Baby Cakes blanked 3-0 by Sounds in season finale

METAIRIE – Zach Neal spun seven shutout innings and the Nashville Sounds blanked the New Orleans Baby Cakes, 3-0, in Monday’s season finale.

New Orleans was shut out for the 13th time, most in the Pacific Coast League, and suffered its fourth series sweep.

Nashville broke a scoreless deadlock in the sixth inning after loading the bases against William Cuevas on a pair of walks and a single, and Joey Wendle lifted a sacrifice fly to left for a 1-0 lead.

Neal (4-8) held the Baby Cakes to three hits in seven innings and turned the one-run lead over to the Sounds bullpen in the eighth. Corey Walter gave up a leadoff single to Grant Green, but escaped any damage when Green was thrown out attempting to steal second.

Beau Taylor provided insurance in the top of the ninth with his third home run, a two-run shot against Tayron Guerrero.
Felix Doubront worked around Christian Colon’s two-out single in the bottom of the inning to notch his first save and polish off the four-game sweep.

For the second time in as many starts, Victor Payano allowed one hit in four scoreless innings and fanned seven. Payano and four relievers combined to strike out 15 batters, a season high for New Orleans pitching, including four from Cuevas (2-7), who suffered the loss.

Steve Lombardozzi had a seventh-inning single to end the year on a nine-game hitting streak, tied for the longest by a Baby Cake in 2017.

The Baby Cakes finished 55-83, tied for the fewest victories in a season in club history.