Kyle Russell homered twice in a much-needed productive night at the plate Monday, and the Chattanooga Lookouts beat the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx 6-4.
The struggling Russell singled in the second inning and belted long solo homers in the fifth and eighth, much to the delight of the crowd of 2,681 at AT&T Field. Russell, who came into the game hitting .209 in 41 previous Southern League games, went 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs scored.
“It felt great,” said Russell, who had two hits against Birmingham on Sunday. “It’s been a long season in Double-A so far, and it’s nice to just make the transformation in the middle of the season.”
After losing their last three games in July, the Lookouts are 2-0 in August and now 17-19 in the second half, 50-55 overall. They have won four of their last five meetings with the Jaxx (15-22, 54-52) after losing the first six this season.
The Jaxx took a 2-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning thanks to two errors making the runs unearned. A charging third baseman Travis Denker made one of the errors with a bad throw home.
Denker’s morale might have been low before the play since the recent addition’s name was spelled “Dinker” on the back of his jersey. Monday was his second game with the Lookouts, and first at home, since being promoted from high Single-A Inland Empire.
The Lookouts quickly got a run back in the bottom of the fifth when Russell crushed the first pitch he saw from Anthony Vasquez over the wall in right field.
“When you struggle like I did, your confidence is going to lag a little bit,” Russell said. “You’ve always got to remember that your teammates (have) got your back, and these guys have been great.”
The Lookouts tied the game in the seventh when Mike Rivera drove in Russell from first with a double down the third-base line. Jerry Sands put the Lookouts up 4-2 with a two-run triple to left-center, just beyond the reach of a diving Brandon Haverman, and Corey Smith made it 5-2 with a single up the middle.
Russell made it 6-2 in the eighth with a towering shot well over the seats beyond the right-field wall. The Jaxx almost made things interesting in the ninth when Carlos Peguero hit a two-run homer off reliever Javier Solano.
Tim Sexton (3-11, 4.45 ERA) is the scheduled starting pitcher for tonight’s 7:15 game for the Lookouts, with Steve Bray (5-7, 4.21) scheduled for the Jaxx.