Southpaws stymie Generals hitters in Chattanooga opener

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, were thwarted by Lewis Thorpe and his left-handed cronies on Wednesday, falling 5-3 to the Chattanooga Lookouts at AT&T Field.

Jackson (60-54) has now lost four straight games overall, and Wednesday's setback was their eighth in a row at the hands of Chattanooga (55-58).
Emilio Vargas (0-1, 6.10 ERA) made it through the first inning without trouble, but a two-out RBI single by Zander Wiel in the second gave the Lookouts an early 2-0 lead. A solo blast by Brent Rooker to lead off the bottom of the fifth again gave the Lookouts room to breathe at 3-1, as Vargas allowed a homer for the second time in as many starts. Vargas departed with one out in the sixth inning and a man on base, but Bud Jeter failed to shut the door, ceding a two-run shot to Jimmy Kerrigan that made the Chattanooga lead 5-1. Kirby Bellow looked sharp in an inning of scoreless relief, while newcomer Michael Blazek delivered a scoreless eighth inning in his first outing as a General.
The West Tennessee bunch could barely get anything going against southpaw starter Lewis Thorpe (8-4, 3.58 ERA) despite stranding three men in the first inning and another at third base in the fourth. Jose Vinicio tripled in the fifth and scored on a wild pitch to put Jackson on the board, but the lineup around Vinicio continued to scuffle against left-handed reliever Andrew Vasquez.
A shaky opening to the ninth inning by Sam Clay allowed Josh Prince and Matt Jones to each reach base and later score, but with the go-ahead run in the on-deck circle, Vinicio struck out against Cody Stashak (S, 3) to finalize the defeat. The Generals are now hitting .254 against left-handed pitching this season. The Jackson offense has slowed to a crawl in August (12 runs in six games), with the Generals going without a homer in their past nine games and without a stolen base in their past six games.
NEXT GENERALS GAME:
6:15 pm CT Thursday (8/9) vs. Chattanooga Lookouts
AT&T Field - Chattanooga, Tenn.
RHP Taylor Widener (4-5, 2.64 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Wells (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Broadcast Link: Jackson Generals Baseball Network
UP AND COMING AT THE BALLPARK:
August 14-18 vs. Montgomery Biscuits (AA, Tampa Bay Rays)
…featuring Shark Week Night (August 18)!
August 30-September 3 vs. Chattanooga Lookouts (AA, Minnesota Twins)
…featuring SEC Night (September 1)!
PLAYOFFS:
In 2018, manager Shelley Duncan and the Generals won the First Half North Division title, assuring them of a bid to the Southern League playoffs in September. Games 1 and 2 of the North Division Series will be held at The Ballpark at Jackson on September 5 and 6. For tickets and more information about the Generals, dial 731.988.5299
or log on to our ticket page at JacksonGeneralsBaseball.com!
The Jackson Generals, a West Tennessee franchise since 1998, are the Double-A minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks. In 2017, The Ballpark at Jackson was named the Professional Sports Field of the Year by the Tennessee Turfgrass Association.