Lookouts' pitcher Miguel Figeroa hands over the ball as manager Ricky Guiterrez, right, pulls him from the game. First baseman Yoel Yanqui, center, looks on. Chattanooga was blitzed by the Trash Pandas in a 14-2 romp Saturday night at AT&T Field. The series concludes Sunday at 2:15 p.m.
photo by Glen Austin
Perhaps the most accurate statement you can make concerning the Chattanooga Lookouts is that they are consistently inconsistent.
Rarely do you see them put outstanding performances together in back-to-back games. When the bats are alive, the pitching falters. When the pitching is good, the bats fail to come through.
The Lookouts started this week’s series with the Rocket City Trash Pandas on a high note as they won Tuesday’s opener by a 5-1 final, but that was followed by a 6-4 defeat. Thursday’s 5-1 loss was followed by Friday’s 11-1 victory that included outstanding pitching and better-than-average hitting.
So just take a guess about the results from Saturday’s game.
The Trash Pandas took a 3-2 lead in the series with their 14-2 victory, improving to 40-40 with the win. Chattanooga falls to 41-39 and is still two games back of the Birmingham Barons in the Double-A South North division after the Barons got beat by the Mississippi Braves 1-0 on Saturday.
Davis Daniel got his first win in three decisions for Rocket City in this latest game as he looked like Cy Young while pitching shutout baseball for eight innings. He scattered three hits and struck out 11 while walking none.
His teams also did a good job of supporting him as his earned run average dropped from 3.93 to 2.73.
The Trash Pandas took a 3-0 lead in the second inning before doubling that advantage with three more tallies in the third. A three-run seventh put the game out of reach while a five-run ninth was just icing on the cake as the outcome had long been determined.
A large portion of the announced crowd of 3,803 was long gone when the game ended, some three hours and 34 minutes after it started. Undoubtedly, the happiest fan in attendance was Matthew Serven, who was the winner of the used car, a 2011 Toyota Camry.
Ricky Salinas was the starter for Chattanooga and didn’t fare very well as he left at the end of three innings after allowing six runs on five hits. He had five strikeouts while walking three and hitting another.
While the Trash Pandas scored early and often as they collected 15 hits in the game, Chattanooga’s bats were all but silent.
Wilson Garcia had a one-out single in the second while Byrd Tenerowich had a one-out double in the fourth. Lorenzo Cedrola had a one-out infield single in the sixth, but in all three cases, all three were stranded as nobody came through with a clutch hit.
Newcomer Jonathan Willems had a leadoff double in the ninth when the Trash Pandas led by a couple of touchdowns and he advanced to third on a wild pitch before scoring on a sacrifice fly to center by Cedrola.
Yoel Yanqui, who walked with one out, went to second on a groundout by Tenerowicz, to third on a passed ball and then home on a wild pitch by Keith Rogalla, who came on in relief of Daniel.
He had an awkward herky-jerky delivery motion and he allowed the one hit and two walks, but escaped further damage when he struck out Chuckie Robinson to end the game.
Six Rocket City players had at least two hits while three of those had three. All nine starters scored at least one run in the total team effort.
Izzy Wilson, Mitch Nay and Ray-Patrick Didder all had three hits while Didder also drove in three runs.
Anthony Mulrine had the hottest bat with a pair of doubles that drove in four more.
Rocket City now has a 3-2 lead in the series that concludes Sunday afternoon.
ROCKET CITY 033 000 305 – 14 15 1
CHATTANOOGA 000 000 002 – 2 4 1
Daniel, Rogalla (9) and Mulrine; Salinas, Figueroa (4), Demurias (5), Diaz (7), Pinto (8), Perez (9), Roxby (9) and Robinson.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)