List of Nashville Sounds Opening Day starting pitchers

The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They have played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League since 1998. They previously competed in the Double-A Southern League (1978–1984) and the Triple-A American Association (1985–1997). The first game of the new baseball season for a team is played on Opening Day, and being named the Opening Day starting pitcher is an honor which is given to the player who is expected to lead the pitching staff that season,[3] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[4] The Sounds have used 39 different Opening Day starters in their 43 seasons.[5]

Bill Dawley was the starting pitcher for the Sounds' inaugural April 15, 1978, opener.
Tom Filer was the Opening Day starter for the Sounds' 1980 season in which the team won a franchise-best 97 games, losing only 46.[1]
Zach Jackson made back-to-back Opening Day starts in 2007 and 2008.
Johnny Hellweg was selected as the Sounds' 2014 Opening Day starter after winning the 2013 PCL Pitcher of the Year Award.[2]
Chris Smith made the first Opening Day start at Nashville's First Tennessee Park in 2016.

Nashville's first Opening Day game was played against the Memphis Chicks at Tim McCarver Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 15, 1978.[6] Bill Dawley was their starting pitcher that day; he took the decision in a game the Sounds lost, 4–2.[6] Their first Opening Day game held at home was an 8–7 win against the Birmingham Barons at Herschel Greer Stadium on April 9, 1981.[5] Starter Jamie Werly, who went on to win the Southern League Most Outstanding Pitcher Award that season,[7] did not figure in the decision.[8]

On April 4, 2013, starter Tyler Thornburg took a no decision in the final Opening Day game at Greer Stadium, a 5–4 Sounds win.[5][9] The team left Greer after the 2014 season, but did not play their first Opening Day game at First Horizon Park, their new facility then known as First Tennessee Park, until two years later.[5] In that game, held on April 7, 2016, Sounds starting pitcher Chris Smith was charged with the loss in a 5–0 shutout by the Oklahoma City Dodgers.[10] The 2020 Opening Day game, scheduled to be played at First Horizon Park on April 9, was postponed and ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][12]

Nashville's Opening Day starting pitchers have a combined Opening Day record of 11 wins, 16 losses, and 15 no decisions. At Greer Stadium, they had a record of 5 wins, 4 losses, and 8 no decisions in 17 Opening Day starts. At First Horizon Park, they have 0 wins, 2 losses, and 0 no decisions in 2 Opening Day starts. They have an aggregate record of 5 wins, 6 losses, and 8 no decisions in 19 Opening Day starts at home. Nashville starters have a record of 6 wins, 10 losses, and 7 no decisions in 23 Opening Day starts on the road.

The only Sounds pitchers with more than one Opening Day start are Bill Dawley (1978 and 1979), Rodney Imes (1990 and 1991), and Zach Jackson (2007 and 2008), each with two starts. Two Sounds Opening Day starters have also started Opening Day games in Major League Baseball: Bob Milacki for the Baltimore Orioles in 1990 and Wily Peralta for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2016.[13][14]

