John Wasdin To Start Against Sounds On Saturday
April 21, 2004 - Pacific Coast League (PCL1)
Nashville Sounds News Release
The only man to throw a perfect game in the 27-year history of the Nashville Sounds will take the hill this Saturday evening at Greer Stadium.
Unfortunately for Nashville fans, right-hander John Wasdin will be the starting pitcher for the Sounds' opponent that night, the division-rival Oklahoma RedHawks.
Wasdin, 30, signed with a minor-league contract with the Texas Rangers this off-season and attended major-league spring training before being sent to Oklahoma to start the season.
He is 1-0 with a miniscule 0.60 ERA (1er/15.0ip) in four appearances (two starts) for the RedHawks this season. Wasdin picked up his lone 2004 win in his last start on Monday after tossing seven scoreless frames against Omaha.
Wasdin posted an 8-4 record and 3.04 ERA (38er/112.1ip) in 18 starts for Nashville last season.
His best outing as a Sound was his first. He fired the first perfect game in Nashville's franchise history in a 4-0, 100-pitch victory over the visiting Albuquerque Isotopes on April 7, 2003 at Greer Stadium. He matched a Nashville individual-game record with 15 strikeouts in the contest and the 10-year-veteran was awarded the initial PCL Pitcher-of-the-Week honor as a result. The rare achievement was only the second nine-inning complete game in the 100-year history of the Pacific Coast League.
Click here for a recap of Wasdin's perfect game.
In a piece of irony, Wasdin made his final 2003 Pacific Coast League start on July 6, 2003 for the Sounds against Oklahoma (the team for which he now pitches), allowing one unearned run over eight innings to record a win.
He was selected as one of Nashville's two representatives for the 2003 Triple-A All-Star game in Memphis, but was withdrawn from that contest after being traded by the Pirates to the Toronto Blue Jays on July 8th in exchange for outfielder Rich Thompson. Wasdin split the remainder of the 2003 season between the Blue Jays and their Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse, N.Y.
Right-hander Nelson Figueroa (1-2, 7.27), who was teammates with Wasdin during his entire time with the Sounds last season, will take the mound for Nashville to face him in Saturday's 6 p.m. contest.
Tickets for the game -- which also features a Sounds T-shirt giveaway for the first 2,000 fans and a post-game fireworks show -- are available by calling 615-242-4371, visiting the Greer Stadium box office, or by ordering online at the team's website.
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Pacific Coast League Stories from April 21, 2004
- 'Topes blow out Sounds, 12-4 - Albuquerque Isotopes
- Bobby Jenks placed on disabled list - Salt Lake Bees
- Sounds Drop Third Straight Game, 12-4 To Isotopes - Nashville Sounds
- PGE Park, Zenner's Sausages team up for "Dollar Dog Nights" - Portland Beavers
- John Wasdin To Start Against Sounds On Saturday - Nashville Sounds
- Oxspring sharp in Beavers 8-0 win over Sidewinders - Portland Beavers
- Beavers top Winders - Tucson Sidewinders
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