Allen Webster threw a complete game for the Chattanooga Lookouts on July 28, but he's barely thrown a complete game combined in his three starts since.
After lasting just three innings during last Tuesday's loss in Jacksonville, the 21-year-old right-hander went just one out further Sunday afternoon in a 14-7 loss to Birmingham at AT&T Field. With one out in the fourth inning, Jose Martinez's bases-clearing double down the right-field line extended Birmingham's advantage to 7-1 and represented the final pitch of Webster's disastrous day.
"He's just not having the guys hitting the balls at people," Lookouts pitching coach Chuck Crim said. "It's not like he's throwing the ball bad. He's got the same mix out there. He just doesn't have anything going his way right now."
Webster allowed a leadoff home run to Seth Loman in the second inning that enabled Birmingham to tie the game at 1-1, but his third inning would be worse. After Alden Carrithers opened with a single to left, Martinez followed with an RBI double to left-center and Christian Marrero an RBI single to right.
He wound up allowing 10 hits and seven runs after allowing nine hits and seven runs in his last outing.
"You'd like to see him have a good one," Crim said. "We thought the last game was kind of a fluke, but I had him all year last year, and I know what he's about. He went through a little stretch like this last year, so it's no big deal. It's just about having the ball go your way."
Webster's complete game in a 10-0 win over Jackson at AT&T Field lowered his ERA to 3.31, but it's now at 4.75.
Scott Van Slyke homered in the fourth inning to pull Chattanooga within 7-2, and an Alex Castellanos two-run homer in the fifth inning made it 8-5. The Lookouts (29-20) got within 8-6 before Birmingham scored four in the sixth to regain control.
The Lookouts are off today before beginning a five-game Tuesday night against the Carolina Mudcats at AT&T Field.