The Chattanooga Lookouts pounded out 16 hits Thursday night in running their Southern League second-half record to 9-5 with a 10-4 win over Birmingham at AT&T Field.
The Lookouts hit three home runs, including Niko Goodrum's first of the season to tie the game at 1 in the second inning. By the time D.J. Hicks hit his sixth and Travis Harrison followed with his fifth in the sixth inning, Chattanooga had put the game away.
The offensive outburst helped starting pitcher Aaron Slegers extend his personal hot streak. The 6-foot-10 right-hander improved to 8-4 and won his sixth consecutive start with six innings of seven-hit, two-run pitching.
The fourth inning proved to be the undoing of Barons starter David Holmberg (5-5), as the Lookouts sent nine batters to the plate.
One-out singles from Leonardo Reginatto and Levi Michaels and a walk to Shannon Wilkerson loaded the bases. Hot-hitting Zach Granite followed with a two-run double, and Engel Vielma sent Holmberg to the showers with an RBI single to make it 4-1. A passed ball and Hicks' single pushed the lead to 6-1.
Any comeback hopes for Birmingham (6-8) ended in the sixth inning when Hicks hit his two-run homer and Harrison made it back-to-back with his shot beyond left-center field.
Granite led the attack with three hits to push his average to .306, while Hicks, Vielma, Garver, Reginatto and Michael each added two hits. Every hitter in the Lookouts lineup had at least one hit.
The series will end tonight with a 7:15 start. The starting pitchers are scheduled to be Chattanooga's Kohl Stewart (2-3) and Birmingham's James Dykstra (2-4).
* The Lookouts were affected Thursday by several moves by the parent Minnesota Twins. Southern League home run leader Daniel Palka was promoted to Class AAA Rochester, and Omar Bencomo was placed on the disabled list.
In return, the Twins' No. 2 prospect and last year's top draft pick, left-handed pitcher Tyler Jay, was added to the Lookouts' roster, as were pitcher Felix Jorge and outfielder Edgar Corcino. Jorge was 9-3 with a 1.55 earned run average in 14 Class A games, while Corcino hit .264.