GOOD START AT HOME
Lookouts stay hot with win, now 5-1
A Wednesday that began with drizzle ended with more sizzle by the Chattanooga Lookouts.
Making good use of surprisingly clear skies, Chattanooga topped the Birmingham Barons 4-3 in its home opener at AT&T Field. A Mike Gonzales single down the right-field line with two out in the eighth inning scored Levi Michael with the deciding run.
The Lookouts won their fifth consecutive game to improve to 5-1 as the new Class AA affiliates of the Minnesota Twins.
“There was an opportunity tonight for a lot of firsts,” Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz said. “We’re getting used to the league, and we obviously wanted to play well in front of these people who have never seen the Twins organization play. Our guys accepted the challenge. They’re a great group to watch, and they pull for each other.
“They are talented, but they’re even better people, and hopefully people will be able to see that throughout the summer.”
Birmingham’s Danny Hayes tripled to right-center in the top of the ninth inning with one out, but Zach Jones regrouped to strike out the next two hitters and pick up his first save. The Barons fell to 2-4.
An announced crowd of 3,699 attended the opener, which earlier in the week seemed destined for a rainout.
“We’ve faced a tough forecast the past couple of days, and in this business forecasts can kill you, but we’ve got a very good crowd out there tonight,” Lookouts general manager Rich Mozingo said. “If you would have told me two days ago that we would have this crowd, I would have taken it in a second. It has turned out to be a beautiful night.”
Said Gonzales: “Tonight was awesome. We didn’t know what
to expect, and we were glad to see everyone there. It was a good time.”
Lookouts starting pitcher Tyler Duffey certainly had a beautiful evening, allowing just two hits in seven scoreless innings while striking out eight. In two starts this season, the 24-year-old righthander from Houston has racked up 18 strikeouts while allowing one walk, but he has yet to factor into a decision.
“I felt pretty good tonight, but I didn’t feel as good as I did in my first start,” Duffey said. “I haven’t ever really struck this many people out. I could be getting lucky, but I’m just trying to make good pitches. I just want to go deep in the game and help my team win.”
Duffey handed over a 3-0 lead, but the Barons scored three runs in the eighth inning to tie the game. Tim Anderson keyed the rally with a two-run single up the middle.
The Lookouts got going offensively in the fifth inning, when Travis Harrison drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a single to left by Stuart Turner, who got caught in a rundown between first and second. Adam Walker singled to right to score Harrison, and then Michael doubled off the left-field wall to bring in Walker and make it 2-0.
Walker launched a monstrous home run to left in the seventh inning to give Chattanooga a 3-0 advantage.
“I hold this group a lot more accountable than I would anybody else, because I’ve had them before and I’ve seen them be successful,” Mientkiewicz said. “These guys are better than what they’ve shown.”
Jose Berrios (1-0, 1.42 ERA) is scheduled to start tonight’s 7:15 game for the Lookouts, with Mike Recchia (0-0, 5.40) scheduled for the Biscuits.