20-year old Jose Berrios collected his third win of the year.
photo by Tim Evearitt
The Jacksonville Suns (10-12) fell to the Chattanooga Lookouts (11-11) who used a three-run first to set the tempo en route to a 6-3 win Saturday night from AT&T field.
Inning-by-inning game recap.
Chattanooga returned to .500 with the win. The Lookouts got big contributions from some major prospects including Jose Berrios, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco and Zack Jones. Byron Buxton’s hot streak continued. In eight games since manager Doug Mientkiewicz sat him for two games, Buxton is hitting .452 and his batting average has increased from .180 to .284.
Buxton doubled in the first inning. He added a triple in his second at bat. In his final at bat, his RBI triple gave the Lookouts some insurance. He was 3-5 in the game with a double and two triples. For a little extra measure, late in the game with a runner on first base, Buxton caught a liner in left centerfield. He then threw out the runner getting back to first base for a big double play, showing off his rocket of an arm.
"I put a good swing on the ball and it happened to carry a little farther. I think it hit off the wall and it rolled a little bit. It just allowed me to just keep moving the bases, and I got a good read on the ball," Buxton said of the first triple. "Out of the box, I always think triples. So I try to get out of the box as fast as I can and get around first so I can see where the ball is at. I just take my reads from there."
Jose Berrios (W, 3-1) lasted six innings in his start for the Lookouts allowing three earned runs on eight hits while walking a pair and striking out nine in a victory.
Suns starter Trevor Williams (L, 0-3) lasted four innings allowing four earned runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out two in a losing effort. Zack Jones (S, 6) earned the save tossing a scoreless ninth while striking out a solo batter. Cole Johnson threw two innings of shutout ball in relief of Berrios.
The scoring would begin in the bottom of the first after Buxton's double to set the table for Jorge Polanco, who drove him home courtesy of his RBI double to give the Lookouts a 1-0 lead. In the same frame, Travis Harrison tacked on one more courtesy of his run-producing base knock, to make the tally 2-0. Chattanooga was not done, next batter Mike Gonzalez lined a RBI single to complete the three-spot. The score was now 3-0 through one inning of play.
It was Sharif Othman who got the Suns on the board first blasting a two-out solo shot over the right field wall to cut the deficit to 3-1 in the top of the second.
In the third frame Chattanooga added to their lead. Mike Gonzalez's RBI fielder's choice brought home Miguel Sano who lead off the inning with a double. The score would now sit at 4-1 in the Lookouts favor.
Jacksonville provided a pair of runs in the top of the sixth after Othman's RBI infield single and Justin Bohn's run scoring ground out with the bases loaded cut the Suns to within a run.
Chattanooga would add to their lead plating two runs in the eighth off of Suns reliever Frankie Reed. Buxton's RBI triple then Polanco's run scoring single pushed the Chattanooga's lead to 6-3 through eight frames at AT&T field.
The Suns and Lookouts will square off again Sunday afternoon from AT&T Field with a first pitch slated for 2:15 p.m. ET. The Suns will send out left-hander Chipper Smith (2-0, 2.86 ERA) while the Lookouts will throw righty Greg Peavey (1-1, 9.16 ERA).
Jorge Polanco went 2-for-3, had two walks, and drove in a run.
photo by Tim Evearitt