Tag Archives: Chad Noble

by | July 28, 2013 · 9:43 pm

Baez homers twice, but Smokies fall to Barons, 8-5

By: Adam Kline

KODAK, Tenn. – Chicago Cubs top prospect Javier Baez hit two home runs on the night, but the Tennessee Smokies were unable to overcome a six-run deficit and fell to the Birmingham Barons 8-5 Sunday evening at Smokies Park. With the loss, the Smokies fall to 21-14, 55-48, a half-a-game behind the first place Barons (22-14, 66-40).

The Barons struck first in the opening frame when Dan Black drove home Tyler Saladino with an RBI-double off Smokies starter Eric Jokisch to give Birmingham a 1-0 lead. The Smokies answered right back in their first inning. Matt Szczur led off with a single and then scored on Javier Baez’s ninth home run of the season giving the Smokies a 2-1 advantage.

Jokisch (8-10) cruised through the second inning but surrendered runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to give the Barons a 6-2 lead after five. Jokisch’s final line was five innings pitched, nine hits, six runs (five earned), three walks and four strikeouts. He threw 95 pitches, 53 of which for strikes.

Rubi Silva led off the second inning with his 23rd double of the season, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. He finished the night 2-for-4.

Spencer Arroyo (8-5) started off shaky but calmed down, going six innings and yielding seven hits, two earned runs, two walks and struck out six.

P.J. Francescon pitched two innings in relief, gave up four hits, one earned run, a walk and struck out two. Reliever Marcos Mateo gave up two hits, an earned run and walked a batter in his inning of relief.

The Smokies showed signs of life in the bottom of the ninth as Jonathan Mota roped a leadoff double to left and Chad Noble followed suit with a double of his own, scoring Mota from second. Baez hit his second two-run home run of the game in the ninth, scoring Noble from second and making the score 8-5. Justin Bour struck out to end the game for the Smokies.

Baez finished the evening 2-for-5 with two home runs and four RBIs. Andreoli went 2-for-4 and raised his batting average to .302 in the process.

The second game of the five-game series is Monday at 7:15 p.m. at Smokies Park. Smokies starter Dae-Eun Rhee (2-0, 1.89) will face off against Barons starter Stephen McCray (9-6, 3.36). Both teams will be donning Negro League Era jerseys, Tennessee will wear replicas of the 1938-39 Knoxville Black Giants and the Barons will wear replicas of the 1948 Birmingham Black Barons.

AUDIO RECAP  BARONS  8  Smokies  5

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by | July 2, 2013 · 11:46 am

Game Preview: 7-2 @ Montgomery

Kyle Hendricks looks for his ninth win of the season tonight at Riverwalk Stadium. (Photo Courtesy: Roger C. Hoover)

Kyle Hendricks looks for his ninth win of the season tonight at Riverwalk Stadium. (Photo Courtesy: Roger C. Hoover)

The Tennessee Smokies (6-5, 40-40) look to avoid losing their fourth straight road series as they play Game 4 of their five-game series against the Montgomery Biscuits (7-6, 44-39). First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 PM from Riverwalk Stadium.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: Last night’s loss dropped the Smokies back into a tie for first place with the Birmingham Barons, but the Smokies remain in a playoff position.  They are a half game ahead of Chattanooga in terms of overall record, which would land them a spot in the playoffs.  Montgomery moved back over .500 with last night’s victory and pulled within a game of first place in the South Division.  Mobile and Jacksonville are both 8-5.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS: 

Tennessee: Kyle Hendricks (8-2, 2.17 ERA): The Smokies ace makes his 16th start of the season coming off arguably his best one.  Hendricks tossed eight shutout innings on June 26 against Jackson to drop his home ERA down to a miniscule 0.38.  Now he’s back out on the road where he had a rough outing his last time in Chattanooga.  On June 21, Hendricks did not factor in the decision allowing four earned runs on seven hits in just five innings.  In his lone start this season against Montgomery on April 23, Hendricks allowed only one run on three hits in seven innings but received a no decision.  He enters tonight’s action with the second best ERA in the Southern League. 

Montgomery: Victor Mateo (2-8, 6.23 ERA): Mateo is in search for his first win since May 15, a stretch spanning eight starts.  He is coming off a loss in Chattanooga on June 27 where he allowed five runs on six hits in six innings.  Mateo made a start at Smokies Park on April 24 receiving a no decision.  He surrendered three runs on six hits in 4.2 innings.

