Barons Felled By Lookouts 7-5 In Finale

A big early deficit was too much to overcome for the Birmingham Barons (25-29) in a 7-5 loss to the Chattanooga Lookouts (32-23) on Saturday night at Regions Field. The series finishes with Barons taking three out of five from their North Division rivals.

• Turning Point: With scheduled starter Ian Clarkin a late scratch, Connor Walsh (L, 0-1) was given the first start of his career. It didn't go well as LaMonte Wade Jr hit his first pitch of the night for a double. Four hits later, the Lookouts had a 3-0 lead before the Barons took their first turn at bat.
• Facts and Figures: The Barons were quick to respond early as Seby Zavala launched a 3-2 pitch from Chattanooga starter Cody Stashak over the left field wall for a two-run homer to cut the Lookouts' lead to a single run. The home run was Zavala's Southern League-leading 11th of the season.
• Moments That Mattered: After a scoreless second, the game unraveled for Walsh in the third as Chris Paul's two-run homer and RBI singles from Sean Miller and Wade extended the visitors' lead to 7-2, which proved to be enough for the Lookouts.
• By The Numbers: In relief of Walsh, the Barons bullpen was strong as Brandon Brennan , José Ruiz , and Brian Clark combined to pitch 6.1 scoreless innings. The Barons made the game closer in the bottom of the eighth as Trey Michalczewski  drew a bases-loaded walk and Jameson Fisher  hit into a rarely-seen two-run sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 7-5, but the Barons could get no closer as Ryne Harper rebounded to finish the win. At the plate, Eloy Jiménez  recorded an eighth-inning single to extend his hitting streak to 12 games.
• Up Next: The homestand continues on Sunday night at 6 p.m. as the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp come to Regions Field for a five-game series. Matt Tomshaw (0-3, 5.57) is set to start for the Barons against Cody Poteet (2-5, 5.33). Curt Bloom will have the call on 960 WERC News Radio and the iHeart Radio app.