NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Interstat) — The Worcester Red Sox broke a five-game losing streak against Nashville with timely hitting and strong pitching, defeating the Sounds 4-2 on Sunday at First Horizon Park.

In a game that spanned the afternoon and concluded in the evening, Worcester’s Nate Eaton delivered the key offensive blow with a solo home run in the fifth inning, sparking a two-run rally that gave the Red Sox a lead they would not relinquish. The Red Sox added two crucial insurance runs in the eighth to secure the series finale before a crowd of 8,812.

The contest was a pitchers’ duel through the first four innings, with neither side able to break through. Worcester starter Michael Sansone and Nashville opener Peter Strzelecki, followed by relievers Craig Yoho and Joe Corbett, kept the game scoreless.

The stalemate ended in the top of the fifth when Eaton led off the inning by driving a fly ball over the center field wall for his second home run of the season. The Red Sox were not finished, as Tsung-Che Cheng followed with a single and later scored on a sharp RBI single by Nick Sogard, giving Worcester a 2-0 advantage.

Sansone earned the win, improving to 1-0. He worked five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out three. The Worcester bullpen, led by Jacob Webb and Tayron Guerrero, preserved the shutout into the ninth inning.

Worcester provided critical breathing room in the eighth against Nashville reliever Brian Fitzpatrick. After loading the bases with no outs on two walks and a Kristian Campbell single, Eaton again came through, lofting a soft single to center field to drive in Mikey Romero. Mickey Gasper then scored on a sacrifice fly by Cheng, extending the lead to 4-0.

The most important part of the game was Worcester’s ability to capitalize with runners on base in the middle innings, contrasting sharply with Nashville’s struggles. The Sounds grounded into two double plays and left key runners stranded, unable to solve Sansone and the Red Sox relief corps until their final at-bat.

Nashville mounted a late rally in the ninth against Guerrero. Jett Williams walked and scored on a double by Tyler Black. After a strikeout, Jeferson Quero singled home Black to cut the deficit to 4-2. Guerrero, however, settled in and struck out Freddy Zamora swinging to end the game, securing his third save of the season.

Shane Drohan took the loss for Nashville, falling to 1-1. He entered in the fifth inning and allowed both of Worcester’s runs in that frame.

Worcester out-hit Nashville 9-5. Eaton finished 3-for-5 with a home run, a double, two RBIs and a run scored, leading the Red Sox offense.

With the victory, Worcester improved to 12-8 on the season, while Nashville dropped to 11-8. The Red Sox, who had lost the first five games of this six-game series in Nashville, head home to begin a series against the Syracuse Mets on Tuesday. The Sounds travel to face the Charlotte Knights, also on Tuesday.

The game time was 2 hours, 29 minutes.