The Lookouts’ Byron Buxton slides into second as the Smokies’ Stephen Bruno makes the catch at AT&T Field on Wednesday, June 3, 2015.After five consecutive home losses, Chattanooga Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz is getting a desired change of scenery.
The Lookouts had a five-game lead over the Tennessee Smokies on May 24, but that lead has been erased after Tennessee’s 6-3 triumph Wednesday afternoon before an AT&T Field crowd of 3,509. The Lookouts have lost three straight to Tennessee while being outscored a combined 28-9 and must play the next two nights in Smokies Park, the start of a 12-game road trip for Chattanooga.
The Lookouts will not be back at AT&T Field until June 17, when they host Jacksonville in the final series of the league’s first half.
“We’re looking forward to going on the road,” Mientkiewicz said in his clubhouse office before holding a team meeting. “We need to get out of here. That’s no disrespect to Chattanooga, but there are just some times you need to get away to kind of bond together.
“We’re about to see what they’re made of.”
A 19-5 surge propelled Chattanooga to a 28-16 record and its five-game bulge in the Southern League’s North Division, but the Lookouts are now 29-22. The Smokies are 30-23, so the Lookouts do have a slightly better winning percentage.
“We had a comfortable lead there at five games, and they’ve tied us up,” pitching coach Stu Cliburn said. “That’s the great thing about baseball, because it brings out the challenge in you. They have a good team and came in here and swept us, and now it’s our turn to go up there and try to win some games and stay in this thing.”
Said left fielder Adam Walker: “We had a rough stretch early in the year and bounced back. We’ve just got to get back to playing our game. If we start playing better, it doesn’t matter if we’re home or away.”
Walker led off the second inning with a walk and scored on Max Kepler’s double to right field. Carlos Paulino hit a two-run single to center moments later to extend Chattanooga’s lead to 3-0, but Lookouts starting pitcher Jose Berrios ran into trouble in the third.
The league’s strikeout leader gave up a two-run single to right by Kyle Schwarber and a three-run home run to right by Wilson Contreras as the Smokies went ahead 5-3.
“He left some balls elevated a little bit,” Cliburn said. “Any time you have the bases loaded with no outs, it’s a tough situation. He left the ball up out over the plate on the home run to right field, but he’s had a great year so far. It was just a rough outing today.”
Greg Peavey (4-1, 5.94) is scheduled to start tonight’s 7:05 game for the Lookouts, with Felix Pena (4-2, 3.57) scheduled for the Smokies. A Lookouts loss would leave them looking up in the standings for the first time since May 7.
“We haven’t been pitching too well, and I think guys are trying too hard, which happens at times,” Mientkiewicz said. “When you go 19-5, you know the flip side of that is coming and that it’s part of the game. It’s why it’s a long year, but these guys are trying way too hard.
“They’re making too much out of a game, and we need to get them to relax.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.