Craig, Memphis blast past Nashville

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The Memphis bats finally came to life in the Redbirds dominating 5-1 win over Nashville Wednesday night.

After being held to just one hit in the first game of their doubleheader with the Sounds, the Memphis line-up changed their tune in the second outing and blistered Nashville with 10 hits in the seven-inning affair.

The Redbirds offense looked like they were going to set a stout pace early, with first baseman Allen Craig driving in Tyler Greene from second to give Memphis a quick 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

The 'Birds made an appearance on the scoreboard again two innings later thanks to a three-run homer from Craig that helped Memphis' lead inflate to 4-0 in the third.

Greene scored his third run of the game in the fifth when he headed from second following a Brett Wallace groundout and put the Redbirds up 5-1.

Craig's 3-for-3, four-RBI night was tops among the Redbirds line-up and is becoming a common occurrence for the first baseman, who has now recorded a hit in each of his last six games with 12 RBI.

"I was really just trying to keep things simple and hit the ball the other way tonight," said Craig. "I have really been trying to trust my strength and hit the bottom of the ball solid every time."

Redbirds starter Evan MacLane did his best to make sure Craig's solid effort did not go to waste, allowing one Nashville run on six hits over six-innings. The left-hander notched six strikeouts and no walks en route to his fourth win of the year.

Right-hander Oneli Perez made an appearance from the bullpen in the seventh and allowed one hit on walk over the game's final inning to round out the rest of the Redbirds staff.

Chris Cody was stuck with the loss for Nashville after watching the Redbirds score four runs on seven hits over four innings, with two walks and a strikeout.

Next on the docket, the Redbirds look to split their series against division-leading Nashville with a win Thursday night. Right-hander Mitchell Boggs takes the hill for Memphis in the match-up and will face off against Sounds southpaw Lindsay Gulin when the teams meet at 7:05 p.m. tomorrow.