The Carolina Mudcats right fielder Felix Perez is out at the plate in the top of the third inning as Lookouts catcher Hector Gimenez makes the tagTuesday at AT&T Field.The scuffling Chattanooga Lookouts received some good news Tuesday afternoon when five players were selected to the Southern League All-Star Game.
Outfielders Kyle Russell and Scott Van Slyke were tabbed along with starting pitchers Will Savage and Nate Eovaldi and relief pitcher Cole St. Clair. Van Slyke hit .235 in 65 games with the Lookouts last season before getting sent down to high Single-A, but he is hitting .332 following Tuesday night’s 7-4 victory over the Carolina Mudcats at AT&T Field.
“It’s nice to know that hard work pays off and patience pays off,” Van Slyke said. “I got the opportunity to come back here this year, and I was going to take advantage of it.”
Russell celebrated his honor by belting two home runs to right field against the Mudcats. Chattanooga (27-32) scored three runs in the eighth inning off Cincinnati Reds reliever Aroldis Chapman, who is on a big-league rehab assignment with the Mudcats (18-41).
Chapman holds the record for the fastest pitch officially recorded at a major league game at 105.1 mph, and he hit 101 on his first pitch Tuesday before getting roughed up.