Sounds rally with four-run seventh to beat Knights, even series

Eddys Leonard’s 11th home run of the season broke a 2-2 tie in the seventh and lifted the Nashville Sounds to a 6-3 win over the Charlotte Knights at Truist Field on July 8, evening the series.

Charlotte had struck first in the opening frame when Munetaka Murakami drilled an RBI double to score Rikuu Nishida, giving the Knights an early edge. The hit was Murakami’s first career minor league RBI, and he finished 1-for-4 with a walk in his second rehab appearance. Nashville answered in the second by loading the bases with a walk and a single before Ethan Murray drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the tying run. Eduardo Garcia followed with an RBI hit that put the Sounds ahead, 2-1.

David Sandlin worked five innings, allowed two runs, struck out three and left with a no-decision. Edgar Quero then leveled the game at 2-2 with an RBI single in the sixth. Tyler Black extended his on-base streak to 18 games, then Charlotte’s bullpen issued three straight walks to Luke Adams, Jeferson Quero and Brock Wilken. Leonard’s homer supplied the power, and Darrien Miller and Ethan Murray followed with back-to-back RBI singles.

Miller’s two-hit night was his first career Triple-A multi-hit game. Kaleb Bowman handled the eighth to preserve the lead, and Junior Fernandez closed it out in the ninth for his third save of the season. The Sounds had rallied for four runs in the eighth to beat Charlotte 7-5 at First Horizon Park earlier this year. The teams were set to meet again Thursday, July 9, with Lyon Richardson listed as Nashville’s starter.