Pries silences Lookouts in Double-A debut

It was a chilly night Monday at AT&T Field, but with all the work Jordan Pries' defense got, the cold didn't get much of a chance to set in.

The right-handed Seattle prospect worked six one-hit innings, striking out one and earning his first win as Double-A Jackson blanked Chattanooga, 4-0.

The Stanford product took advantage of an early-swinging Lookouts lineup to lead the Generals to a series win in Monday's rubber contest of the five-game set. Pries, making his Southern League debut, needed just 59 pitches to glide through six frames.

"They were really aggressive, which was different because you hear about going to Double-A, about the patience and the approach these guys have," Pries said. "But they were an aggressive ballclub, and they swung the bat pretty early in the count. Knowing that, I was just trying to pitch to contact and get ground balls and keep moving throughout the game."

Pries allowed a leadoff double to O'Koyea Dickson in the second inning and hit Casio Grider with a pitch in the third. Other than that, he was perfect, recording five outs on ground balls and 10 in the air.

"It was kind of a weird night," said Pries. "It wasn't like I was really locked in or doing anything spectacular. I was actually falling behind a little bit, but I just stayed with it and just kept pounding the strike zone.

"I'm a contact guy, so in reality, I like teams that are going to be aggressive because they're going to put the ball in play and I'm going to be able to use my defense."

Nathan Melendres, who led all players with three hits from the bottom of the order, doubled in the game's first run for the Generals. In the sixth, Melendres tripled to cap off a three-run frame.

As his teammates built a lead, Pries kept them at work in the field.

"They were just freezing," he said. "It was cold out here today. Everybody's walking into the dugout, they've got their sleeves on, jackets on, people wearing beanies around. That was really the main focus. I don't know if that added a certain element of relaxation for the guys, but we had some nice plays tonight behind me."

Chattanooga managed just one hit against the Jackson bullpen tandem of Jordan Shipers, Stephen Shackleford and Stephen Kohlscheen as well. The Lookouts went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

Garrett Gould (0-1) took the loss, allowing four runs -- two earned -- on five hits while striking out four and walking a pair over 5 1/3 innings.