Kyle Russell’s one-out single to right in the ninth inning scored Jerry Sands as the Chattanooga Lookouts rallied Wednesday afternoon for a 3-2 victory over Mobile at AT&T Field.
Chattanooga’s scant postseason chances were kept alive in the eighth inning when Dee Gordon’s one-out single to center scored Matt Wallach to tie the game. Gordon committed a two-out throwing error earlier in the eighth that enabled Evan Frey to reach, and Frey stole second and scored on a Chris Rahl single to center to give the BayBears a 2-1 advantage.
“I think we’re just trying to take this all in stride and finish the year out strong and hopefully get to the playoffs,” Gordon said.
The Lookouts, who were held hitless until the seventh inning, improved to 28-31 with 11 games remaining. They trail Tennessee by nine games in the Southern League’s second-half race and trail West Tenn by six games in the wild-card race.
Wednesday may have been the final AT&T Field appearance this season for Lookouts pitcher Chris Withrow, who was the opening-day starter and began the year rated by Baseball America as the No. 2 prospect in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. Withrow has endured a tumultuous season but was solid Wednesday, allowing a run on four hits in seven innings while striking out five.
The 21-year-old right-hander from Odessa, Texas, made his 25th start and may be down to two opportunities on the road to pick up his first win of the second half.
“I think he’s learned a lot about himself this year, and hopefully it’s been a good learning experience for him,” Lookouts pitching coach Danny Darwin said. “Hopefully, he’ll come in with a good attitude next year and just take off.”
Withrow was hoping to do that this year after going 2-2 with a 3.95 ERA in six starts with the Lookouts late last season. He got his first win April 19 and then went into a two-month drought, but he snapped out of that with wins on June 13 and June 19.
On June 19, the final day of the first half, Withrow struck out 10 in a 5-0, seven-inning win at West Tenn. He was 3-3 at that point but is now 3-8 with a 5.71 ERA.
“He has had some good games, but he’s had problems getting the ball away on the arm side,” Darwin said. “I think that’s been a big Achilles’ heel.”
David Paschall is a sports writer for the Times Free Press. He started at the Chattanooga Free Press in 1990 and was part of the Times Free Press when the paper started in 1999. David covers University of Georgia football, as well as SEC football recruiting, SEC basketball, Chattanooga Lookouts baseball and other sports stories. He is a Chattanooga native and graduate of the Baylor School and Auburn University. David has received numerous honors for ...
Or login with:
New Account