The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, suffered defeat on Saturday at Smokies Stadium, slow-cooked 6-3 by the Tennessee Smokies.
The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, suffered defeat on Saturday at Smokies Stadium, slow-cooked 6-3 by the Tennessee Smokies.
A trio of Jackson homers were not enough to spare the Generals (14-14) from falling back behind Tennessee (15-13) in the SL North standings.
In his first May start, Sam Lewis (1-3, 3.10 ERA) had a little trouble getting the plane off the ground. Roberto Caro walked to lead off the bottom of the first for Tennessee, and he stole second base promptly to get into scoring position. A pair of groundouts later, Caro was crossing home with the Smokies' first run, and the Generals would never regain the lead or equalize. Lewis allowed more damage in the third to the hot-swinging Robel Garcia, who smacked a two-out, three-run shot to put Tennessee up 4-0.
Lewis ultimately finished six innings for the second time this year, allowing just four hits while striking out four and walking two men. In relief, Junior Garcia nearly got out of a two-on, nobody-out jam with a pair of strikeouts, but Jared Young blooped a two-run single down the left field line to give Tennessee some late insurance in the seventh inning. Kevin Ginkel faced only three men in a scoreless eighth, helped by strike-him-out, throw-him-out double play with Daulton Varsho gunning down PJ Higgins on an attempted steal of second base.
Offensively, the Generals were limited by Tennessee's Cory Abbott (3-1, 2.83 ERA), who conceded just four hits on the evening. Two of the hits were monster solo home runs to right field by shortstop Jazz Chisholm, with the second blast chasing Abbott from the hill. Chisholm's second multi-homer performance of 2019 was backed up by a solo homer from Jeffrey Baez in the top of the eighth, but no other General crossed home all night. Jackson had only one chance with a man in scoring position, and they came up empty when Varsho was stranded in the fourth inning after a two-out double. The Generals will try to salvage the series tomorrow: a finale victory would split their ten meetings with Tennessee down the middle at 5-5.
NEXT GENERALS GAME:
1:00 pm CT Sunday (5/5) at Tennessee Smokies (Chicago Cubs)
Smokies Stadium - Kodak, TN
Generals TBA vs. RHP Oscar De La Cruz (no Double-A action in 2019)
Broadcast Link: Jackson Generals Baseball Network
UP AND COMING AT THE BALLPARK:
May 6-10 vs. Birmingham Barons (AA, Chicago White Sox)
…featuring "All We Do Is Win" Night (Friday, May 10)!
The Jackson Generals, a West Tennessee franchise since 1998, are the Double-A minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. The Generals play at The Ballpark at Jackson, Tennessee's 2017 & 2018 Pro Sports Field of the Year. Purchase your tickets to see the defending Southern League champions today by calling 731.988.5299 or visiting JacksonGeneralsBaseball.com!
