List of Nashville Sounds Opening Day starting pitchers

Zach Jackson, 2007 & 2008 Opening Day starting pitcher
Bronson Arroyo, 2002 Opening Day starting pitcher
Tyler Thornburg, 2013 Opening Day starting pitcher
Johnny Hellweg, 2014 Opening Day starting pitcher
Chris Smith, 2016 Opening Day starting pitcher

The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They play in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. 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,[1] though there are various strategic reasons why a team's best pitcher might not start on Opening Day.[2] The Sounds have used 38 different Opening Day starters in their 41 seasons. The only Sounds pitchers with more than one Opening Day start are Bill Dawley, Rodney Imes, and Zach Jackson, each with two.

Over 41 seasons of competition, the Sounds have an 19–22 record in Opening Day games. They are 12–6 when opening at home and 7–16 on the road. Eighteen Opening Day games have been played at home. The club has played in two home ballparks: Herschel Greer Stadium (1978–2014) and First Tennessee Park (2015–present). Of the 17 Opening Day games held at Greer Stadium, they won 12 games and lost 5. The team is 0–1 on Opening Day at First Tennessee Park.

The first Opening Day game for the Sounds was played in Memphis, Tennessee, against the Memphis Chicks at Tim McCarver Stadium on April 15, 1978.[3] Bill Dawley was the Sounds' Opening Day starting pitcher that day; he took the decision in a game the Sounds lost 4–2.[3] The first Opening Day game held at their original home ballpark, Greer Stadium, was an 8–7 win against the Birmingham Barons on April 9, 1981.[4] The first Opening Day game at their current ballpark, First Tennessee Park, was held on April 7, 2016, against the Oklahoma City Dodgers.[5] Sounds starting pitcher Chris Smith was charged with the loss in a 5–0 shutout.[5]

Table key

Pitcher (#)
Indicates multiple appearances as the Sounds' Opening Day starter
Score
Game score; extra 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
*
Advanced to the postseason (1978–1997)
**
Division Champions (1978–present)
***
Conference Champions (1998–present)
****
League Champions (1978–present)

Pitchers

SeasonPitcherDecisionScoreOpponentLocationRef
1978 Bill Dawley L 4–2 Memphis Chicks Tim McCarver Stadium [3]
1979 **** Bill Dawley (2) (L) 7–1 Jacksonville Suns Sam W. Wolfson Baseball Park
1980 * Tom Filer (L) 6–4 Columbus Astros Golden Park
1981 ** Jamie Werly (W) 8–7 Birmingham Barons Herschel Greer Stadium
1982 **** Stefan Wever (L) 10–9 (13) Columbus Astros Golden Park
1983 * Mark Shiflett (L) 5–4 Orlando Twins Tinker Field
1984 * Jim Deshaies W 7–3 Orlando Twins Tinker Field [6]
1985 Randy O'Neal W 3–1 Buffalo Bisons Herschel Greer Stadium [7]
1986 Bryan Kelly ND (W) 6–3 Indianapolis Indians Herschel Greer Stadium [8]
1987 Scott Terry W 8–4 Omaha Royals Herschel Greer Stadium [9]
1988 Norm Charlton (W) 7–6 Indianapolis Indians Herschel Greer Stadium
1989 Jack Armstrong L 4–2 Indianapolis Indians Bush Stadium [10]
1990 ** Rodney Imes (L) 8–6 Omaha Royals Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium
1991 Rodney Imes (2) (W) 2–1 Omaha Royals Herschel Greer Stadium
1992 Gino Minutelli L 6–2 Denver Zephyrs Mile High Stadium [11]
1993 ** Larry Thomas (W) 8–5 Iowa Cubs Herschel Greer Stadium
1994 * Steve Schrenk W 10–5 Oklahoma City 89ers All Sports Stadium [12]
1995 Brian Keyser ND (W) 6–3 Buffalo Bisons North AmeriCare Park [13]
1996 Luis Andújar L 8–5 Buffalo Bisons Herschel Greer Stadium [14]
1997 Tom Fordham ND (L) 4–3 (11) Buffalo Bisons North AmeriCare Park [15]
1998 Sean Lawrence L 7–2 Iowa Cubs Sec Taylor Stadium [16]
1999 Bob Milacki W 7–0 Edmonton Trappers Herschel Greer Stadium [17]
2000 Danilo León W 10–5 Omaha Golden Spikes Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium [18]
2001 Sam McConnell ND (L) 3–2 Memphis Redbirds AutoZone Park [19]
2002 Bronson Arroyo L 12–5 Sacramento River Cats Herschel Greer Stadium [20]
2003 *** Ryan Vogelsong W 5–4 Iowa Cubs Herschel Greer Stadium [21]
2004 Nelson Figueroa L 6–3 Colorado Springs Sky Sox Herschel Greer Stadium [22]
2005 **** José Capellán ND (W) 7–3 (7) New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [23]
2006 ** Ben Hendrickson ND (L) 5–3 Omaha Royals Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium [24]
2007 ** Zach Jackson L 4–1 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [25]
2008 Zach Jackson (2) L 5–2 New Orleans Zephyrs Zephyr Field [26]
2009 Sam Narron ND (L) 7–5 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [27]
2010 Kameron Loe W 6–3 Iowa Cubs Principal Park [28]
2011 Amaury Rivas W 5–1 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [29]
2012 Wily Peralta ND (L) 6–2 New Orleans Zephyrs Zephyr Field [30]
2013 Tyler Thornburg ND (W) 5–4 New Orleans Zephyrs Herschel Greer Stadium [31]
2014 Johnny Hellweg W 4–2 Omaha Storm Chasers Werner Park [32]
2015 Chris Bassitt L 7–5 Colorado Springs Sky Sox Security Service Field [33]
2016 ** Chris Smith L 5–0 Oklahoma City Dodgers First Tennessee Park [5]
2017 Daniel Gossett ND (L) 2–1 Round Rock Express Dell Diamond [34]
2018 James Naile W 11–0 New Orleans Baby Cakes Shrine on Airline [35]

