Jose Berrios (1-1) took the loss for Chattanooga.
photo by Tim Evearitt
PEARL, MS . . . The Mississippi Braves scored four runs in the fifth inning to overtake Chattanooga, 4-3. The Mississippi bullpen kept the score there and the M-Braves made it three straight over the Lookouts in front of a crowd of 6,593 on a Wednesday school day special at Trustmark Park.
Inning-by-inning recap of the game.
After opening the season winning five of their first six games, the Lookouts have struggled to a 6-6 record that is good enough for a three-way tie for second in the Southern League's North Division.
Unfortunately the top of the order that includes two of the Major Leagues top prospects, Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, is still trying to find their Double-A bearings. They will adjust and come around but for now Buxton is batting .180. He went 0-for-4 in the lead-off spot. Batting third, Sano went 0-for-3 with a walk and is hitting .175. Jorge Polanco, who bats second, began the season hitting well but has fallen to .267 after going 0-for-4 today.
The Lookouts took a 1-0 lead in the second. Dalton Hicks reached on an error by the second baseman. Travis Harrison then doubled before Stuart Turner drove in Hicks for the game's first run.
Chattanooga extended its lead to 3-0 in the fifth. Newest Lookout Max Kepler doubled and took third on a sacrifice bunt. Levi Michael then blasted a two-run home run to right-center.
The M-Braves responded to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Steve Rodriguez was hit by pitch and Smith singled to start the inning. Joseph then delivered a RBI-double to right field. A Rio Ruiz ground out allowed another run to come home before Ahrens knocked in another. Seth Loman then singled to center, and an error on the play allowed Ahrens to score the go-ahead run.
Jake Brigham (1-1) started and worked six frames for the M-Braves to pick up his first win of the season. He gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits, one homer and a walk while striking out two.
Francisco Rondon and Bryton Trepagnier worked a scoreless inning apiece before giving way to Ryan Kelly (S, 5) to pick up his fifth save of the season.
Jose Berrios (1-1) tossed five innings for the Lookouts, giving up four runs and three earned runs on eight hits. He struck out three batters and took the loss.
Box
M-Braves righty Greg Ross (1-1, 11.74) takes the mound in game four of this five-game series Thursday night. He'll counter Lookouts right-hander Greg Peavey (1-1, 12.00). First pitch is slated for 8:00 p.m.. ET