After letting a six-run advantage slip through their fingers Monday afternoon, the Chattanooga Lookouts hit the road trying to dispel images of a 9-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at AT&T Field.
The Southern League's second-best pitching staff (2.97 ERA) couldn't hold the lead, and its third-best hitting team (.251 average) couldn't regain it.
Chattanooga, the league's North Division first-half winner and second-half leader, has a day off today before beginning a five-game road series against the Mobile BayBears, who lead the South Division with a 12-11 record.
The Lookouts are 19-6, 4 1/2 games better than the second-place Tennessee Smokies, but are only 6-4 in their last 10 outings.
The midday game Monday went Chattanooga's way for the first four innings. The Lookouts grabbed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single from Jonathan Rodriguez and a run-scoring double by Max Murphy. Andy Wilkins tripled the advantage with a grand slam in the second.
Jacksonville touched Lookouts starting pitcher Felix Jorge for a run in the fourth and tied the game with five runs off him in the fifth. The loss, though, went to reliever Randy LeBlanc (3-4), who surrendered three sixth-inning runs.
Joe Gunkel (3-6) pitched two innings of scoreless relief and allowed only one hit to pick up the victory. Clayton Mortensen got his fourth save.
Braxton Lee, Austin Dean and Rodrigo Vigil had three hits each for the winners with Dean driving in two runs on a double and two singles. It was Dustin Geiger, though, who provided the game-winner on a three-run double in the sixth.
The Lookouts will be back home on next Tuesday to start a five-game series against Birmingham.