Nate EovaldiThe young gun had some fun.
Starting pitcher Nate Eovaldi, the only member of the Chattanooga Lookouts born in the 1990s, pitched six scoreless innings Monday night to pace the hosts past the Tennessee Smokies 2-1 at AT&T Field. The 21-year-old Texan allowed two hits while striking out eight.
“My age never really crosses my mind,” Eovaldi said. “I’m just going out there trying to attack the hitters. I was locating my fastball well tonight and was getting ahead of the guys. I threw a few good sliders, but I left a few up and got lucky.”
An 11th-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008, Eovaldi improved to 3-1 while lowering his earned run average to 2.80. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound right-hander went 3-5 with a 4.45 ERA last season in the high Single-A California League.
“Nate is a heck of a competitor,” Lookouts pitching coach Chuck Crim said. “He’s the youngest pitcher here, but he’s got some of the best stuff we have. The only chink in his armor right now is his command and control of his slider.