Pitchers
Table key
Pitcher (#) Number indicates multiple appearances as a Sounds Opening Day starter
Score (#) Game score with Sounds runs listed first; number of innings in a game that was shorter or longer than 9 innings in parentheses
Location Stadium in italics denotes a Sounds home game
W Win
L Loss
ND (W) No decision by starting pitcher; Sounds won game
ND (L) No decision by starting pitcher; Sounds lost game
Class champions (1988–present)
League champions (1978–present)
§ Conference champions (1998–present)
* Division champions (1978–present)
^ Postseason berth (1978–1997)
Pitchers
Season Pitcher Decision Score Opponent Location Ref.
1978 Bill Dawley L 2–4 Memphis Chicks Tim McCarver Stadium [6]
1979 Bill Dawley (2) L 1–7 Jacksonville Suns Sam W. Wolfson Baseball Park [15]
1980^ Tom Filer L 4–6 Columbus Astros Golden Park [16]
1981* Jamie Werly ND (W) 8–7 Birmingham Barons Herschel Greer Stadium [8]
1982 Stefan Wever ND (L) 9–10 (13) Columbus Astros Golden Park [17]
1983^ Mark Shiflett L 4–5 Orlando Twins Tinker Field [18]
1984^ Jim Deshaies W 7–3 Orlando Twins Tinker Field [19]
1985 Randy O'Neal W 3–1 Buffalo Bisons Herschel Greer Stadium [20]
1986 Bryan Kelly ND (W) 6–3 Indianapolis Indians Herschel Greer Stadium [21]
1987 Scott Terry W 8–4 Omaha Royals Herschel Greer Stadium [22]
1988 Norm Charlton ND (W) 7–6 Indianapolis Indians Herschel Greer Stadium [23]
1989 Jack Armstrong L 2–4 Indianapolis Indians Bush Stadium [24]
1990* Rodney Imes L 6–8 Omaha Royals Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium [25]
1991 Rodney Imes (2) ND (W) 2–1 Omaha Royals Herschel Greer Stadium [26]
1992 Gino Minutelli L 2–6 Denver Zephyrs Mile High Stadium [27]
1993* Larry Thomas ND (W) 8–5 Iowa Cubs Herschel Greer Stadium [28]
1994^ Steve Schrenk W 10–5 Oklahoma City 89ers All Sports Stadium [29]
1995 Brian Keyser ND (W) 6–3 Buffalo Bisons North AmeriCare Park [30]
1996 Luis Andújar L 5–8 Buffalo Bisons Herschel Greer Stadium [31]
1997 Tom Fordham ND (L) 3–4 (11) Buffalo Bisons North AmeriCare Park [32]
1998 Sean Lawrence L 2–7 Iowa Cubs Sec Taylor Stadium [33]
1999 Bob Milacki W 7–0 Edmonton Trappers Herschel Greer Stadium [34]
2000 Danilo León W 10–5 Omaha Golden Spikes Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium [35]
2001 Sam McConnell ND (L) 2–3 Memphis Redbirds AutoZone Park [36]
2002 Bronson Arroyo L 5–12 Sacramento River Cats Herschel Greer Stadium [37]
2003§ Ryan Vogelsong W 5–4 Iowa Cubs Herschel Greer Stadium [38]
2004 Nelson Figueroa L 3–6 Colorado Springs Sky Sox Herschel Greer Stadium [39]
2005 José Capellán ND (W) 7–3 (7) New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [40]
2006* Ben Hendrickson ND (L) 3–5 Omaha Royals Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium [41]
2007* Zach Jackson L 1–4 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [42]
2008 Zach Jackson (2) L 2–5 New Orleans Zephyrs Zephyr Field [43]
2009 Sam Narron ND (L) 5–7 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [44]
2010 Kameron Loe W 6–3 Iowa Cubs Principal Park [45]
2011 Amaury Rivas W 5–1 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [46]
2012 Wily Peralta ND (L) 2–6 New Orleans Zephyrs Zephyr Field [47]
2013 Tyler Thornburg ND (W) 5–4 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [9]
2014 Johnny Hellweg W 4–2 Omaha Storm Chasers Werner Park [48]
2015 Chris Bassitt L 5–7 Colorado Springs Sky Sox Security Service Field [49]
2016* Chris Smith L 0–5 Oklahoma City Dodgers First Tennessee Park [10]
2017 Daniel Gossett ND (L) 1–2 Round Rock Express Dell Diamond [50]
2018 James Naile W 11–0 New Orleans Baby Cakes Shrine on Airline [51]
2019 Taylor Hearn L 4–5 Iowa Cubs First Tennessee Park [52]
2020 Season cancelled[12] Iowa Cubs First Horizon Park [53]

