The Chattanooga Lookouts have not faced the most balanced schedule this season.
Thursday marked just the fourth night in which Chattanooga has hosted a Southern League foe at AT&T Field, as the Lookouts opened a 10-game homestand with a 6-4 loss to the Jacksonville Suns. Chattanooga played 15 of its first 20 games on the road and had two of its first five home games rained out, with one rescheduled in a doubleheader.
"We've been in a hotel a lot, and it's good to be back on our home field," Lookouts catcher Stuart Turner said before the game. "Now we've got 10 games at home, and we've got to settle into a routine."
The Suns broke a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning when Ryan Rieger and Sharif Othman had RBI singles at the expense of Lookouts relief pitcher Nick Burdi. The Lookouts fell to 9-11.
Chattanooga's early-season schedule is somewhat normal compared to other league teams.
The Suns entered Thursday having played their first 19 games at home. Jacksonville was scheduled to play 10 at home and then five in Biloxi, but Biloxi's new park will not be ready until early June, so the Shuckers are playing their first 55 games on the road.
"It doesn't matter as far as we're concerned," Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz said. "You play an equal amount at home as you do on the road, and I know one time in Triple-A, Sacramento was building their park and those guys spent something like the first 65 on the road. It just means we've got more games at home later on down the year, which is actually better off than the other way around."
Chattanooga was 6-3 after its abbreviated first homestand but then went 3-7 on the road.
"We've got a long way to go and a lot of work to do," Mientkiewicz said. "It's still early, and guys are finding roles. We'll get better throughout the summer, and we'll just keep grinding and keep teaching them to play the game right. They've got talent, which is a good thing, and they'll figure it out."
Said first baseman Dalton Hicks: "Hopefully we learned a lot. It's still early, and hopefully we can still come together as a team and work out the kinks that we do have. We get on fire here soon, and playing at home should help."
Tyler Duffey (0-2, 3.16 ERA) is the Lookouts' scheduled pitcher for tonight's 7:15 game, with Jake Esch (2-0, 0.00) scheduled for the Suns.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.