Lookouts Lose Again To Montgomery, 7-6.

Game Ends On Catcher's Pickoff Of Walker At First Base

  • Saturday, June 27, 2015
  • Tim Evearitt
Miguel Sano had three doubles for the Lookouts.
Miguel Sano had three doubles for the Lookouts.
photo by Tim Evearitt

 MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The end-of-game fireworks weren't the only ones to be seen Friday night at Riverwalk Stadium, as the Biscuits came back in stunning fashion to shock the Chattanooga Lookouts, 7-6, in front of 5,356.

Inning-by-inning game Recap

Chattanooga came out swinging to start the first inning for the second straight night with Miguel Sano delivering an RBI-double off Austin Pruitt (4-4) to make it 1-0 Lookouts. Max Kepler followed that up with an RBI-single and then another in the third to make it 3-0 Chattanooga.

Alex Wimmers was on the mound for Chattanooga coming off a 3-0 stretch in which he had allowed zero runs in seven plus innings each game, pitching 21.2 innings. Over that time he had given up just eight hits and six walks, while striking out twenty three.

He was able to continue this scoreless stretch for four innings, but it was clear he didn’t have the same stuff as Montgomery managed four hits and three walks in those innings. They finally got to him in the fifth.

A triple, sac fly, single, double, single and another sac fly tied the game at three before Wimmers was lifted for Brandon Peterson. He recorded a strikeout to end the inning.

The game remained tied at three until the fourth when Sano stepped up and socked another RBI-double - one of three- to put the Lookouts back out in front at 4-3. 

An RBI single from Michael added another insurance run in the eighth to make the score 6-3, and fireballer Zach Jones came on to pitch. The leadoff man singled before consecutive strikeouts got the Biscuits manager ejected, but it may have sparked his team. Consecutive singles loaded the bases, and exactly what you hope doesn’t happen, did. Leadoff man Joey Rickard’s first home run of the year, in fifty-nine games played, was a three-run shot to put Montgomery ahead 7-6.

Sano led off the ninth inning with his third double of the game to put the tying run at second base, but he remained there on a Kepler strikeout, Harrison ground out to the pitcher, and a hit-by-pitch for Heiker Meneses. That brought big moment kingpin Adam Brett Walker to the batters box. In a cruel twist of fate, he drew a walk to load the bases. (They probably weren’t pitching much to him!)

Stuart Turner wouldn’t get a chance to be a hero, as Walker was caught napping with his bases-loaded lead at first base, leading to snap-throw pickoff from Biscuits catcher Justin O’Connor to end the game and hand the Lookouts their second straight loss to begin the second half.

Box

The Biscuits will try to make it three in a row on Saturday night when they send Jake Faria (0-0) to the mound for his first Double-A start against Chattanooga's Brett Lee (0-1) at 7:35 PM.

Notes: 

Miguel Sano is looking more and more like the player who seemed to be on the fast track to the Major Leagues two years ago.

The Twins' No. 2 prospect tied a career high with three doubles and drove in a run Friday night.

Sano reached in his first at-bat on an error by center fielder Joey Rickard and scored one batter later on a single by Twins No. 14 prospect Max Kepler. After popping out in the third, the 22-year-old third baseman ripped doubles in his next three at-bats, driving in a run in the seventh.

It's safe to say that after missing all of last season, Sano has cleared away the rust over the last two months. With his average sitting at .152 following play on May 1, the native of the Dominican Republic has raised his average 103 points with 10 homers and 31 RBIs in his last 44 games.

While Sano, who also had three doubles on April 20, 2012 while playing for Class A Beloit, saw his home run streak snapped at two, he plated a run for the third straight game.

Overall, MLB.com's No. 9 prospect sports an .868 OPS and ranks second in the Southern League with 14 long balls and fourth with 44 RBIs. While Sano has struck out 66 times in 231 at-bats, he's also drawn 34 walks for a .354 on-base percentage.

--- Source: MiLB.com

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