The Chattanooga Lookouts have been inundated with late-season transactions this year - they've had 20 this month alone - yet continue to hold their own.
Chattanooga won three games in a best-of-five series against Montgomery this past weekend at AT&T Field, though the Lookouts lost 2-0 in Sunday afternoon's series finale. The Lookouts had four quality starts against the Biscuits and won three of those games, and they will take a 29-26 second-half record into tonight's series opener at Jacksonville.
"It's been a grind every day, having a surplus at one position and not enough at another," Lookouts second-year manager Doug Mientkiewicz said. "We've got so much youth on the pitching side of it. It's been trying, but when you send up six or eight of your best guys, you're going to have a little bit of a lull.
"The injuries have been concerning to us, because we have a lot of guys who are banged up, but this is an opportunity for some who may not be on Baseball America's map but are good players and can put themselves up there."
Montgomery improved to 30-25 in the second half, but the overall record of those two teams is more important in the Southern League playoff picture as long as Jackson leads the North Division second-half race after winning the first-half title. The Lookouts are 65-60 overall with 15 games remaining, while the Biscuits are 64-61.
The Lookouts were able to win the series against Montgomery because of starting pitchers Stephen Gonsalves, Kohl Stewart and Ryan Eades. Gonsalves pitched six no-hit innings during Wednesday night's opening win, while Stewart allowed just one run in eight innings Friday and Ryan Eades allowed one hit in six scoreless innings Saturday.
Stewart joined the Lookouts two months into the season from high Single-A Fort Myers (Fla.), while Gonsalves was promoted three months in. Both are top-10 prospects in the Minnesota Twins organization, and both are experiencing pressure starts down the stretch.
"Those of us who have played in the playoffs the last couple of years and won a couple of championships are trying to teach the younger guys what it means to win and play the game like you need to," Lookouts catcher Stuart Turner said. "Our new guys have brought us some fresh energy, and we're trying to keep it rolling."
Felix Jorge, who joined the Lookouts in early July, allowed two runs in eight innings Sunday. Justin Williams singled to right in the second inning to score Jake Bauers to put the Biscuits up 1-0, and Williams singled to center in the fourth inning and scored on Armando Araiza's single to center.
Gonsalves and Jorge are 22 years old, while Stewart is 21.
"Some of their numbers are good," Mientkiewicz said, "but on the developmental side, they're making some of the same mistakes they made when they got here. We'll see what happens."
Sunday's crowd of 1,824 at AT&T Field dropped this year's attendance average to 3,245 with five home dates remaining in the regular season. The lowest season average in the facility's 17-year history was 3,246 in 2010.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.