By John Flannagan, Rusty Odom, Matt Rankin and Andrew Broschart
If the allergies somehow haven’t done it by now, the longer days, warmer weather and abundant greenery should have alerted you that spring has sprung in East Tennessee.
Now, the Scruffy City can count professional baseball as another harbinger of the season, as the Knoxville Smokies, the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, opened their home slate this past week with a six-game series against their in-state rivals, the Chattanooga Lookouts, feeder club of the Cincinnati Reds. Members of the BLANK staff attended each day of the homestand at Covenant Health Park, the team’s brand-new sanctuary adjacent to the Old City, and we are pleased to present our first series package recapping all of the action on the field and reflecting our impressions of everything else that happened off of it.
Check back in throughout the spring and summer as we provide continuing coverage of the Smokies first season back in Knoxville since the 1999 campaign wrapped up at Bill Meyer Stadium. – Matt Rankin
Opening Day • 4/15 • Smokies 5, Lookouts 4
The first night went according to plan in almost every way for the Smokies.
It started early with pregame festivities akin to that of a UT tailgating atmosphere.
Fans both old and new poured into Covenant Health Park from each gate and onto the concourse. People spilled out of the two substantial pro shops, greeting those on the way in with smiles and hellos; those entering admired the fresh gear the folks on the way out were sporting. The buzz was heavy, and people traversed in every direction, taking in all the sights, sounds and smells of the new ballpark.
As people settled into their seats, various commemorative first pitches were thrown by several people involved in the process of bringing professional baseball back to Knoxville for the first time in a quarter century.
As Karns High alum and rising country star Emily Ann Roberts performed the national anthem, the bald eagle that was released had a bit of trouble locating its handler at home plate at the song’s conclusion. Although it eventually found its way, the bird of prey briefly landed on a photographer in center field.
Fowl ball!
All was well in the end, though, as the eagle’s backup handler met it in right field for a safe landing, and the crowd cheered – with a bit of laughter mixed in.
A few minutes later, team owners Randy and Jenny Boyd were all smiles as their granddaughters yelled, “Play ball!” in unison, and suddenly it was time to get serious.
As the away team, the Chattanooga Lookouts became the first squad to officially bat in a game at Covenant Health Park. Leadoff man Edwin Arroyo swung at the first pitch and was quickly disposed of with a flyout to center.
One pitch, one out. So far, so good.
Left fielder Héctor Rodríguez swung through the second pitch of the game, and on the third, he laid down a surprising bunt that Smokies shortstop Ed Howard barehanded. Even after an impressive stretch from first baseman Pablo Aliendo, though, Rodríguez was called safe.
Starting pitcher Grant Kipp was dealing early for the Smokies, emotions seemingly in check. After a brilliant curveball for a strike, Kipp got the first strikeout at the new ballpark, and veteran catcher Casey Opitz threw out Rodríguez at second to end the inning. And just like that, the theatrics had transitioned into real-life baseball.
This was really happening, neighbors.
That fact was apparent when the Smokies got to the plate for the first time and Brett Bateman fouled one back just over the netting and into the club-level section, where it bobbled around in the expensive seats. He fouled another into the backstop net before scorching a shot back to the mound. The heat was too much for Lookouts pitcher Jared Lyons, who couldn’t corral it. By the time the Chattanooga shortstop got to it, Bateman stood on first base as Knoxville’s initial baserunner in the home opener.
The second Smokies batter walked, and just like that, the home team was cooking. Another walk loaded the bases, and Lookouts manager Jose Moreno headed to the mound for a little chat with Lyons.
BJ Murray Jr. looked like he had done the unthinkable by hitting a grand slam when his shot to left field came off the bat, but the ball died in the springtime air and landed softly into the left fielder’s glove. The blow did, however, plate the Smokies first run on a sacrifice fly, and the crowd went wild. The inning ended on another sharply hit ball to Arroyo, who was perfectly placed just behind second base.
After the first inning, the Smokies held the lead, 1-0.
The first triple of the Smokies home season came in the bottom of the second off of designated hitter Jordan Nwogu’s bat. However, he was thrown out after tagging up and attempting to go home on the next pitch. Howard struck out to end the inning.
The bottom of the third saw another milestone when Murray Jr. took one deep into the Modelo Watering Hole in right field on the first pitch of his second at-bat. The two-run shot put the Smokies up 3-0, but the story doesn’t stop there. The first home run hit at Covenant Health Park ended up in the hands of Mitchell Russell, who is one of two owners of Ebony & Ivory Brewing, a local craft brewery that created a beer, special to the stadium, that honors the legacy of Claude “Steel Arm” Dickey, a Negro league star who pitched for the Knoxville Giants and who also is depicted in a statue outside the park.
