The surging Chattanooga Lookouts returned home Tuesday and remained red hot, using another strong outing from ace Stephen Gonsalves and a six-run sixth inning to defeat Birmingham 9-4.
After taking four of five games at Mobile, the Southern League North Division first-half champion and second-half-leading Lookouts totaling 11 hits in routing the last-place Barons. Andy Wilkins led the attack with three hits, including a home run leading off the second inning, and drove in two runs.
Gonsalves, the 6-foot-5 left-hander who entered the season as the parent Minnesota Twins' No. 2 prospect, improved to 7-3 with 5 2/3 innings of two-run, three-hit, six-strikeout pitching. Gonsalves earned the win with a gutty fourth inning when he struck out Hunter Jones with the game tied at 1, two runners on base and one out and ended the inning by fanning Trey Michalczewski with the bases loaded.
Chattanooga (66-35, 24-7) took the lead for good in the bottom half against Birmingham starter Jordan Stephens (1-3) on a bases-loaded walk for Max Murphy and Ryan Walker's sacrifice fly.
The Lookouts put the game away with a six-run rally in the sixth inning that began with two outs and no one on. Stephens was pulled after a pair of walks, but reliever Jake Johansen added fuel to the fire, walking Travis Harrison to load the bases before giving up a two-run single by Carlos Paulino, an RBI single by Nick Gordon and LaMonte Wade's two-run double. Wilkins capped the inning with a run-scoring single off Brannon Easterling.
Jonathan Rodriguez, Gordon and Ryan Walker each added two hits for the Lookouts, who also got two RBIs from Carlos Paulino.
Game two of the five-game series is tonight at 7:15 with Kohl Stewart (4-4) starting on the mound for the Lookouts against Birmingham's Michael Kopech (6-6).