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SL1 Knoxville Smokies

Castillo Homer Powers Smokies to Win

August 20, 2018 - Southern League (SL1)
Knoxville Smokies News Release


SEVIERVILLE, TN - The Tennessee Smokies defeated the Jackson Generals 4-1 on Monday night at Smokies Stadium. It was the Smokies second straight win over the Generals and their third win in-a-row.

Thomas Hatch got the start for the Smokies and shut down the Generals for much of his outing. Hatch pitched six innings, allowing one run on five hits and striking out six. Hatch had one bump in his start when he gave up a solo home run in the sixth inning that gave Jackson the lead.

With Tennessee down 1-0, the bottom of the order came through in the bottom of the sixth. Yasiel Balaguert led off the inning with a single, and the number seven hitter, Erick Castillo, hit a two-out home run that gave the Smokies a 2-1 lead over the Generals. It was Castillo's second home run of the season and his 14th and 15th RBI's.

In the bottom of the seventh, Tennessee added to its lead. Jeffrey Baez walked to start the inning and stole second base, his 16th stolen base of the year. A wild pitch moved Baez to third and he scored on a sacrifice fly from Charcer Burks. Trent Giambrone walked with two outs to keep the inning alive and stole second base. Balaguert was the next batter and he doubled to left to score Giambrone and make it 4-1.

Jake Stinnett relieved Hatch in the seventh inning and got the first two outs of the inning before handing the ball over to Wyatt Short who got the final out of the inning and pitched a scoreless eighth. Zach Hedges closed the game out in the ninth. The Smokies bullpen has now gone 29 straight innings without allowing a run. The last run allowed by the bullpen was on August 10 against the Biloxi Shuckers.

The Smokies and Generals will be back in action at Smokies Stadium on Tuesday at 7 p.m. for game three of the series. Michael Rucker is the projected starter for Tennessee as he looks to become the first Smokies pitcher to get double digit wins. Rucker is 3-3 at home this season with a 3.20 ERA. Jackson will counter with Taylor Widener who is 5-6 on the season.

Written by Rob Harvey, Broadcast Assistant for the Tennessee Smokies

The full schedule for this season and information regarding single-game tickets, season tickets, and mini plans can be found online at smokiesbaseball.com, or by calling the Smokies Ticket Office at 865-286-2300.

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