Nashville Falls to Charlotte in Extras; Tate Kuehner Shines Again

CHARLOTTE, NC - Thursday night at Truist Field, the Nashville Sounds saw a strong start and plenty of chances go just a little sideways, dropping a 3-2 extra-innings loss to the Charlotte Knights. Despite taking a late lead and battling back from an early deficit, Nashville ultimately fell on a late Charlotte walk-off, suffering their fourth walk-off loss of the season.

The story of the game began with left-hander Tate Kuehner, who turned in a statement performance for Nashville. Kuehner logged 5.2 innings with one earned run and a season-high eight strikeouts, keeping Charlotte’s bats off balance for most of the evening. He allowed the first run on a solo homer by Jarred Kelenic in the bottom of the first, but Nashville answered in the top of the second when Luis Lara drew a walk, advanced, and later scored on a key RBI groundout from Ramon Rodriguez to tie it at 1-1.

After that, the game stayed locked. Kuehner struck out batters at key moments, worked around baserunners, and delivered scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth while limiting damage. When Nashville finally surged ahead in the seventh, Ethan Murray drove in Lara with a go-ahead RBI single—only for Charlotte to respond quickly. In the bottom of the seventh, Ryan Galanie crushed a leadoff home run to tie the game again at 2-2.

The bullpens did their jobs, but scoring opportunities came up short for Nashville in the 10th. With the Knights playing small ball and ultimately capitalizing, Charlotte walked off with the winning run on a late hit through the left side.

The Sounds will look to rebound Friday night as they try to even the series. RHP Coleman Crow (2-0, 4.02 ERA) gets the start for Nashville, fresh off a Major League debut last week with Milwaukee. Charlotte will counter with former Sound Shane Smith (1-0, 3.00 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:04 p.m. CT.