If Scott Van Slyke is feeling any stress from taking over Andrew Lambo’s cleanup spot, he’s not putting it on display.
Van Slyke went 2-for-4 with an RBI double down the left-field line as the Chattanooga Lookouts defeated Tennessee 4-3 Sunday afternoon at AT&T Field. It was Chattanooga’s first victory since the departure of Lambo, who was pulled from Friday’s lineup and suspended Saturday for 50 games following a second positive test for a drug of abuse in violation of the Minor League Drug Prevention and Treatment Program.
“I hit in the 4-hole last year, so I know what is expected of me, and I know what I have to do to get the job done,” Van Slyke said. “Obviously without Andrew in the lineup it’s going to be different, but at the same time we’ve got Tommy Giles behind me now and in front of me is Trayvon Robinson, who’s been swinging the bat well lately. The next 48 games or however many we’ve got without Andrew, we’ve just got to find ways to score runs.”
After hitting .294 with 23 home runs and 100 RBIs last season at Inland Empire in the high Single-A California League, Van Slyke had been productive the first month hitting right behind Lambo. His shift to cleanup has included a home run Friday and a triple Saturday, and the 6-foot-5, 220-pounder’s batting average entering tonight’s series finale is .319.
The Lookouts are back at .500 again at 12-12, while the division-leading Smokies dropped to 17-7.
“Scott is coming off a very successful year last year,” Lookouts manager Carlos Gubero said. “He started even slower than this year, because at least this year he was hitting for average when the extra bases were not coming. He’s driving the ball in the gap on the opposite field, which was something he was not doing last year. I think he’s ready for this challenge.”
Said Van Slyke: “There are plenty of ways to score runs without Andrew, but I know we’re all looking forward for him to get back.”
Lambo, the No. 7 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization according to Baseball America, was hitting .342 in 19 games with seven doubles, two triples, two home runs and 13 RBIs.
Corey Smith homered to center in the second inning to give the Lookouts a 1-0 lead, and Van Slyke’s double occurred in the third and scored Elian Herrera to make it 2-0. Robinson homered to left in the seventh inning to give the Lookouts a 4-1 advantage, but the Smokies made things interesting with a run in the eighth and ninth.
Tennessee had the bases loaded when Lookouts relief pitcher Eric Krebs got Ty Wright to ground out to second baseman Jaime Pedroza to end the game.
“It’s a team game,” Lookouts shortstop Dee Gordon said. “Andrew is going to be greatly missed, but we’ve got to keep going and play hard for him. He’s our teammate.”
Jesus Castillo (2-1, 1.48) is scheduled to start tonight for the Lookouts, with Austin Bibens-Dirkx (0-1, 4.00) scheduled for the Smokies.