load the bases, Jeferson Quero drew the second straight walk and scored Williams for the 1-0 lead. Then, Brock Wilken and Eddys Leonard hit back-to-back sac flies, extending the Nashville lead to 3-0.

Nashville continued adding damage in the bottom of the second inning as Jacob Hurtubise led off the frame getting hit by pitch. Williams and Lara contributed singles to load the bases and the second back-to-back walks issued of the night plated two more runs which grew the lead to 5-0. The WooSox cut into the Nashville lead 5-1 with a Jason Delay homer to the left field pole in the top of the third, but that was all starter Shane Drohan surrendered heading into the bottom half of the third.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Sounds extended their lead back up to 6-1 as Freddy Zamora got in on the action, ripping a double into left center and reaching third on a fielding error made by the WooSox outfielder. Two at-bats later, Williams ripped an RBI-single up the middle and scored Zamora for the five-run lead. The WooSox answered right back with a bases-loaded walk, scoring one run for the 6-2 lead still in favor of the Sounds.

The Sounds remained unstoppable on offense and continued to add more damage to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as Williams, with already a stellar offensive night, drew a lead-off walk. After Pratt hit a sacrifice bunt and advanced Williams to second, Lara hit a grounder to the WooSox first basemen and ended up beating the throw out to the bag, advancing Williams to third as well. Quero added his third and fourth RBI to his line as he ripped a single to right field, extending the lead to 8-2.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, Nashville crossed home another run as Pratt and Lara drew walks and after a pickoff attempt passed the first basemen, Pratt crossed home for the 9-2 lead. Right-hander Jacob Waguespack came into relieve Drohan with one out in the sixth, who ended his night on a high note and posted a stellar 5.1 innings, allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits and had a season-high eight strikeouts.

The WooSox cut into the Sounds lead again in the top of the seventh inning as two walks and two singles plated two more runs off Waguespack for a 9-4 score. Peter Strzelecki entered the game in the top of the eighth and tossed a scoreless inning of relief, including a strikeout. Southpaw, Brian Fitzpatrick closed it out for the top of the ninth inning as the WooSox had one last chance to put up more runs but were shut down ending in a 9-4 Sounds win. Nashville's pitching staff put 13 strikeouts together as a team and was the fifth time this season the team posted 13+ strikeouts in a game.

The Sounds continue this week's series against the Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox) on Wednesday, April 15 with first pitch scheduled for 6:35p.m. CT.

POSTGAME NOTES:

CLEARED FOR TAKEOFF: Jett Williams matched his career-high with three hits in the series opener against Worcester. The Brewers no. 3-rated prospect (#47 overall in MLB Pipeline's Top 100) started the night with a hit in each of the first three innings and drew a walk in the fifth to reach base safely in each of his first four plate appearances. His only previous three-hit game in Triple-A came on August 14 of last year with Syracuse on the road in Rochester. His other nine three-hit games on the season came with Double-A Binghamton. Tuesday night marked his 13th overall three-hit game during his professional career.

ALL ABOUT THE DRO: Left-hander Shane Drohan looked great in his first game back from his Major League debut last week in Boston. The Brewers' no. 25-rated prospect worked five-plus innings against his former team on Tuesday night and allowed just one earned run (2 total) on five hits and two walks. Drohan added eight strikeouts on the mound, his most in a game since he struck out nine Durham batters on August 29 last year while wearing a Worcester uniform. Drohan appeared in 35 games (32 GS) for Worcester between 2023-2025 after originally being selected by Boston in the 5th round of the 2020 MLB Draft.

WEARING IT: Nashville entered the game leading the minor leagues with 18 hit by pitches through the first 14 games of the year. Worcester plunked five more Sounds batters on Tuesday to set a new single-game high for Nashville in 2026, and the most Nashville has been hit by pitches in any game dating back to at least 2005. Luis Lara was hit in the first inning; it was his first time being hit by a pitch this year. The only players on the active roster to not have a HBP this year are now Brock Wilken and Cooper Pratt. Luke Adams who was not in the lineup Tuesday leads the way among active players with four HBP this year while Ramon Rodriguez now ranks second on the active roster with three after being hit twice Tuesday night. Greg Jones, who had his contract selected by Milwaukee earlier on Tuesday, has six HBP in 13 games played with Nashville this season.

LU-THREES LARA: Brewers no. 12-rated prospect Luis Lara collected his fourth 3-hit game in 14 games played to start 2026 after going 3-for-4 with a walk, hit by pitch, and two runs scored Tuesday night. Lara is hitting .396 (21-for-53) and ranks third in the International League in AVG to start the year. It was his sixth overall multi-hit game on the year, and he is now tied for third in the International League with his 21 hits (T-6th in Triple-A).

FITZ-MAGIC: Brian Fitzpatrick extended his current streak without an earned run allowed to six games and 7.2 IP after tossing a scoreless ninth to seal the win for Nashville. Since starting his streak on March 28, the southpaw has allowed just six hits and has eight strikeouts after a 1-2-3 top of the ninth Tuesday night that included a pair of strikeouts. The six games are tied with Will Childers for the longest streak without an earned run allowed by a Nashville pitcher this season while his 7.1 IP is just behind Robert Gasser and Garrett Stallings (7.2 IP) who both had their streaks end in their most recent appearances.

BOOTS MADE FOR WALKIN: The Sounds drew 11 walks to go along with their five hit by pitches in Tuesday's opener. The 11 walks were the most Nashville has had in a game this season and the most since drawing a season-high 12 walks a season ago on June 25 against Jacksonville. The Sounds drew 10+ walks in a game three times during the 2025 season.