Starting pitcher Jose Urena picked up the win for Jacksonville. Suns' pitchers fanned 15 Lookouts in the game
photo by Tim Evearitt
The Jacksonville Suns scored five runs in the first two innings Wednesday and never looked back as they captured the first game of the Southern League Championship series beating the Chattanooga Lookouts, 5-3, before a crowd of 1,080.
Ironically, when the Suns and Lookouts met in Chattanooga on August 12, Andres Santiago and Jose Urena were the starting pitchers. The Lookouts shutout the Suns that night, 4-0. The same two pitchers faced each other in the series opener Wednesday.
Santiago simply did not have any control Wednesday night. The 24-year old who recently threw a near-perfect no hitter, lasted just two innings. He walked four, hit one, threw three wild pitches while giving up five earned runs on four hits. After Santiago departed the game, manager Razor Shines used five different pitchers out of his bullpen.
The Suns grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first but the Lookouts rebounded with a run. In the second inning Jacksonville took advantage of Santiago's control issues to plate three runs.
Jacksonville's Urena (who will be 23-years old Friday), who was handed an early four-run lead, walked one while striking out seven. His fastball reached as high as 97 mph.
The Lookouts picked up two runs off an apparently tiring Urena on Corey Seager's two-run opposite field home run in the sixth inning.
Chattanooga threatened in the eighth with runners at first and second and two outs. Suns' reliever Nick Wittgren battled Noel Cuevas who fouled off several pitches before grounding out.
Matt Ramsey, the 11th pitcher of the game, came on in the bottom of the ninth to close it out for Jacksonville. He fanned the first two batters he faced, pinch-hitter Angel Sanchez and Darnell Sweeney. The Lookouts' final hope rested on Jeremy Hazelbaker, who went down swinging.
Box
The teams meet again Thursday night at AT&T Field. Game time is 7:15 P.M.
Notes: The Lookouts will face Justin Nicolino, the 2014 Southern League Pitcher of the Year, in Friday's contest. . . . The Suns and Lookouts are not strangers to each other. Wednesday's game marked the 16th time these two teams have faced off against each other this season -- the Lookouts trail in the series 7-to-8. The last time the teams met was in mid-August when Chattanooga won 3-of-5 games at home.
Read another game story by Guy Curtright on Milb.com. http://atmilb.com/1tBBWAi