LAST TIME OUT: The Biscuits broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning with two runs and didn’t look back as they took the middle game of the five-game set 7-2 against the Smokies.  Hector Guevara grounded into a bases-loaded fielder’s choice for the game’s first run and Mayo Acosta followed with an RBI single to double the lead.  Montgomery added four more runs in the bottom of the sixth highlighted by a two-run single by Riccio Torrez.  Tennessee scored their only two runs off Enny Romero in the 8th inning on an RBI double by Matt Szczur and an RBI single by Rubi Silva.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: 

Chad Noble: Noble picked up two hits last night for his first multi-hit game since June 17.  His single in the top of the 8th snapped a 0-for-11 slump.

Matt Szczur: Szczur was the other Smokey to register two hits last night going 2-for-4 with an RBI.  His batting average sits at .300 for the season, which is tied for fourth best in the Southern League.

Riccio Torrez: Torrez drove in two and scored twice in last night’s Biscuits victory.  It marked the first time since May 30 at Mississippi in which he has accomplished that feat.

Mikie Mahtook: The Biscuits outfielder went 2-for-4 last night to end a dreadful slump at the plate.  Before his first-inning single, Mahtook was hitless in his last 17 at bats.

KEY TO THE GAME: For the Smokies to win tonight’s game, they will need some production from the middle of their lineup.  Justin Bour and Christian Villanueva are a combined 0-for-22 in the first three games of this series.

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 7:45 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.

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by | June 20, 2013 · 11:21 pm

Smokies Survive Surge, Win 3-2

Austin Kirk helped his own cause in the 5th with a RBI single on top of his excellence on the mound. (Photo Courtesy: Adam Kline)

Austin Kirk helped his own cause in the 5th with a RBI single on top of his excellence on the mound. (Photo Courtesy: Adam Kline)

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Tennessee Smokies (36-35) defeated the Chattanooga Lookouts (35-37) 3-2 at AT&T Field Thursday night.  Smokies starter Austin Kirk had his best outing for the Smokies as the lefty went 5.2 innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight batters and walking four. 

Catcher Chad Noble led off the top of the fifth inning and ripped a double down the left field line.  After a groundout by Ronald Torreyes moved Noble to third base with one out, Kirk helped his own cause and earned the second hit of his career by smacking a RBI single to center field, scoring Noble and extending the Smokies advantage to 2-0.

Kirk worked out of trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning when the lefty allowed a leadoff walk to Miguel Rojas.  That would be all the Lookouts had going in the fifth as Kirk struck out the next three batters and carried a one-hit shutout into the sixth.

The Smokies blew the game open in the top of the seventh inning.  After two walks and a single loaded the bases with no outs, Lookouts reliever Kyle Cofield struck out Arimendy Alcantara. Jae-Hoon Ha followed with a RBI fielder’s choice, scoring Torreyes extending the Tennessee lead to 3-0.

Chattanooga threatened in the bottom half of the eighth inning after reliever Trey McNutt gave up back-to-back singles to put runners on first and third with no outs.  Brian Cavazos-Galvez put the Lookouts on the board with a RBI groundout to shortstop, cutting the Smokies lead to 3-1.  McNutt induced a pop out to the first base side and fly out to right field to retire the side.

Frank Batista came on in the ninth and promptly gave up singles to the first two batters to put runners at first and second with no outs. After a sac bunt and a walk to load the bases with one out, Rafael Ynoa singled to right field, cutting the Tennessee lead to 3-2.  Batista struck out Joc Pederson and Brian Cavazos-Galvez to end the threat to earn his 10th save in 11 attempts this season.

Alcantara got the Smokies on the board early after the shortstop drilled his second triple of the season to right field with one out in the first inning.

With two outs and Alcantara on third Lookouts starter Chris Reed threw a wild pitch, scoring Alcantara and giving Tennessee an early 1-0 advantage.

Tennessee will send Kyle Hendricks (7-2, 2.07 ERA) to the mound. Andres Santiago (3-5, 4.92 ERA) will toe the rubber for Chattanooga.  First pitch at AT&T Field is set for 7:15 p.m. ET.

AUDIO RECAP  SMOKIES  3  Lookouts  2

6-20-recap.mp3



To stay current with all the latest news, follow Smokies on Radio on Twitter and like the Smokies on Radio Facebook page. Nick Roark is a Broadcast & Media Associate for the Smokies Radio Network. You can follow him on Twitter here: @NickRoark4.