In the top of the fourth, Kipp took the mound with a 3-0 lead. Chattanooga’s Rodríguez led off with a double, and then Sal Stewart took to the batter’s box. The No. 3 prospect for the Cincinnati Reds leads the Southern League in most offensive categories and was hit by a pitch in the elbow during this at-bat, putting two on with nobody out. Designated hitter Ethan O’Donnell then made a very peculiar move for a cleanup hitter when he bunted over both runners. Outfielder Jay Allen II grounded out to short, but Rodríguez crossed the plate on the play to give the Lookouts their first run.
Kipp stayed a little wild and hit the next batter, which prompted a mound visit by Smokies manager Lance Rymel. He then settled down and got Chattanooga first baseman Ruben Ibarra – a dangerous hitter in his own right – to fly out to left, and Knoxville got out of the inning giving up only one run and still up 3-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth.
The bottom of the frame saw outfielder Parker Chavers face a new Lookouts pitcher in Simon Miller. The Chattanooga hurler caught Chavers looking and abruptly struck out Nwogu to follow. Opitz went down swinging, as well, and Miller had struck out the side.
The middle section of the game was more of the same. Kipp went five innings, allowing just three hits and one earned run. He added six strikeouts, walked one batter and hit two more. He was replaced in the top of the sixth by relief pitcher Ben Leeper, who got three quick outs, including two strikeouts.
One inning later, new pitcher Robert Kwiatkowski faced a bit of trouble after hitting Ibarra and allowing a double from right fielder Austin Hendrick. Ibarra couldn’t score, as the stop sign was thrown up by the third base coach in a surprising move. Catcher Michael Trautwein, who has an absolute cannon of an arm behind the plate and had gone 1-2 on the night, worked the count full before striking out. It was the most stressful inning of the game for the home team. Arroyo stepped to the plate next with two on and two out. He drew a walk to load the bases, which prompted another mound visit to give the pitchers in the bullpen time to warm up.
Rodríguez then hit a single to left field, which was bobbled and allowed Chattanooga to score two. That ended the outing for Kwiatkowski, who gave up a lot of traffic on the basepaths in his two-thirds of an inning. Frankie Scalzo Jr. came in to get the final out of the inning.
Going into the seventh inning stretch, we had a tie ball game, and the Smokies got it cooking again on the other side of it.
Nwogu singled to lead off the inning, and he stole second on the first pitch to Opitz without a throw. This was notable as it marked the team’s 13th stolen base on the young season. Opitz then took a 1-1 pitch over the Modelo sign in right for a go-ahead two-run homer, and again the crowd erupted with joy at the veteran catcher’s first dinger of the season.
Although the Lookouts added another run in the top of the eighth, Knoxville held serve, and the six-game series opened with a 5-4 win for the Smokies.
As the first (of many) fireworks were shot into the night sky, the jubilation of an Opening Day victory was sealed with a quick hug and kiss between the Boyds. It must have been quite a moment for the couple, who together – along with the help of so many others – have worked tirelessly to bring baseball back to Knoxville.
Mission accomplished. – Rusty Odom and John Flannagan
Game 2 • 4/16 • Lookouts 12, Smokies 1
As the dust settled from all the hoopla and pageantry of the home opener at Covenant Health Park, the second game of the series versus the talented Chattanooga Lookouts saw the Cincinnati farm team score early and often en route to a blowout win over the Smokies in front of a smaller crowd of 3,400 on a cool, breezy night.
In the top of the first inning, Chattanooga third baseman Sal Stewart singled home shortstop Dominic Pitelli. Left fielder Ethan O’Donnell, a top-30 prospect in the Reds organization, then smacked a 2-1 offering to right for a triple and another run batted in. Two batters later, right fielder Austin Hendrick followed that up with a two-run shot over the right field wall, and the Lookouts jumped ahead early 4-0.
In the bottom of the frame, Smokies third baseman BJ Murray Jr. got the home team on the board with an RBI single that scored outfielder Brett Bateman, making the score 4-1.
In the second, things fared no better for Smokies starter Nick Hull, as the Lookouts added another run on an RBI double by Héctor Rodríguez, the No. 11 prospect in the Reds system. The next inning, second baseman Austin Callahan added a two-run homer, which made it 7-1 in favor of the visitors.
