Zimmermann Spins Quality Start, Sounds Hook Stripers 8-1

NASHVILLE - Bruce Zimmermann tossed a quality start in the Nashville Sounds 8-1 win over the Gwinnett Stripers on Tuesday from First Horizon Park. Luis Urias notched three RBI, while Ernesto Martinez Jr. increased his hitting and on-base streak to eight games.

In the bottom of the first, the Sounds began the scoring off Stripers starter Jhancarlos Lara. Brandon Lockridge led off with a single and Tyler Black worked a walk to put runners at first and second. Urias doubled to left, plating Lockridge and Black to make it a 2-0 ballgame.

Nashville extended the lead against Lara in the bottom of the third. Jared Oliva was hit by a pitch, stole second, and moved to third on a throwing error. A groundout from Urias allowed Oliva to score and put the Sounds up 3-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, Nashville scratched another run across off Lara. Oliver Dunn and Eric Haase worked back-to-back walks to put a runner in scoring position. Martinez Jr. notched a base hit to right, scoring Dunn to move the score, 4-0. The single increased Martinez Jr.'s on-base streak to eight games.

The Sounds opened the game up in the bottom of the fifth with three runs off Lara. Oliva was hit by a pitch, while Black and Urias worked back-to-back walks to load the bases. Raynel Delgado walked, plating Oliva from third and keeping the bases loaded. Dunn grounded out to second, moving Urias to third and scoring Black to make it a 6-0 ballgame. Haase mashed a sacrifice fly to score Urias and increase the lead, 7-0.

Matthew Batten recorded the first hit and run of the game for Gwinnett with a solo homer in the top of the sixth off Zimmermann. Overall, Zimmermann allowed just the one run with three strikeouts over 6.0 innings of work.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Sounds added some insurance with a run off Stripers reliever Amos Willingham. Martinez Jr. reached on an error and came around to score on a double by Freddy Zamora to make it an 8-1 ballgame.

In the top of the ninth, Will Childers earned a shutout frame to finalize an 8-1 victory for Nashville.

Right-hander Alexander Cornielle makes his Triple-A debut for the Sounds on Wednesday in game two of the series. First pitch from First Horizon Park is slated for 6:35 p.m. CT.

POSTGAME NOTES:

LUIS URTHREEAS: Luis Urias continued his hot start since joining the Sounds with another multi-RBI performance in Tuesday's series opener against Gwinnett. Since joining the Sounds last Wednesday in Norfolk, Urias is hitting .389 (7-for-18) with three doubles, a home run, and seven RBI in his first five games. His double on Tuesday gave him an extra base hit in four of his five games played and he has three walks to just three strikeouts. His three RBI on Tuesday night were the most he has had in a game this season and the most since driving in four RBI on September 4, 2024, with the Mariners against the Athletics.

SWIPING LEFT AND RIGHT: Jared Oliva continues to move up the Sounds single-season stolen base record list, getting three more on Tuesday night to tie Tommy Barrett for the third-most in Sounds history. Sitting at 53 with 11 games remaining in the 2025 season, Oliva now trails Otis Nixon (61, 1982) for second on the Sounds all-time list. His 53 steals this season are tied for the sixth most since 1988. Tuesday night was the second time with three stolen bases in a game this year for Oliva, making him the first Nashville player to have multiple 3-steal games in 2025.

BIG Z TIME: Bruce Zimmermann worked his team-leading sixth quality start and second in his last three outings. The only non-quality start in his last three games was the six scoreless innings last Wednesday night piggybacking off LHP Robert Gasser. Tuesday night marked the 10th time in 27 appearances (20 GS) that the southpaw worked 6.0 IP in a game for Nashville this year. Zimmermann earned his third straight win on Tuesday night, improving to 9-7 on the year. With two potential starts left in the season, he would have a chance to match his single season career-high for wins (11) which he set in 2018 while pitching for three different teams across two organizations (Atlanta & Baltimore). His nine wins this year are tied for the third-most in the International League and second-most for a Nashville pitcher behind Logan Henderson (10) who last pitched for the Sounds on July 26.

WALK THIS WAY: After drawing nine walks in Sunday's series finale against Norfolk, the Sounds drew another eight in the opener against Gwinnett. Nashville scored their eight runs on just four hits. Nashville entered the day sixth in the International League with 570 walks on the year while the Stripers entered the game with the third fewest walks in the IL (492).