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by | June 6, 2013 · 1:33 pm

This Week In Smokies Baseball: June 6 Edition

Smokies' Matt Szczur is congratulated by teammate Christian Villanueva after Szczur scores a run. (Saul Young/News Sentinel)

Smokies’ Matt Szczur is congratulated by teammate Christian Villanueva after Szczur scores a run. (Saul Young/News Sentinel)

The latest Edition of “This Week In Smokies Baseball” is now available.  This edition covers the Smokies’ 5-Game Series in Birmingham against the Barons, which included the Annual Rickwood Classic, as well the current Homestand against the Jackson Generals.

THIS WEEK IN SMOKIES BASEBALL AUDIO

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by | June 5, 2013 · 11:53 am

Game Preview: 6-5 v. Jackson

Chad Noble collected four hits last night for the first time in his minor league career. Photo Courtesy: Matthew Shalbrack/Tennessee Smokies

Chad Noble collected four hits last night for the first time in his minor league career. Photo Courtesy: Matthew Shalbrack/Tennessee Smokies

Riding a three-game winning streak, The Tennessee Smokies (31-26) will look to make it four in a row tonight as they play the fourth game of their five-game series against the Jackson Generals (23-31). First pitch for is slated for 7:15 PM ET from Smokies Park.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: The Smokies finally got to five games over .500 after failing in their seven previous attempts.  They also gained a game on first-place Birmingham last night and now are 5.5 games back with 12 to play in the Southern League’s North Division.  The hill is steep to climb, but the Smokies are still not out of the first-half race.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS:

Jackson: Anthony Fernandez (2-1, 6.83 ERA): The Generals lefty is making his seventh start of the season and second against the Smokies.  On May 16 against Tennessee, Fernandez was tagged for four runs on five hits including two home runs but did not factor in the decision.  Fernandez was touched up in his last start as well against Huntsville on May 29 allowing four runs on five hits in 4.2 innings for the loss.

Tennessee: Alberto Cabrera (5-2, 3.70 ERA): Cabrera got back in the win column in his last start on May 30 in Birmingham yielding one run on six hits in six innings.  The Smokies righty has been dominant on the road this season going 4-0 with a 1.89 ERA, but he has struggled at Smokies Park.  In five starts at home in 2013, Cabrera is 1-2 with a 6.18 ERA.  Cabrera pitched well in his lone start against the Generals on May 14 allowing one run on five hits with seven strikeouts in seven innings but did not factor in the decision.  His 66 strikeouts are third most in the Southern League.

LAST TIME OUT: Tennessee held on to win a back-and-forth affair last night over Jackson 8-6 to move within 5.5 games of first place.  The Smokies scored four times in the second inning to move ahead 4-1, but fell behind 6-4 after four innings when James Jones hit a three-run home run in the top of the 4th.  After Ty Wright brought Tennessee within a run in the 5th with a solo shot, the Smokies regained the lead for good with three runs in the bottom of the 7th inning.  Chad Noble collected the first four hit of his career and Matt Szczur went 3-for-5 with three RBIs.  Frank Batista recorded the final four outs for his team-best 8th save of the season.

JACKSON HAILS SZCZUR: After three more hits last night, Matt Szczur’s mastery of Generals pitching continued.  Szczur is 14-for-34 (.412) in the eight games played against Jackson including four runs and six RBIs.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: 

Ty Wright: Wright pounded out two hits in last night’s victory including a solo home run, his third of the season.  All three of Wright’s home runs have come against the Jackson Generals.  The other two came in one game on May 16.

Arismendy Alcantara: The Smokies shortstop went 3-for-5 last night to extend his hitting streak to four games.  Overall, Alcantara has hits in 12 of his last 13 games and 17 of his last 20.

James Jones: Jones’ one hit last night was a three-run home run, his third of the season.  He has put together a solid season so far but has struggled against Tennessee.  In eight games, Jones is hitting just .192 (5-for-26) against the Smokies.

Steven Proscia: No hitter in the Jackson Generals lineup has struggled more against Tennessee Smokies’ pitching than Steven Proscia.  Proscia has hits in his last two games, but is still just 2-for-23 with ten strikeouts against the Smokies in 2013.

KEY TO THE GAME: The Smokies have been excellent this season against Jackson at scoring first and getting out to early leads.  Generals’ starter Anthony Fernandez has had his greatest struggles this season in the first inning.  He has allowed seven earned runs including two home runs and sports a 10.80 ERA in the first innings of his starts this season.

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. 

To stay current with all the latest news, follow Smokies on Radio on Twitter and like the Smokies on Radio Facebook page. 

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by | June 4, 2013 · 11:57 pm

Three-run seventh gives Smokies 8-6 win Tuesday night

By: Adam Kline

The Tennessee Smokies used a three-run seventh inning to defeat the Jackson Generals Tuesday night by an 8-6 score in front of 2,462 at Smokies Park. The win puts the Smokies record at 31-26 and five games over the .500 mark for the first time this season. The Smokies are now currently 5.5 behind first place Birmingham.

