Game Preview: 8-15 v. Chattanooga

After clinching a homestand victory last night, the Tennessee Smokies (31-20, 65-55) will look a series victory in Game 3 of their series against the Chattanooga Lookouts (16-35, 51-70). First pitch is scheduled for 7:15 PM from Smokies Park.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: With Birmingham’s game being suspended, the Smokies now hold a five game lead over the Barons in the North Division race.  Jackson was able to defeat Montgomery for a second straight night to remain six games back.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS:

Chattanooga: Zach Lee (9-9, 3.10): One of the best prospects in the Dodgers system, Lee makes his fourth start against the Smokies.  In his previous three starts, he is 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA with the losses coming in his last two starts.  His last outing was a win against Huntsville on August 9 in which he fired six scoreless innings.  His 3.10 ERA is seventh best in the Southern League.

Tennessee: Nick Struck (0-1, 9.00): Struck lost his first start back with Tennessee against Montgomery on August 4.  He allowed four runs on four hits in four innings.  Struck also walked four batters and all of them came into score.

LAST TIME OUT: After falling behind early 1-0, the Smokies stormed back to win their fourth straight game by a final score of 6-2.  All six of the Smokies runs were scored with two outs and Javier Baez went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs.  The highlight of the game came in the 4th inning when Arismendy Alcantara stole home to increase the lead to 5-1.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Rafael Ynoa: Ynoa was productive from the leadoff position last night going 3-for-5 with an RBI.  It’s his first three hit game since back on June 9 against Jackson.

Joc Pederson: Pederson had his second multi-hit game of the series last night going 2-for-5 with an RBI.  They are his first back-to-back multi-hit games since July 26-27 against Jackson.

Javier Baez: Baez was 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBIs last night for Tennessee.  He has 34 RBIs in 36 games.

Christian Villanueva: Villanueva continues to be a doubles machine after two more last night.  He has five doubles in his past three games and leads the Southern League with 35.

KEY TO THE GAME: Tennessee has been clutch so far in this series with two outs.  Nine of their ten runs scored in this series have come with two outs.

TUNE IN: The broadcast will be available on our flagship station, The Sports Animal WNML AM 990 and on FM 99.1 in Knoxville beginning at 7:00 ET with the Pilot & Oscar Mayer Pregame Show. You can also listen to the broadcast in its entirety on smokiesbaseball.com as well as the Smokies mobile app.