In Thursday night’s Southern League game at AT&T Field, the Birmingham Barons scored all of their runs with two outs in the top of the fifth inning.
The host Chattanooga Lookouts had an opportunity to do even bigger things with no one out in the bottom of the ninth.
That rally attempt ended as quickly as it began, though, with Birmingham reliever Jose Ruiz striking out the side as the Barons held on for a 3-2 victory in front of 2,211.
Birmingham’s big fifth started with Bryant Flete’s one-out single to center field, and he stole second base before Alex Call struck out swinging. Alfredo Gonzalez’s line drive to left put runners at the corners for Joel Booker, whose single to right scored Flete.
Gonzalez moved to third and Booker to second on an errant throw by catcher Brian Navaretto as he attempted a pickoff with Luis Alexander Basabe at the plate, and both runners came home when Basabe’s pop fly fell in for a single.
Chattanooga made it 3-1 when Brent Rooker doubled with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, then scored on Andy Wilkins’ single to right.
In the bottom of the ninth, Mitchell Kranson led off by reaching on second baseman Trey Michalczewski’s throwing error, went to third on a single to left by Jaylin Davis and headed home on Navarreto’s single to right.
That closed the gap to a run, but with Navarreto on first and Jaylin Davis on third, Ruiz struck out the next three batters.
The Lookouts, who dropped to 4-10 in the season’s second half and 40-43 this year, went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position Thursday and left eight men on base.
Chattanooga will host the Barons for the third game of a four-game series tonight at 7:15. Dylan Cease (0-0, 4.63) is scheduled to start for Birmingham, and the Lookouts will counter with Antony Marzi (0-5, 7.27).