The Generals (23-31) struck first off Smokies starter Yeiper Castillo in the opening frame as James Jones walked to lead off the game, later scoring on a Julio Morban single to give Jackson the early 1-0 lead.

In the second, the Smokies would put four runs on the board thanks to a Matt Szczur two-run double and a Ronald Torreyes two-run home run. However, the Generals would counter again, getting five more runs total in the third and fourth innings combined to give Jackson a 6-4 advantage.

In the fifth inning and Stephen Kohlscheen on the mound for Jackson, Ty Wright hit his third home run of the season to narrow the Smokies deficit, 6-5. All three of his home runs this season have come against the Generals.

Down 6-5, the Smokies put together a big inning in the seventh off Jackson reliever Tyler Burgoon (3-2), scoring three times to take the lead, 8-6. After a lead off single by Wright and a double by Rafael Lopez, Chad Noble hit a bloop single to right to score Wright. Lopez later scored on a groundout by Szczur and Arismendy Alcantara hit a line drive single to center to score Szczur.

Castillo went six innings, giving up six hits, six earned runs, three walks and struck out four. Hunter Cervenka (1-0) pitched 1.2 innings in relief, giving up a hit and striking out two, to pick up his first Double-A victory. Frank Batista earned his eighth save of the season, pitching 1.1 innings and only giving up a hit.

Noble led the Smokies’ offense going 4-for-5 with a run scored and a RBI. Szczur went 3-for-5 with two runs, three RBIs and a stolen base.

The fourth game of the five-game series is at 7:15 on Wednesday night at Smokies Park. Right-hander Alberto Cabrera (5-2, 3.70) will square-off against Generals lefty Anthony Fernandez (2-1, 6.83).

AUDIO RECAP  SMOKIES  8  Generals  6

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by | May 31, 2013 · 12:21 pm

Game Preview: May 31 @ Birmingham

Eric Jokisch will try to pitch the Smokies to a victory tonight in Birmingham. Photo Courtesy: Adam Kline

Eric Jokisch will try to pitch the Smokies to a victory tonight in Birmingham. Photo Courtesy: Adam Kline

The Tennessee Smokies (28-24) will look to ensure themselves of a series victory against the first place Birmingham Barons (33-20) tonight at Regions Field with first pitch taking place at 8:05 PM ET.

WHAT’S AT STAKE: After last night’s crucial victory, the Smokies with a win tonight can move within 3.5 games of first place in the Southern League’s North Division and assure themselves their fourth straight series victory.  With a win they can move five games over .500 for the first time in seven tries this season.

TONIGHT’S STARTERS:

Tennessee: Eric Jokisch (4-3, 3.44 ERA): Jokisch not only picked up his first win in the month of May in his last start, but his first win in his last six starts.  The Smokies lefty tossed 5.2 innings against the Huntsville Stars on May 26 for the win allowing two runs on seven hits.  Jokisch struggled in his only start against Birmingham back on May 10 at Smokies Park.  He took his third consecutive loss surrendering five runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings.

Birmingham: Erik Johnson (4-2, 2.15 ERA): Johnson has had a fantastic start to his 2013 season with the only blip on his radar coming against the Smokies on May 8.  In that start, Johnson allowed a season-high six runs on five hits in 4.2 innings and received a no decision.  Johnson hasn’t allowed over two earned runs in another start this season.  His last outing was arguably his best to date as he threw seven scoreless innings scattering four hits with seven strikeouts on May 25 at Jacksonville.

LAST TIME OUT: The Smokies got to starter Spencer Arroyo early and set the tone as they took the middle game of their five-game series against the Barons 5-1 at Regions Field.  Alberto Cabrera (5-2) kept his 2013 road mark perfect allowing one run in six innings with seven strikeouts for the victory.  Cabrera now leads the Southern League with 66 punch outs this season. Chad Noble went 2-for-4 with his first two RBIs in the Southern League while Ty Wright also went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs.

ALCANTARA’S STREAK ENDS: After a 0-for-3 performance last night, Arismendy Alcantara’s season-long ten-game hitting streak came to an end.  Alcantara had three, three-hit games during the hit streak and saw his batting average climb 22 points from .258 to .280.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Chad Noble: The Smokies backstop drove home his first two Southern League RBIs in last night’s 5-1 victory over Birmingham with both RBI hits coming with two outs.  Noble now has hits in his last three starts including two multi-hit games.

