Wet conditions delayed the start of the Chattanooga Lookouts’ home series against the Tennessee Smokies by a day.
The Lookouts put their own damper on things with a quiet showing at the plate Friday night.
Tennessee used a four-run fourth inning to pull away for good and win 6-1 at AT&T Field, outhitting the Lookouts 14-5 and dropping Chattanooga starter Lewis Thorpe to 0-3 this season.
Jeffrey Baez and Ian Rice each had three hits for the Smokies, whose big inning was led by Carlos Penalver’s bases-loaded triple and Jesse Hodges’ RBI double. Both hits came with two outs.
The Lookouts had tied the score in the third inning, when Brent Rooker led off with a double and scored on Zander Wiel’s one-out double. Chattanooga put two runners on in both the fourth and ninth innings.
Tonight’s game is at 7:15, with Kohl Stewart (2-1, 7.50 ERA) the scheduled starting pitcher for the Lookouts and Duncan Robinson (0-1, 5.00) on the mound for Tennessee.
Because of Thursday’s postponement, the Lookouts will play two seven-inning game at 2:15 p.m. Sunday before wrapping the series with Monday’s 11:15 a.m. contest, a “School Day Matinee” promotion.
The Lookouts made a trio of moves Friday, with the most notable the promotion of left-handed pitcher Stephen Gonsalves to Class AAA Rochester (N.Y.), where he finished last season. Gonsalves went 1-2 with a 5.56 ERA in five appearances (four starts) with the Red Wings in 2017 after going 8-3 with a 2.68 ERA in 15 starts for the Lookouts last summer.
He was one of four starting pitchers from last season’s Southern League co-champions who appeared on this year’s 25-man opening roster, and he was off to another good start at 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA in four starts. The 23-year-old San Diego native had allowed 11 hits and 10 walks while striking out 25 in 20 1/3 innings.
Chattanooga also placed utility player Ryan Walker on the disabled list with a bone bruise in his right knee and activated left-handed pitcher Sam Clay from the DL.