Chattanooga, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, collected just two hits on Saturday night, dropping a 3-0 result to the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field.
Chattanooga, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, collected just two hits on Saturday night, dropping a 3-0 result to the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field.
The loss means the Generals (67-49) gained no ground in their race toward the Second Half title in the North Division, with Chattanooga (53-64) squaring their series at 2-2 and forcing a Sunday rubber match.
Neither team registered a hit in the first two innings, with Jackson failing to record a hit in their first cycle through the batting order. With two outs in the third and Ryan Grotjohn at first base, catcher Renae Martinez singled up the middle off the glove of Chattanooga second baseman Calten Daal to break up the no-hitter for Reiver Sanmartin (2-5, 4.84 ERA), putting men at first and third. That was the Generals' best chance of the night to score, but Pavin Smith grounded out to end the threat. Jackson's only other hit came on a lead-off double by Martinez in the sixth inning, but he was marooned at second as three men in a row made outs. Brandon Finnegan and Juan Martinez (S, 10) kept the Generals from getting a hit over the final three innings. Martinez is batting .282 over his last 10 games, including a .350 mark in August that ranks second behind Daulton Varsho (.400).
From the hill, J.B. Bukauskas (0-1, 7.71 ERA) dealt three and two-thirds innings, retiring eight of the first nine he faced before a two-out, two-run double in the third inning by Michael O'Neill gave Chattanooga a 2-0 lead. Bukauskas walked two men in the fourth, leading to a two-out, run-scoring double by Alberti Chavez to complete the Lookouts' scoring at 3-0. Bukauskas finished with three walks, three punchouts, and three hits allowed, recording three groundouts while throwing just 36 of his 68 pitches for strikes. Kevin McCanna got the final out of the fourth frame, and Cole Stapler and Justin Donatella each completed two innings of scoreless relief, but the Generals' offense could never get into gear.