References
  1. "Nashville Sounds Yearly Results". Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  2. "Pacific Coast League Special Award Winners". Triple-A Baseball. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  3. Bastian, Jordan (March 22, 2010). "Marcum Tapped for Jays' Opening Day". Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  4. Dilbeck, Steve (February 24, 2014). "Dodgers May Not Start Clayton Kershaw in Sydney". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  5. "Sounds Opening Day Lineups" (PDF). 2018 Nashville Sounds Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. 2018. pp. 176–177. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  6. Traughber, Bill (June 3, 2013). "Looking Back: Sounds First Games In 1978". Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved November 14, 2018.
  7. "Most Outstanding Pitchers". Southern League. Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  8. "Sounds Nip Barons 8–7". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 10, 1981. p. 23. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Zephyrs vs. Sounds Box Score 04/04/13". Minor League Baseball. April 4, 2013. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  10. "Dodgers vs. Sounds Box Score 04/07/16". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2015. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  11. "A Message From Pat O'Conner". Minor League Baseball. May 18, 2020. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  12. "2020 Minor League Baseball Season Shelved". Minor League Baseball. June 30, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  13. "Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals Box Score, April 9, 1990". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  14. "San Francisco Giants at Milwaukee Brewers Box Score, April 4, 2016". Baseball-Reference. Sports Reference. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 28, 2018.
  15. "Sounds Fall". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 17, 1979. p. 20. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Sounds Fall". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 12, 1980. p. 25. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Squires, Tom (April 10, 1982). "Sounds Fall In Opener". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 11. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. Squires, Tom (April 9, 1983). "Sounds Lose". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 2-C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. "Sounds-Twins". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 10, 1984. p. 2-C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. "American Association - Sounds 3, Bisons 1". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 12, 1985. p. 2-C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. Burns, Bud (April 12, 1986). "Sounds Stop Indians in Opener". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 1C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. Burns, Bud (April 11, 1987). "Sounds Battle Rain in Home Opener". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 1C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. "Sounds' Rally Nips Tribe, 7–6, in Opener". Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis. April 8, 1988. p. E-4. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. Burns, Bud (April 6, 1989). "Sounds Lose Opener at Indianapolis 4–2". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 1C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Taft, Larry (April 7, 1990). "Sounds Get Big Chill". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 6-C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. Taft, Larry (April 11, 1991). "Great Scott, Sounds Win 2–1". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 1C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. "Sounds Drop 1992 Opener". The Daily News-Journal. Murfreesboro. April 10, 1992. p. 13. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. "Greer Update". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 9, 1993. p. 2-C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. Patton, Maurice (April 8, 1994). "Sounds Blast 89ers in Season Opener". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 4C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  30. Taft, Larry (April 8, 1995). "A Grand Opening for Nashville, Cotto". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 1C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  31. "American Association – Buffalo vs. Nashville". USA Today. April 4, 1996. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  32. "American Association – Nashville vs. Buffalo". USA Today. April 4, 1997. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  33. "Pacific Coast League Baseball – NAS vs. IOW". USA Today. April 7, 1998. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  34. "Pacific Coast League Baseball – Edmonton vs. Nashville". USA Today. April 8, 1999. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  35. "Pacific Coast League Baseball – Nashville vs. Omaha". USA Today. April 6, 2000. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  36. "Pacific Coast League Baseball – Nashville vs. Memphis". USA Today. April 5, 2001. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  37. Patton, Maurice (April 5, 2002). "Sounds Get a Chilly Reception". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 4C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  38. "Sounds 5, Cubs 4". The Tennessean. Nashville. April 4, 2003. p. 7C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  39. Patton, Maurice (April 9, 2004). "Sounds Lose Opener Before Large Crowd". The Tennessean. Nashville. p. 5C. Archived from the original on April 20, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  40. "Zephyrs vs. Sounds Box Score 04/07/05". Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2005. Archived from the original on April 13, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  41. "Sounds vs. Royals Box Score 04/07/06". Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2006. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  42. "Zephyrs vs. Sounds Box Score 04/05/07". Minor League Baseball. April 5, 2007. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  43. "Sounds vs. Zephyrs Box Score 04/03/08". Minor League Baseball. April 3, 2008. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  44. "Zephyrs vs. Sounds Box Score 04/09/09". Minor League Baseball. April 9, 2009. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  45. "Sounds vs. Cubs Box Score 04/08/10". Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2010. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  46. "Zephyrs vs. Sounds Box Score 04/07/11". Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2011. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  47. "Sounds vs. Zephyrs Box Score 04/05/12". Minor League Baseball. April 5, 2012. Archived from the original on April 15, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  48. "Sounds vs. Storm Chasers Box Score 04/04/14". Minor League Baseball. April 4, 2014. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  49. "Sounds vs. Sky Sox Box Score 04/09/15". Minor League Baseball. April 9, 2015. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  50. "Sounds vs. Express Box Score 04/06/17". Minor League Baseball. April 6, 2017. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  51. "Sounds vs. Baby Cakes Box Score 04/05/18". Minor League Baseball. April 5, 2018. Archived from the original on November 17, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  52. "Cubs vs. Sounds Box Score 04/04/19". Minor League Baseball. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  53. "2020 Schedule" (PDF). Nashville Sounds. Minor League Baseball. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 29, 2020. Retrieved August 29, 2020.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.