Despite his team closing out the Southern League first half with 17 wins in 25 games, Chattanooga Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz was not promising a carryover effect before Thursday night's second-half opener against Jackson at AT&T Field.
"Teams change so fast in the minor leagues that it's tough to gauge how good or bad you are," Mientkiewicz said. "Obviously we finished strong and did well, but we've already got some roster moves and some new guys pitching. They're talented, but it's their first time in Double-A.
"These next 10 games are huge for us. We run into Jackson right out of the chute, and then we get Pensacola, so we get two playoff teams right away. We need to survive these 10 games and get in the flow a little bit. I'm hoping we can pick up where we left off, but that may be a pipe dream."
So far, so dreamy.
The Lookouts resumed their winning ways with a 6-5 triumph over the Generals, who won the North Division first-half race by 10 games over Chattanooga. The Lookouts broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning, when they loaded the bases on walks before Travis Harrison was hit by a Matt Anderson pitch.
Mitch Garver had a two-run home run to left field for the winners, while Zack Granite had a solo homer to right and Leo Reginatto an inside-the-park homer to center.
"We've got some mojo in the clubhouse right now," Granite said. "The energy is high, and we're playing really well. The weird thing about the minor leagues is that we didn't win the first half, and now those games don't mean that much.
"Hopefully we can build on our momentum in this second half."
Garver's homer followed a leadoff single to left by Harrison and erased the homer to center by D.J. Peterson earlier in the second inning that put the Generals up 1-0. Granite's homer led off the third inning for the Lookouts and gave them a 3-2 lead, while Reginatto's rapid run around the bases led off the fourth to make it 4-2.
Harrison walked and scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, giving Chattanooga a 5-2 advantage. The Generals scored three runs in the eighth, tying the game when Lookouts reliever Trevor Hildenberger entered with two out and hit Benji Gonzalez with the bases loaded, but Hildenberger bounced back to work a 1-2-3 ninth.
The Lookouts are moving on this half without starting pitcher D.J. Baxendale, who was 6-7 with a 3.44 earned run average in 14 starts after going 7-5 with a 3.80 ERA for last season's league champions. Baxendale was promoted to Triple-A Rochester (N.Y.) and has been replaced in the rotation by Stephen Gonsalves, who was promoted this week from Fort Myers of the high Single-A Florida State League.
Gonsalves, rated by Baseball America as the No. 9 prospect in the Minnesota Twins organization, went 5-4 with a 2.33 ERA in 11 starts with the Miracle.
"Bax deserved it," Mientkiewicz said. "He's really been here too long. He's been our steady force for a couple of years, but this gives someone else a chance."
Ryan Eades (4-2, 3.66) is scheduled to start tonight's 7:15 game on the mound for the Lookouts, with Andrew Moore (2-0, 3.10) scheduled for the Generals.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.