Sounds Drop Saturday Night Contest to Charlotte

NASHVILLE – The Nashville Sounds (63-54, 23-20) couldn’t quite get going offensively, failing to back a quality start by Janson Junk and falling to the Charlotte Knights (43-76, 8-36) 5-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 11,343 on Saturday night at First Horizon Park.

Both starters came out firing. Junk struck out four of the first six Knights he faced, while Charlotte’s Mike Mayers worked around two walks in the first with a pair of punchouts. As Mayers gave way to the Charlotte pen in the third, Junk kept the Knights offense in check through the early stages.

But Junk (6-8) eventually blinked, surrendering two runs in the fifth after allowing the first four hitters of the inning to reach. It was his only hiccup in an otherwise impressive outing. It was a night full of sevens for Junk, who threw 7.0 innings, struck out a season-high seven hitters and earned his seventh quality start of the season.

It was a tough contest for Nashville’s offense. After Brian Navarreto singled with one out in the second, Nashville did not reach base until Owen Miller’s hit by pitch in the sixth and did not grab a hit until Cam Devanney ripped a leadoff double in the bottom of the ninth. He finished his trip around the bases, crossing home on Navarreto’s groundout and keeping the Sounds from taking their fifth shutout loss of the season.

Navarreto was the star for Nashville defensively, cutting down Adam Haseley at second base to end Charlotte’s half of the first, then doing it again to end the top of the ninth.

Nashville has one more opportunity to clinch the series tomorrow night. Nashville southpaw Eric Lauer (1-2, 7.20) and Charlotte righty Chase Solesky (0-8, 7.15) will face off in a rematch of Tuesday’s contest. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CDT from First Horizon Park.

Post-Game Notes

• After winning Janson Junk’s first four quality starts of the season, the Sounds have dropped his last three. Junk has been quality in three of his last four starts but has taken a pair of losses.
• Tyler Black extended his on-base streak to 12 games with his first inning walk. Though hitting .190 (8-for-42) during the streak, Black has drawn 11 walks and scored 11 runs, both of which rank tied for eighth-most in the International League.
• 11,343 fans were in attendance at First Horizon Park for tonight's contest, the third-highest mark this season. It is the park’s 13^th sellout of the 2023 season and 134^th all time.
• Brian Navarreto has thrown out 34.0% (18-for-53) of attempted base stealers this season, the third-highest mark in the International League of catchers who have been tested at least 50 times. He trails only Jacksonville’s Santiago Chavez (35.3%) and Gwinnett’s Joe Hudson (34.4%).

The Nashville Sounds are the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers and play at First Horizon Park. Single-game tickets for the rest of the 2023 season are on sale now. For more information call 615-690-4487 or e-mail [email protected].