Maldonado, Morel homer, but Smokies can't dig out of early hole
SEVIERVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Smokies (11-24) dropped their series opener to the Chattanooga Lookouts (21-15), 5-3 Tuesday night at Smokies Stadium. Chattanooga jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings before a dominant effort from the Smokies bullpen allowed them to crawl back in the game.
SEVIERVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Smokies (11-24) dropped their series opener to the Chattanooga Lookouts (21-15), 5-3 Tuesday night at Smokies Stadium. Chattanooga jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first three innings before a dominant effort from the Smokies bullpen allowed them to crawl back in the game.
Lorenzo Cedrola opened the scoring in the second inning with a solo home run to give the Lookouts a 1-0 lead. Chattanooga’s first four batters in their four run in the third all had base hits. Braxton Lee hit a two-run double and scored on a groundout. Cedrola added an RBI single in the inning to put the Lookouts up 5-0.
Christopher Morel hit a two-run home run with two outs in the third inning, his fifth of the season, to put the Smokies on the board. In the fifth, Nelson Maldonado led off with a solo home run, his first, to cut the deficit to 5-3. The Smokies couldn’t muster any more offense in the loss.
The Smokies’ bullpen was elite. LHP Luis Lugo struck out five over three scoreless innings and left six runners on base. RHP Manuel Rodriguez pitched a scoreless seventh in his return to the bullpen. LHP Wyatt Short pitched two perfect frames and struck out three.
The Smokies and Lookouts continue their series at Smokies Stadium on Wednesday night, with first pitch scheduled for 7 PM. LHP Ryan Kellogg (0-0, 3.24) will face off against RHP Ricky Salinas (1-1, 4.61). Fans can hear all Smokies games by going to https://www.milb.com/tennessee/fans/audio-listen-live.
Wednesday night at Smokies Stadium is All You Can Eat Wednesday presented by M3 Technology. Tickets for the remainder of the series are available and can be purchased online, over the phone, or by visiting the box office.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES
The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the eight-team Double-A South League, Smokies baseball has been entertaining families and fans of America’s national pastime in the East Tennessee region for over 100 years. To learn more about the Tennessee Smokies, visit www.smokiesbaseball.com.