Ross Stripling made quite and impression in his first start at the Double-A level and was awarded a win as the Lookouts beat Mobile, 4-1, to take the final game of their series.
The 6-3 Texan was drafted last season by the Dodgers in the fifth round and is rated as the Dodgers' #10 prospect.by Baseball America. At Texas A&M he threw a no-hitter and was a first team Academic All Big 12.
Stripling went 6.0 innings giving up a run on five hits; he walked one and struck out eight.
Joc Pederson took over first in the Southern League hitting going 3-4. The 21-year old raised his average to .346 -- five points ahead of Birmingham's Dan Black. Pederson has 15 hits in his last six games.
Inning by inning Recap of the game.
Brian Cavazos-Galvez's second inning solo home run over the left field wall gave Chattanooga a 1-0 lead.
In the third, Pederson singled, stole his 10th base of the year, and scored on Yasiel Puig's long double off the wall in left-center field. Puig moved to third on a sac fly to right and scored when Bradin Hagens uncorked a wild pitch.
Stripling continued to throw shutout ball until the sixth. With two men out, Justin Greene singled and moved to second when Mike Freeman walked. Mobile got its first run when Jon Griffin singled to center plating Greene but Pederson recovered the ball quickly, spun around and threw to shortstop Miguel Rojas who hit catcher Griff Erickson with a perfect throw. Erickson tagged Freeman for the final out of the inning.
The Lookouts added an insurance run in the eighth on Erickson's solo homer over the right field wall.
Closer Yimi Garcia set the BayBears down in order in the ninth to preserve the win. Garcia leads the Southern League in saves with nine.
Box Score
The Lookouts play five games at Pensacola before returning home on Friday, May 17, to begin a 10-game homestand.
Starting pitcher Ross Stripling
- Photo2 by Tim Evearitt