From there, the game was well in hand. Chattanooga’s pitching thwarted the Smokies while its offensive onslaught continued. Hendrick hit his second homer of the night in the fifth, this time a three-run shot to right center off Hull’s replacement Tyler Santana, which put the Lookouts up 10-1. The away team would add two more runs in the seventh, eventually putting away the Smokies 12-1.
Shortstop Edwin Arroyo did not play in the second game of the series for Chattanooga, but Cincinnati’s other top prospects – Stewart, Rodríguez and O’Donnell, who form the heart of the batting order most days – each contributed an RBI.
As for the Smokies, they left eight runners on the basepaths and went 1-6 with runners in scoring position. The home team was able to muster only three hits on the night, as well, and it was unable to figure out Lookouts starting pitcher Hunter Parks, who tossed four solid innings, giving up one run on two hits while fanning five.
Hull, on the other hand, had a tough night for the Smokies, as he gave up seven earned runs in four innings of work, which included nine hits (two home runs), two strikeouts and no walks. – JF
Game 3 • 4/17 • Lookouts 5, Smokies 4
A crowd of more than 4,200, a slight uptick from the previous night’s attendance, took in the third matchup of a six-game set between the Lookouts and Smokies on Thursday. On another gorgeous, mild evening for baseball in downtown Knoxville, the action didn’t heat up until the bottom of the second, when Smokies catcher Pablo Aliendo connected off of Chattanooga starting pitcher José Acuña for a one-out solo shot to left, his second home run of the year.
A single, double and a walk loaded the bags and precipitated a mound visit before back-to-back strikeouts put the onus on third baseman Pedro Ramirez to get something more out of the inning. He obliged by smacking a sharply hit double down the right field line that cleared the bases. Acuña caught first baseman BJ Murray Jr. looking at a called third strike to retire the side.
The home team was cruising until the fourth inning, when towering Smokies hurler Will Sanders ran into trouble. Six straight singles combined with errors by outfielders Parker Chavers and Jordan Nwogu resulted in four runs to tie the game. A nicely turned 4-6-3 double play stemmed the tide, but another single off righty reliever Wil Jensen, who had come in to replace Sanders, plated the go-ahead run. Chattanooga shortstop Edwin Arroyo, the top-rated Reds prospect at this level, struck out swinging to end the frame.
The bottom of the fifth started out promisingly when Ramirez smoked a hot shot down the third base line, but he was called out trying to extend the hit thanks to a precision throw from the left fielder to the second baseman that beat the runner by half a second. A flyout and a strikeout ended the inning.
The Smokies threatened again in the sixth. With runners on the corners and two outs, Chavers sprinted for second during the pitcher’s stretch. He was called safe on the bang-bang play, which prompted Lookouts manager Jose Moreno to spring from the dugout to contest the call of a stolen base. The heated conversation elicited the loudest crowd reaction of the night, but Knoxville couldn’t capitalize on the fans’ energy. Nwogu went down swinging to leave two stranded in scoring position.
The game went on to ebb to an unsatisfying conclusion for the home side. The Smokies couldn’t manage another baserunner and eventually fell 5-4, the same score as in the first game of the set, albeit with an inverse result. It dropped the team to 6-5 on the young campaign and saw Chattanooga improve to 5-6 with three games remaining in the homestand.
Notes:
Until the disastrous fourth, Sanders was dominant, scattering soft groundouts, flyouts and lineouts while also fanning two.
Despite being greedy on the basepaths, Ramirez went 2-4 with 3 runs batted in and raised his season average to .333.
Designated hitter Ethan Hearn was another offensive bright spot, going 2-3 and crossing the plate once.
Arroyo went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts.
As the lone media member on the press-box balcony for most of the night, I had my choice of seats. Somehow, though, I wound up opting for the one spot that put me between team reps photographing/filming the gentleman singing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and mascot Knox pantomiming for the crowd during the seventh inning stretch. I must report, too, that I experienced an awkward period of extended eye contact with the latter shortly thereafter while he danced the Macarena. – MR
Game 4 • 4/18 • Lookouts 3, Smokies 1
As the weather warmed to near 80 degrees for the first home weekend game for the Smokies, attendance was predictably up from the previous two nights, as 5,700 fans packed into Covenant Health Park for jersey-giveaway night. Fans were treated to a good old-fashioned pitchers’ duel, as Lookouts starter Jose Franco and Smokies hurler Chris Kachmar dueled over the first several innings.
Kachmar got into some early trouble, as a leadoff walk to shortstop Edwin Arroyo cost Knoxville a run. Arroyo promptly moved over to third on a well-timed hit-and-run play also involving center fielder Ethan O’Donnell, who sent a ball just out of the reach of Smokies second baseman Hayden Cantrelle. Kachmar got third baseman Sal Stewart to roll into a double play that scored Arroyo before striking out first baseman Ruben Ibarra to end the inning.
