Adam Walker set a modern-era record for the Chattanooga Lookouts on Wednesday night, but it occurred in defeat.
Walker's home run to left field in the fourth inning was his 29th of the season, the most in a year for a Lookouts player since professional baseball returned to the city in 1976. His solo shot was not enough to counter a five-run top of the fourth by the Tennessee Smokies, who squared the five-game series at two games apiece with an 8-4 win before a crowd of 1,578 at AT&T Field.
Tim Costo hit 28 homers for the 1992 Lookouts, with Scott Schebler matching that mark last season.
The fourth inning opened with Dan Vogelbach hitting a homer to right that put the Smokies up 2-1. Albert Almora had a three-run double to left, and Bijan Rademacher capped the outburst with an RBI double to right.
That led to a shorter-than-desired night for Chattanooga starting pitcher Aaron Slegers, who allowed six runs on six hits in four innings.
Chattanooga dropped to 69-56 overall this season and to 26-31 in the Southern League's second half. The two teams will play their series finale tonight at 7:15.