Generals hold off late Chattanooga rally, 6-4

Chattanooga, Tenn. - The Jackson Generals, the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Arizona Diamondbacks, finished their season series finale against the Chattanooga Lookouts with a 6-4 victory at AT&T Field on Sunday, winning their first rubber game in four tries this season.

The Generals (68-49) won their 40^th road game of the season with a four-run surge in the fourth inning, racking up 17 hits in the matinee victory over Chattanooga (53-65).
The Jackson offense got started in the second inning, as a double by left-center field by Ryan Grotjohn set him up in scoring position with two outs. Galli Cribbs Jr. hit a grounder to third baseman Jonathan India next, but India threw wide of first base, an error that allowed Grotjohn to score the game's first run for a 1-0 lead.
Similar breaks would go the Generals' way in the fourth inning, which the Generals entered with a 2-0 lead after a sacrifice fly by Seth Beer in the third inning. Grotjohn started the fourth with a triple, drawing the infield in to the edge of the grass. Cribbs then hit a grounder to the right of the mound that second baseman Calten Daal hustled to snag, throwing back across his body to first to try for the forceout. The throw missed the mark, allowing Grotjohn to race home from third base to score Jackson's third run. With Cribbs at first, Jackson pitcher Josh Green (2-1, 2.59 ERA) earned his first professional hit by bunting the ball over the head of the charging third baseman India, reaching first base safely. Two batters later, Daulton Varsho swatted his 15^th home run of the season off the scoreboard in left field, an opposite-field dinger that put Jackson on top 6-0. The homer knocked Chattanooga's Wendolyn Bautista (1-2, 5.26 ERA) from the hill for good after just three and two-thirds innings.
For the Generals, Green fired six shutout frames on 93 pitches, notching four strikeouts without walking a batter. He induced eight groundball outs and scattered eight hits, stranding at least one runner in each of the first six innings. Green got consistently strong glovework from his infield of Drew Ellis, Galli Cribbs Jr., L.T. Tolbert, and Pavin Smith, earning the benefit of three double-plays while occupying the mound. The Lookouts got to Ryan Atkinson for four runs (three earned) in the seventh inning, as a bases-clearing double by Gavin LaValley turned into an inside-the-park grand slam because of a pair of throwing errors. Atkinson gave way to Matt Brill, Miguel Aguilar, and West Tunnell (S, 2), who finished the last two and one-third innings without allowing another hit to the Lookouts.
Offensively, five Generals recorded multi-hit games, as Varsho (three hits) and Grotjohn (three hits) fell a double and a homer short of the cycle, respectively. Ellis, Smith, and Cribbs combined for seven singles, helping all nine Jackson players in the starting lineup hit safely for the first time since July 11 against Birmingham. Grotjohn also scored twice.   
UP AND COMING AT THE BALLPARK:
August 13-22: Generals vs. Montgomery Biscuits (AA, Tampa Bay Rays) and Tennessee Smokies (AA, Chicago Cubs)
…featuring two Dollar Night Thursdays (August 15 & 22), plus Turn Back the Clock Night (August 17)!
 
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. Next June, The Ballpark at Jackson will host the 2020 Southern League All-Star Game, and you can purchase 2020 season tickets today by calling 731.988.5299 or visiting JacksonGeneralsBaseball.com!