Smokies Lose 4-3 on Chen's Historic Day
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Smokies OF Pin-Chieh Chen reached base all seven times he came to the plate, which included five walks to tie a Southern League record, but for the second time in the series Tennessee fell in walk-off fashion, as the Birmingham Barons clinched the five-game series with a 4-3 win in 13 innings on Monday afternoon at Regions Field.
Tennessee's loss drops them to 13-10 on the season, while Birmingham's record reaches .500 again at 12-12. After today's contest, the Smokies remain one game ahead of the Chattanooga Lookouts for first place in the Southern League North Divison and 1.5 games ahead of the third-place Barons.
Birmingham emerged victorious in the bottom of the 13th inning against Smokies reliever Zach Cates (0.2 IP, H, 2 R, BB, SO). With Tennessee leading 3-2, LF Marcus Lemon (1-4, 2 R, BB) reached on a walk and advanced to second base on a throwing error. With the tying run in scoring position, Cates got SS Tim Anderson (1-6, RBI) and CF Jacob May (1-5, BB, SO) to fly out for the first and second outs of the frame.
The right-hander got ahead of DH Courtney Hawkins (0-5,R, BB, 3 SO) and struck him out on a pitch in the dirt. However, the ball squirted away and everyone was safe on the wild pitch. With RF Christian Marrero (1-5, 2 RBI, BB, SO) at the plate, Hawkins advanced to second on yet another wild pitch. On the ninth pitch of the battle, Marrero ripped a single off the wall in right field to score both runners to give Birmingham a 4-3 victory. The walk-off knock was Marrero's second of the series, as he delivered the game-winning blow, also off Cates, in the bottom of the 10th on Friday night.
The Smokies had grabbed the lead for the first time in the top of the 13th without the benefit of a base-hit. RHP Kyle Hansen (1.0 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 3 BB) walked 3B Ryan Dent (1-5, 2 R, BB, 2 SO) to start the inning and CF Jacob Hannemann (1-6, 2B, 3 SO) pushed him to second on a sacrifice bunt. Chen (2-2, R, HR, RBI, 5 BB) and C Kyle Schwarber (1-6, BB, 2 SO) followed with walks to load the bases. 1B Dan Vogelbach (0-5, RBI, BB, 3 SO), who was named the Chicago Cubs' Minor League Player of the Month for April during the game, then gave Tennessee the lead with a sacrifice fly to left to put the Smokies ahead 3-2.
Birmingham had originally jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 3rd. With the game still scoreless, 2B Joey DeMichele (1-4, R, BB, SO) walked Lemon singled with one out. Anderson then followed that up with a single of his own to left to put the Barons in front, 1-0.
Birmingham's second tally was a little more confusing. After Hawkins walked to load the bases with two outs, Marrero appeared to ground out to first to end the threat. However, the White Sox farmhand was sent back to the plate, as Tennessee starter Felix Pena (5.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 BB, 4 SO) was called for a balk. All three runners were awarded the next base and the Barons grabbed a two-run advantage.
Chen would get Tennessee on the scoreboard in the fifth. The Taiwanese native smack a two-out solo home run to right field off Barons starter Tyler Danish (5.1 IP, 6 H, R, 2 BB, 6 SO) to pull the Smokies within a run. The blast was Chen's first career Double-A home run and his first homer since June 1, 2012 when he was a member of the Low-A Peoria Chiefs.
The Smokies would tie it up in the seventh thanks to an errant pitch. Another walk by Chen was sandwiched by singles by Dent and Schwarber, which loaded the bases with one out. After Vogelbach was punched out, DH Willson Contreras (3-5, 2 2B, BB, SO) stepped in. With Tennessee's designated hitter in the box, Barons' reliever Cody Winiarski (1.1 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 4 SO) bounced one past the catcher. Dent raced home from third to knot the game up at two.
Despite the loss, the Smokies bullpen was stellar on Monday afternoon. RHP Fernando Cruz (1.1 IP, H), RHP Michael Jensen (2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 SO) and RHP Stephen Perakslis (3.0 IP, 3 SO) combined to allow just three hits and struck out six over 6.1 innings of relief. Even with some control issues, Pena was solid too, falling just one out shy of a quality start.
Chen's effort was historic, as he tied a Southern League record with five walks. The left-handed batter's effort was the first four-plus walk game since current Cubs 3B Kris Bryant walked four times last year. Contreras' multi-hit game was his eighth of the year, good for second-best on the team. 2B Stephen Bruno (2-6, 2 SO) also collected a multi-hit effort in the defeat.
Cates was saddled with his team-leading fourth loss of the season and his second of the series. Hansen, who had initially surrendered the lead to Tennessee in the top half of the 13th, took home his first victory of the 2015 campaign.
Tennessee will try to return to their winning ways tomorrow night, as they travel to Pensacola to take on the Blue Wahoos, the Cincinnati Reds Double-A affiliate, in a six-game, five-day series. LHP Jeffry Antigua (0-0, 2.53 ERA) is scheduled to make his second Double-A start of the season. He is projected to be opposed by Pensacola's RHP Keyvius Sampson (0-0, 2.25 ERA).
The Pilot Pre-Game Show will kick off the broadcast at 7:20 p.m. ET, leading up to a 7:35 p.m. ET first pitch from Pensacola Bayfront Stadium. Tomorrow's broadcast can be heard on Sports Radio 99.1 FM, as well as on SmokiesBaseball.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
The Smokies will return home to Kodak on Monday, May 11, as they start a five-game series agains the Montgomery Biscuits, the Tampa Bay Rays Double-A affiliate. Single-game tickets, as well as multi-voucher and season ticket packages are still available, and can be purchased online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.
ABOUT THE TENNESSEE SMOKIES
The Tennessee Smokies are the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Members of the ten-team Southern 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.