Chattanooga Lookouts pitcher Andres Santiago (46) winces right before he is hit by the ball, a shot up the middle by Jackson Generals second baseman Chris Taylor in the fourth inning Tuesday at AT&T Field.Baseball fans descending on AT&T Field these days need to root, root, root for the home team -- to score.
The Chattanooga Lookouts have been shut out five times in their last nine games as of Tuesday night's 8-0 loss to visiting Jackson. The Lookouts returned home early Tuesday morning after an inept five-game series in Birmingham in which they were shut out three times and one-hit twice.
"We've gone cold," Lookouts manager Jody Reed said. "In the last 10 games, we're hitting around .170. That's a slump."
The Lookouts lost five of six games entering last week's Southern League all-star break, and they've lost five of six since to drop to 12-18 in the second-half race.
Sean Burroughs went 3-for-9 with two doubles and two RBIs during the series in Birmingham, representing the lone offensive bright spot for the Lookouts. The quintet of Joc Pederson, Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Ozzie Martinez, Jon Garcia and Angelo Songco went a combined 5-for-62 against the Barons.
"We had a few days off and our timing was off, and you combine that with some pretty good pitching," Burroughs said. "They pounded the zone and made us swing at some pitches that we didn't want to swing at. That first series after the all-star break can be pretty tough, but they won four out of five, so they were obviously ready."
Jackson was ready Tuesday, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a two-out single to left field by John Hicks that scored Julio Morban. The Generals made it 2-0 in the third when Morban drew a bases-loaded walk off Lookouts starting pitcher Andres Santiago, and it became 3-0 when Ji-Man Choi opened the fourth with a home run to left.
Denny Almonte hit a three-run homer to highlight Jackson's five-run seventh that blew the game open. Cavazos-Galvez singled with two out in the ninth for Chattanooga's fourth hit, joining Rafael Ynoa, J.T. Wise and Miguel Rojas.
Duke von Schamann (2-2, 3.02) is scheduled to start tonight's 7:15 game for the Lookouts, with Roenis Elias (5-8, 2.87) scheduled for the Generals.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.