Luis Valenzuela hit two home runs and racked up five RBIs as the Mississippi Braves walloped Chattanooga 13-4 Monday night in the Southern League series opener at AT&T Field.
Valenzuela, who entered the game batting just .143, smashed a grand slam in the fourth inning to put Mississippi in command at 5-0. The Lookouts (4-5) could answer with only run in the bottom of the fourth, when Tyler Stephenson’s sacrifice fly to left field scored Taylor Trammell.
The second homer by Valenzuela was a solo shot to right-center in the sixth that made it 8-1.
Trammell went 1-for-3 and is now hitting .344 this season, while touted Braves prospect Cristian Pache was 2-for-4 to raise his average to .333.
A crowd of 2,695 was announced for Monday’s game.