In the second inning, Kachmar settled down, striking out the side, the last of which marked his fourth consecutive punchout. The Smokies got on the board in the bottom of the second by way of catcher Pablo Aliendo’s solo shot off of a 1-2 pitch that sailed over the right center field wall. Knoxville would then load the bases before stranding all three runners. So far this week, the timely hits just have not been there for the Smokies, as they have been leaving too many men on base and are not hitting with runners on in general.
Moving to the top of the third, Lookouts catcher Michael Trautwein provided a little dose of excitement when he swung at a pitch, missed and lost the grip of his bat, which sailed high into the netting on the first base side and lodged in place for the remainder of the game. Trautwein would eventually fan in the at-bat, giving Kachmar his sixth strikeout in three innings. The bottom frame saw a leadoff triple from third baseman Pedro Ramirez, who ultimately was left stranded at third.
In what was the theme of this game, the Smokies drew three walks in the fourth yet struck out three times, as well, again stranding three more runners.
Kachmar tossed five solid innings, striking out seven while walking two and giving up only two hits. The leadoff walk in the first was his only other blemish on the night. Franco was almost as equally impressive for the Lookouts, tossing four innings and fanning four but giving up four bases on balls, which, unfortunately for the Smokies, did not cost him.
In the sixth inning, the Smokies brought on Frank “The Stache” Scalzo Jr., who walked Arroyo and then served up an RBI double to Ibarra that scored a run, putting the Lookouts up 2-1. Jay Allen II followed up with an RBI single, the right fielder scoring Ibarra and giving the Lookouts a 3-1 lead, which would be enough to get them the win. Leadoff walks by Smokies pitchers proved costly and made all the difference in the game. Luckily for Knoxville, though, the Lookouts ran themselves out of additional scoring opportunities in the sixth, which prevented further damage.
Chattanooga’s bullpen was dominant, as it finished the final five innings of the game giving up just a single hit while striking out seven. Again, the Smokies left too many men on base and did not produce a single hit with a runner in scoring position, going 0-8 on the evening. The Smokies lost their third straight to Chattanooga, falling to 6-6 on this young season. – JF
Game 5 • 4/19 • Smokies 5, Lookouts 4
With the Bush’s Best Picnic Pavilion the only section of the stadium that was looking noticeably sparse, a solid and vocal crowd of more than 5,200 packed into Covenant Health Park on a hot and hazy Saturday evening for what may have been the most entertaining game of this series between Chattanooga and Knoxville.
The Lookouts opened the scoring in the top of the second inning when a sacrifice fly by right fielder Austin Hendrick drove in Dominic Pitelli, who jogged in from third after reaching via a single and stealing consecutive bases. Smokies starting pitcher Sam Armstrong’s windup motion was compact and even more abbreviated in the stretch, but the speedy shortstop easily beat out both of Ethan Hearn’s throws from behind the plate en route to crossing home.
Chattanooga added to its lead in the fourth on designated hitter Jack Rogers’ two-out, two-base knock, which scored third baseman Austin Callahan. Brief mound visits from Hearn bookended a walk by Armstrong that loaded the bags with leadoff hitter Ethan O’Donnell due back up. The righty got out of the jam, though, by freezing the center fielder with a wicked breaking ball for a called third strike.
Southpaw reliever Joel Valdez replaced Lookouts starter T.J. Sikkema (also a lefty) before Knoxville’s turn to hit in the fifth. Two quick strikeouts to the bottom two batters in the order preceded a single to right by the leadoff man, second baseman Corey Joyce. Another single, this one by third baseman Pedro Ramirez, moved him 90 feet to third, and first baseman BJ Murray Jr. connected on yet another one-bagger to plate Joyce and halve the deficit. Valdez responded to a mound visit by tossing a wild pitch for a passed ball that advanced both runners to scoring position, but Pablo Aliendo, in the DH slot on Saturday, made good contact while flying out to deep center to end the threat.
Pitelli drew a walk to start the sixth and promptly stole second for his third pilfered bag of the evening. After fanning Hendrick, Ben Leeper, who had replaced Armstrong the previous inning, then made way for Brad Depperman, the third right-handed Smokies hurler to see action on the night. The matchup favored the lefty-hitting Rogers, however, who drove Pitelli home to make it 3-1.