Zach Rosscup: Zach Rosscup’s season stats are looking sillier by the outing.  The lefty has now allowed just one run in his last nine outings and has seven multi-strikeout appearances during that time span.  His .139 batting average against is the lowest for any reliever in the Southern League and his seven holds is tied for the league lead.

Mike Blanke: The catcher’s for Birmingham are causing the Smokies fits in this series.  Miguel Gonzalez pounded out three hits on Wednesday and Mike Blanke now has two hits in the series including an RBI last night.  The Barons backstop has hits in four of his last five contests overall.

Jared Mitchell: After injuries slowed down the start of his 2013 season, Jared Mitchell is slowly starting to produce for the Barons.  He was the only Baron player with two hits in last night’s game and has his average up to .184, its highest since May 24.

KEY TO THE GAME: The Smokies were successful with runners in scoring position last night with five hits in ten at bats.  In their two wins in this series, the Smokies are 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position.  Against a pitcher like Johnson, the Smokies will have to hit in clutch spots like they did against Arroyo last night.

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 7:45 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. 

To stay current with all the latest news, follow Smokies on Radio on Twitter and like the Smokies on Radio Facebook page.

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by | May 28, 2013 · 5:06 pm

Familiarity helping Noble fit in quickly with Smokies

Chad Noble is confident in his knowledge about the Smokies staff. Photo Courtesy: Matthew Shalbrack/Tennessee Smokies

Chad Noble is confident in his knowledge about the Smokies staff. Photo Courtesy: Matthew Shalbrack/Tennessee Smokies

When minor league baseball players get promoted in an organization, getting to know new teammates can take some time.  For Smokies catcher Chad Noble, he was joining a team with plenty of familiar faces.

A 37th round selection by the Chicago Cubs in 2010, Noble played 19 games with the Smokies during the 2012 season.  That time spent in Kodak last year has made his recent call-up to Double-A a much easier transition.

“It’s made it easier,” said Noble. “To be honest, I’ve played with most of these guys throughout my career.  I know them all pretty well.  If anything, it was harder learning the staff down in Daytona because I didn’t know many of them but coming back up here it’s just like riding a bike, you get right back into it.”

One player that Noble knows better than anyone is Smokies starting pitcher Eric Jokisch.  Noble was Jokisch’s catcher during their college days at Northwestern University and they became great friends both inside and outside the lines.

“We’re really good friends. We always have been really good friends,” Noble said.  “We became close in college. We roomed together in the basement of the baseball house. We actually had steak night every Tuesday just me and him.”

With such a close relationship, Noble says that the chemistry they have as a battery tandem has made it easier for both of them.

“Obviously it helps to know him that well,” said Noble.  “I know what he wants to throw and when he wants to throw it so there’s really not much shaking off and we’re usually on the same page.”

Noble, 25, was promoted from High-A Daytona on May 25th after hitting .228 with one home run and six RBIs in 27 games.  Although he is not slated to be the #1 backstop with the Smokies, Noble still expects to see the field often.

“I was told when I came up here that I’d be getting a lot of playing time,” Noble said.  “Maybe not as much as Daytona catching five days a week, but pretty good playing time so I’m ready to do what they need me to do.”

Noble has revamped his swing and collected his first multi-hit game Monday night. Photo Courtesy: Matthew Shalbrack/Tennessee Smokies

Noble has revamped his swing and collected his first multi-hit game Monday night. Photo Courtesy: Matthew Shalbrack/Tennessee Smokies

What the Smokies and skipper Buddy Bailey needed Noble to do was enter the fray right away.  After an in-game injury to starting catcher Rafael Lopez on May 25th, Noble was thrust into action on the day he was called up.

“I was sorry to see Lopez leave the game, but I was ready,” Noble said. “You’re taught to be ready especially in the National League.  You always have to be ready for a double switch so I was ready to go.”

With Lopez listed as day-to-day, Noble started back-to-back games against the Huntsville Stars and went 2-for-3 with a run on May 27th.

In 2012, Noble struggled at the plate hitting a combined .170 in 68 games between Daytona and Tennessee including a .121 clip in his 19 games with the Smokies.  The Rockwell, Texas native hopes those days are behind him after making some adjustments in the offseason.

“I’ve changed a lot with my swing over the offseason and spring training so I feel a lot more comfortable,” said Noble.  “I was trying a new stance when I came up here last year and it didn’t really work out for me. I absolutely feel more comfortable now and I’m ready to go.”

With his recent playing time and familiarity with his teammates, Noble’s comfort level at the Double-A level has already surpassed what it was in 2012.

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