Hector Gimenez’s three-run home run to right field capped a four-run sixth inning Thursday night as the Chattanooga Lookouts defeated Montgomery 8-3 in the opener of the final five-game series this season at AT&T Field.
The playoff-bound Lookouts improved to 39-27 with four games left in the regular season and took a one-game lead over Tennessee in the North Division second-half race. The Smokies (38-28) lost Thursday night in Birmingham.
Alex Castellanos and Scott Van Slyke combined to go 5-for-7 for the Lookouts, with Castellanos improving his average to .351 and Van Slyke upping his to .350.
Chattanooga took a 2-0 lead in the first inning when Brian Cavazos-Galvez singled to left and Castellanos followed with a homer to right-center. The Lookouts scored two more in the fourth, which included a Jake Lemmerman bunt single that brought in Corey Smith.
The Biscuits pulled within 4-3 before Gimenez’s homer, which scored Castellanos and Van Slyke. Castellanos had put the Lookouts up 5-3 with a single to center that scored Alfredo Silverio.