The home half of the sixth began with Hearn rolling a soft grounder that deflected off Valdez, hustling down the line and sliding into first to beat the throw. After lanky Dutch righty Arij Fransen replaced Valdez, center fielder Jaylen Palmer roped a liner to left center, and right fielder Jordan Nwogu was hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Left fielder Parker Chavers chopped a grounder to the onrushing Callahan, who fired the ball to catcher Mat Nelson to force Hearn out at home.
If the play at the plate was close, the next one was even tighter. Shortstop Ed Howard pushed a grounder to Pitelli, whose throw to first was judged to have beaten the runner. Although it resulted in a run, the controversial out hindered the possibility of more runs and provoked a chorus of boos to rain down from the stands. The disgruntled home supporters continued to voice their frustration with the officiating crew even after Joyce grounded out to end the inning.
From my vantage point, it was difficult to ascertain exactly what it was about the 3-6-3 double play in the top of the seventh that so enraged Chattanooga manager Jose Moreno. Presumably, though, he was convinced Murray Jr. had fielded the initial grounder from left fielder Héctor Rodríguez in foul territory. Second baseman Sal Stewart, who was the runner on first, hesitated and leaned back toward the bag before breaking for second when no call came, which provided ample time for Murray to deliver the ball to Howard and collect the return throw. With his discontent with the umpires simmering since at least the third game of the series, the incensed Lookouts skipper bounded out of the dugout and confronted the crew at first base, the open hostility quickly earning him an ejection that was roundly cheered by the home fans.
Enlivened by Moreno being tossed and a fun seventh inning stretch, the crowd erupted when Murray Jr. drilled a solo home run over the fence in right center to tie the game at 3-3 when play resumed. The back-and-forth affair sloped in Chattanooga’s direction in the top of the ninth when Rodríguez singled home O’Donnell, but there was a palpable buzz in the stands entering the final frame that suggested the fans had an inkling that the Smokies fortunes were about to change.
A single by Howard, a walk to Joyce and a Ramirez single loaded the bases for the red-hot Murray Jr., who naturally delivered in the clutch. Swinging at righty reliever Simon Miller’s first pitch of the at-bat, he smacked a line drive to center, driving in two runs to give Knoxville a dramatic walk-off win and trigger wild celebrations around the park. The victory puts the Smokies a game over .500 and sets up a compelling afternoon tilt on Sunday that either will see Chattanooga take the series or the teams share the spoils.
Notes:
The stadium’s acoustics really amplify the crack of the bat, making even the slightest contact sound like the ball has a chance of clearing the wall.
Lots of line drives straight to gloves, near hits, nice defensive plays, diving attempts, pitcher changes, steals, throwing errors, wild pitches, etc. throughout this one. Very eventful, and even if not everything contributed to the overall result, it made for a great spectacle.
Three of the games thus far have ended with a scoreline of 5-4, with Knoxville winning two of them.
Murray Jr. went 3-5 with four RBI; Ramirez was 3-4 with one BB.
Stewart and Rogers both went 2-4 for Chattanooga; the latter had 2 RBI.
Lookouts star infielder Edwin Arroyo was rested on the night.
Aside from the roar at the game’s conclusion, the crowd was loudest in the middle of the fifth when it collectively sang along to “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Sweet Caroline” in succession as the songs blared from the stadium’s speakers during Valdez’ warmup.
My bad luck around mascots continued when Smokie Joe stomped out of the press box and onto the balcony during the seventh inning stretch, flattened my bottle of water with one oversized foot and sent my bag of belongings flying – almost over the railing and into the crowd below – with the other. I know peripheral vision must be hard to come by in those clunky getups, but those few seconds were jarringly destructive. – MR
Game 6 • 4/20 • Smokies 3, Lookouts 0
Editor’s note: While the core BLANK crew spent the holiday away from the ballpark, a featured correspondent and BLANK graphic designer filled in and filed the following report about the final game of the series between Chattanooga and Knoxville.
The Smokies gave the hometown crowd an Easter treat on Sunday afternoon with a four-hit shutout to close out the homestand. Third baseman BJ Murray Jr., fresh from a standout performance the previous night, hit a two-run homer in the eighth inning (which added to a score on a sacrifice fly by catcher Casey Opitz in the fifth) to put the game out of reach of the Lookouts and tie the series at three games apiece. Grant Kipp, who started the first game of the series with an impressive three-hit outing, followed that up by hitting yet another batter in this one but allowing one fewer hit than he did in Knoxville’s home opener. To put a bow on the series, kids in attendance were given the opportunity to meet the Easter Bunny and take part in an egg hunt that featured 20,000 eggs that covered the outfield after the game. – Andrew Broschart