References

General
  • "Opening Day Lineups" (PDF). 2015 Nashville Sounds Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. 2015. pp. 165–166. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
Specific
  1. ↑ Bastian, Jordan (March 22, 2010). "Marcum tapped for Jays' Opening Day". MLB.com. Retrieved September 26, 2010.
  2. ↑ Dilbeck, Steve (February 24, 2014). "Dodgers may not start Clayton Kershaw in Sydney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Traughber, Bill. "Looking Back: Sounds First Games In 1978." Minor League Baseball. June 3, 2013. Retrieved on April 11, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Opening Day Lineups" (PDF). 2015 Nashville Sounds Media Guide. Minor League Baseball. 2015. p. 165. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Okla. City vs. Nashville - April 7, 2016". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Nashville 7, Orlando 3." Associated Press. April 9, 1984. LexisNexis Academic. Retrieved on July 17, 2009.
  7. ↑ "Nashville 3, Buffalo 1." Associated Press. April 11, 1985. LexisNexis Academic. Retrieved on July 17, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Nashville 6, Indianapolis 3." Associated Press. April 12, 1986. LexisNexis Academic. Retrieved on July 17, 2009.
  9. ↑ "Nashville 8, Omaha 2." Associated Press. April 11, 1987. LexisNexis Academic. Retrieved on July 17, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Indians 4, Sounds 2." Associated Press. April 6, 1989. LexisNexis Academic. Retrieved on July 17, 2009.
  11. ↑ "Denver 6, Nashville 2." Associated Press. April 10, 1992. LexisNexis Academic.Retrieved on July 17, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Nashville cruises by Zephyrs, 9–4." The Advocate. April 13, 1994. Newsbank. Retrieved on April 16, 2011.
  13. ↑ Harrington, Mike. "Home Run Sounds Not Sweet For Herd In 6–3 Loss." Buffalo News. April 10, 1995: Sports 1. Newsbank. Retrieved on July 19, 2009.
  14. ↑ "American Association – Buffalo vs. Nashville". USA Today. April 4, 1995. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  15. ↑ "American Association – Nashville vs. Buffalo". USA Today. April 4, 1997. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Pacific Coast League Baseball – NAS vs. IOW". USA Today. April 7, 1998. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Pacific Coast League Baseball – Edmonton vs. Nashville". USA Today. April 8, 1999. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Pacific Coast League Baseball – Nashville vs. Omaha". USA Today. April 6, 2000. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Sounds Drop Centennial Game To Memphis, 3–2." Nashville Sounds. April 5, 2001. Retrieved on December 5, 2008.
  20. ↑ "Sounds Drop Opener, 12–5." Nashville Sounds. April 4, 2002. Retrieved on December 5, 2008.
  21. ↑ "Sounds Win Opener, 5–4." Nashville Sounds. April 3, 2003. Retrieved on December 5, 2008.
  22. ↑ "Sounds Drop Opener To Sky Sox, 6–3". OurSports Central. April 8, 2004. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  23. ↑ "New Orleans vs. Nashville – April 7, 2005". Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2005. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  24. ↑ "Nashville vs. Omaha – April 7, 2006". Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2006. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  25. ↑ "New Orleans vs. Nashville – April 5, 2007". Minor League Baseball. April 5, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  26. ↑ "Nashville vs. New Orleans – April 3, 2008". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 3, 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  27. ↑ "New Orleans vs. Nashville – April 9, 2009". Minor League Baseball. April 9, 2009. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  28. ↑ "Nashville vs. Iowa – April 8, 2010". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 8, 2010. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  29. ↑ "New Orleans vs. Nashville – April 7, 2011". Minor League Baseball. April 7, 2011. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Nashville vs. New Orleans – April 5, 2012". Minor League Baseball. April 5, 2012. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  31. ↑ "New Orleans vs. Nashville – April 4, 2013". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 4, 2013. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  32. ↑ "Nashville vs. Omaha – April 4, 2014". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Nashville vs. Col. Springs – April 9, 2015". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 9, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2015.
  34. ↑ "Nashville vs. Round Rock – April 6, 2017". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 6, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Nashville vs. New Orleans – April 5 2018". Pacific Coast League. Minor League Baseball. April 5, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
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