Smokies' Toss Four-Hitter in 5-1 Win
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - After RHP Jacob Turner and the Smokies' pitching staff tossed a three-hitter on Sunday, RHP Ryan Williams and a trio of relievers followed that effort with a four-hitter on Monday night, as Tennessee captured its third-straight victory, defeating the Jacksonville Suns, 5-1, at The Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville.
Tennessee's victory improves their record to 35-29 and keeps them alive in the race for the North Division crown, as they remain 4.5 games back of the Lookouts with five games remaining. The three straight wins over Jacksonville gives Tennessee its first series victory over the Suns since August 26 to 30 in 2011. It is also the first series victory at The Baseball Grounds since April 23 to 27 of that same year. The Suns' loss drops their first half mark to 28-36.
The Smokies struck first for the third straight contest, as they tallied a run in the game's opening frame. LF Jacob Hannemann (2-5, 2 R) kick started the rally with a single to center and move to third on a one-out double to left by C Kyle Schwarber (2-5, R, 2B, SO). 1B Dan Vogelbach (1-4, 2 RBI, BB) followed by hitting a slow roller to the right side of the infield. With Jacksonville's infield playing back, Hannemann scored easily from third on Vogelbach's ground out, which put Tennessee ahead, 1-0.
The Suns came storming back against Williams (6.0 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) in the bottom half of the frame. After CF Kenny Wilson (0-3, R, BB, SO) reached on a leadoff walk, RF Carlos Lopez (1-3, BB) followed with a single to left to put runners at the corners with nobody out. SS Austin Nola (1-4, RBI, SO) continued the attack with a line drive single to center. The base knock scored Wilson to tie the game up at one.
From that point on, Williams was virtually untouchable. Following the run-scoring base-hit, Williams tallied eight straight outs and allowed only two more runners to reach base, a walk to Lopez in the third and a single by C Sharif Othman (1-3) in the fifth, for the rest of the night.
The Smokies regained the lead for good in the third inning. CF Albert Almora Jr. (2-4, R, 3B, RBI) jump started the rally with a triple to left-center field. After Schwarber struck out swinging, Vogelbach delivered another productive out. The left-handed slugger grounded another ball to the right side of the infield, but Almora Jr. got an excellent jump from third and 1B David Adams had no play. Vogelbach was out at first, but the Smokies had a 2-1 lead.
Tennessee added to its lead in the sixth. Schwarber and Vogelbach started the inning with back-to-back singles, putting runners at the corners. With no one out, RF Billy McKinney (1-4, RBI, SO) then hit a soft ground ball to third. 3B Zack Cox came in to field the ball and made a underhand toss to the plate. However, his throw was high and late, as Schwarber slid in safely. McKinney was in at first with a RBI single and Tennessee had a 3-1 advantage.
The Smokies completed their scoring with a tally in the seventh and ninth innings, respectively. In the seventh, Willson Contreras (1-1) started the frame with a pinch-hit single and Hannemann reached on a error, putting runners at first and third. With nobody out, Almora Jr. lofted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring pinch-runner Tayler Scott, to extend the lead to 4-1. However, Hannemann failed to stay on first base before trying to tag and advance to second. Jacksonville would throw on to first for the force to complete the double play.
Finally, in the ninth, the Smokies pushed across their final tally. Hannemann started the inning with a single and moved to second on a balk. After an Almora Jr. single moved him to third, Schwarber tapped a grounder to second. 2B Terrence Dayleg kick started a double play, but Hannemann came across to score to make it 5-1, Tennessee.
Williams (6.0 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 2 BB, 7 SO) was incredibly efficient in his second Southern League victory. The 23-year old tossed just 67 pitches, 43 for strikes, over his six innings of work. The former East Carolina Pirate also punched out seven and surrendered just three hits.
Tennessee's bullpen did a fine job after Williams' stellar effort. RHP Michael Jensen (1.0 IP, H), RHP Starling Peralta (1.0 IP) and RHP P.J. Francescon (1.0 IP) combined to toss three innings of shutout relief, allowing just one hit, to finish off the victory.
Suns' starter RHP Scott Lyman (6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, SO) pitched admirably, but suffered his first Double-A loss of the season. The 25-year old issued seven hits and three runs over six innings.
After being one-hit on Friday night, the Smokies' offense recorded double-digits in the hit column for the second time in three games on Monday. Hannemann (2-5, 2 R), Almora Jr. (2-4, R, 3B, RBI) and Schwarber (2-5, R, 2B, SO) combined for six of the team's 11 base-knocks and each tallied a game-high two hits. Williams (1-2) also collected his first professional base-hit with a two-out single to right in the second.
After tomorrow's off day, Tennessee returns home to take on the Mississippi Braves, Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves,on Wednesday night in a five-game set to wrap up the season's first half. Two-time Southern League Pitcher of the Week, RHP Jake Brigham (6-2, 3.10 ERA), is expected to make the start for the Mississippi. Tennessee has not yet named their starter for Wednesday's contest.
The Pilot Pre-Game Show will kick off the broadcast at 6:50 p.m. ET, leading up to a 7:05 p.m. ET first pitch from Smokies Stadium. Wednesday night's broadcast can be heard exclusively on Sports Radio 99.1 FM and 990 AM, as well as SmokiesBaseball.com or via the TuneIn Radio app.
Wednesday night will be a We're Cooking All-You-Can-Eat Wednesday where fans can receive all-you-can-eat hamburgers, hot dogs, corn dogs, french fries and soda for less than twenty dollars. It is also quarter-way to St. Patrick's Day Night, which will feature special games, music and green beer.
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.