Redbirds Shut Out In Nashville, 5-0

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Starting pitcher and Brewers top prospect Jimmy Nelson pitched 6 2/3 shutout innings as the cross-state rival Nashville Sounds handed the Memphis Redbirds a 5-0 shutout defeat on Wednesday night at Greer Stadium.

Memphis has now lost seven straight contests and is a season-low eight games below .500 (38-46). The losing skid is the longest since the club lost nine in a row from May 6-14, 2012.

Nelson lowered his ERA to 1.56 while moving to 10-2 on the season for the Sounds. The right-hander limited the Redbirds to four hits, walked one, and fanned five.

It was the seventh shutout dealt to Memphis this season, which totaled four hits on the evening.

In his second rehab game with Memphis, second baseman Kolten Wong went 1-for-4 with a stolen base. Catcher Ed Easley (1-for-2, BB) doubled to extend his hitting streak to a season-high seven games. Outfielders Tommy Pham and Stephen Piscotty accounted for the other two Redbird hits.

Nashville catcher and former Redbird Matt Pagnozzi hit a pair of solo home runs off the guitar-shaped scoreboard in the Nashville win. It was the backstop's second multi-homer game this season.

The Sounds got a pair of runs and moved out to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first inning against Tyler Lyons. With two outs in the frame, Lyons allowed a Jason Rogers single, Jeremy Hermida run-scoring double, and Sean Halton RBI base hit.

Pagnozzi's first homer of the game in the fourth, a one-out, solo shot to left extended the Sounds lead to 3-0. He went yard again off Lyons in the sixth for his eighth of the season.

Nashville tacked on an insurance run in the eighth for a 5-0 advantage on a Hector Gomez RBI double.

Lyons (2-1) came away with the defeat with four runs on nine hits in six innings.

Memphis looks to avoid a four-game series sweep at 7:05 pm on Thursday night. Memphis will send left-hander John Gast (1-1, 10.13) to the mound in the series finale against Nashville right-hander Taylor Jungmann (4-4, 5.14).

Baseball returns to AutoZone Park on Friday as the Redbirds celebrate Independence Day with their annual Red, White, and BOOM Fireworks display, presented by FedEx.