The Chattanooga Lookouts are looking like a team that's planning to play in the Southern League playoffs.
They're just not talking the part.
Chattanooga failed to complete a five-game sweep of Birmingham on Wednesday afternoon, losing 8-6 before a youthful crowd of 4,995 at AT&T Field. The Lookouts had their five-game winning streak snapped, and they are 13-4 since the end of April and have vaulted into a share of the North Division lead.
"We don't really pay attention to the standings too much," Lookouts left fielder LaMonte Wade said. "We just come out and try to get a 'W' each day and perform our best. Our pitchers have been putting up scoreless innings. We've had great pitching and great defense and timely hits, so we just need to stick to that plan."
MOVING ON UP
A marvelous May has enabled the Chattanooga Lookouts to make their mark in the Southern League North Division’s first-half race:APRIL 29Jackson 15-7Tennessee 13-10Montgomery 12-10Chattanooga 10-13Birmingham 9-14CURRENTChattanooga 23-17Tennessee 23-17Jackson 22-17Montgomery 22-17Birmingham 13-27
Chattanooga had a losing April (11-13) but has marveled in May. The Lookouts woke up Wednesday tied for first, a position they had not enjoyed all season.
"We're not really doing much different," designated hitter Dan Gamache said. "We're just showing up every day and putting in the effort. We're getting some good pitching and some good at-bats."
The Lookouts spotted Birmingham a 2-0 lead before pulling even in the third inning on doubles by newcomers T.J. White and Ryan Strausborger and then another double by leadoff hitter Nick Gordon. Chattanooga briefly broke free with a four-run fourth inning that opened with an infield hit by Gamache and a home run to left field by Levi Michael.
Edgar Corcino's single to center scored White and Jose Gonzalez to give the Lookouts a 6-2 advantage, but Birmingham erupted in the seventh with six runs, with its surge highlighted by a Hunter Jones grand slam off Lookouts relief pitcher Mason Melotakis.
Chattanooga first-year manager Jake Mauer said he doesn't look at the standings and that he doesn't expect his players to be glancing at them, either.
"When you start a season, you want to get in the playoffs, no doubt about that," Mauer said, "but you can get lost in what you need to do today if you start looking forward too much. Take care of what you do each day, and if you handle your body of work, you usually get to where you want to be.
"It can change so much, and we still have 30 games left in the half. Things can change in one series, so you worry about what you can do today and see what happens."
Before Wednesday's game, the Lookouts announced that relief pitcher Todd Van Steensel was going on the disabled list with a groin strain. Replacing him on the roster is Alex Wimmers, who has been in extended spring training.
The Lookouts will look to continue to stay in the first-half playoff chase when they begin a five-game series at Biloxi tonight.
"Our starters have been good, and our bullpen has been excellent the whole year," Mauer said. "Some of the guys we were hoping would wake up offensively have, so we've been able to score four or five runs on average. If we can do that every night, we'll have a pretty good chance."
Said Wade: "As long as we play our game and stick to our approaches and our pitchers keep putting up good innings, we'll be right where we want to be in the end."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.