The struggles continue for the Chattanooga Lookouts.
It seems that the local AA affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds has been suffering from the “lack ofs” in recent weeks, that being lack of pitching and a lack of hitting.
And if you really want to get down to brass tacks and discuss the bigger problem, it may be an overall lack of talent that hurts more than anything.
Sunday’s 7-1 loss to the Tennessee Smokies at AT&T Field before 1,987 diehard baseball fans extended Chattanooga’s losing streak to five games as they got swept in this latest three-game series.
Their record in July is a dismal 3-15, so it’s no surprise that the Lookouts are all alone in last place in the AA South North division standings.
Chattanooga starter Eduardo Salazar didn’t really pitch all that bad as he allowed one run on four hits in four innings. Stevie Branche allowed one run on two hits in two innings as Chattanooga trailed 2-1 after six innings.
But as has been the case too many times in recent games, the Lookouts bullpen couldn’t stop the bleeding.
Julio Pinto, the third Chattanooga pitcher, had a 1-2-3 seventh, but faced five hitters in the eighth without recording an out as the Smokies took charge with four runs before adding one more in the ninth for good measure.
Alexander Carario was the biggest headache for Lookout pitchers as he collected four of his team’s 13 hits and scored three times while driving in the first two runs for the Smokies.
His double in the first drove in Andy Weber, who had reached on a one-out single while his leadoff solo homer in the sixth put the Smokies ahead for the last time after Alex McGarry had knotted the score for Chattanooga with a solo homer of his own in the fourth.
It was still anybody’s game going to the eighth, but the Smokies sent nine hitters to the plate and scored four runs to remove all doubt about which team would win.
Canario led off with a walk and went to third on a double by Bryce Ball. Both scored on a double by Jake Slaughter. Bradlee Beasley then drove in Slaughter with a single before scoring on a double to center by catcher Harrison Wenson.
Chattanooga’s offense had no answer as it countered with three singles in the final four innings while not getting a runner past second base.
Walker Powell was the winning pitcher after holding the Lookouts scoreless on two hits in four innings.
Branche took the loss for Chattanooga after allowing the one run on two hits in two innings. He also had five strikeouts and allowed one walk.
While Canaria had four hits to lead Tennessee, Bryce Ball was next with three. Beasley finished with two hits and a pair of runs batted in.
McGarry has been the hottest hitter for the Lookouts since his recent promotion from Dayton and he had two more hits on Sunday. Jacob Hurtubise also had two hits as he beat out two infield grounders on pure hustle.
The Smokies improve to 12-9 in the second half while the Lookouts are now 4-17.
Chattanooga returns to action on Tuesday when they begin a six-game series with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.
TENNESSEE 100 001 041 – 7 13 1
CHATTANOOGA 000 100 000 – 1 6 1
Thompson, Johnson (4), Powell (5), Correa (9) and Wenson; Salazar, Branche (5), Pinto (7), Garcia (8), Byrne (9) and Free.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)