Jacksonville Suns blank Chattanooga Lookouts in series finale

Arkansas-SEMO Live Blog

The Force was not with the Chattanooga Lookouts on Friday, as they lost 6-0 to the Jacksonville Suns on Star Wars Night at AT&T Field.

The Suns (6-9) had their phasers locked on Lookouts starter Garrett Gould early, scoring four runs -- three earned -- on four hits in the first inning. Three runs came on a double by catcher J.T. Realmuto.

Gould settled in and allowed one earned run over the next four innings while striking out seven, but the Lookouts could not muster a comeback.

Despite producing at least one baserunner in six consecutive innings, Chattanooga (5-10) could not get one home. Suns starter Jose Urena struck out five Lookouts in six innings.

"When we get five hits and leave eight runners on base in nine innings, I struggle to find what opportunities you're talking about," Lookouts manager Razor Shines said when asked about the Lookouts' lost chances. "I don't feel good when we don't play well, and we have to do things better. Until we do, we're going to continue to scuffle."

Even shortstop Ozzie Martinez could not overcome Suns pitching, with his eight-game hitting streak coming to a halt. Martinez came into Friday's game batting .313 (10-for-32) with four RBIs in that span.

Despite their frigid bats, mistakes seemed to be the story of the Lookouts' series loss, as two more errors and wild pitches led to two unearned Jacksonville runs. Chattanooga totaled seven errors in the five-game series.

"It's my job as a manager to get these kids to play better and continue to play hard," Shines said. "I take that to heart, and we're going to get better."

Hector Nelo and Juan Gonzalez pitched the last four innings for the Lookouts, allowing one earned run on one hit, two walks and four strikeouts.

The Lookouts now head to Jackson, Tenn., to visit the Generals, who took three out of five games in their opening series of the season at AT&T Field.

Contact Idris Garcia at sports@timesfreepress.com.

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