CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The Knoxville Smokies closed the gap on the division- leading and in-state foe Chattanooga Lookouts to half a game, taking four of the six games, including the last three. It was the first series win for the Smokies since they won five of six against the Birmingham Barons from May 4th to the 10th. This bunches three teams up at the top of the North Division standings, separating Chattanooga, Knoxville and Rocket City all by one game. Following a blowout loss in the first game of the week, the next five games were decided by two runs or less. The Smokies are 15-9 in games decided by that margin.

A pair of late home runs help Smokies take game one of doubleheader

Following Friday’s rainout, the two sides kicked off a Saturday doubleheader. A go-ahead two-run homer from Edgar Alvarez proved to be the difference in the sixth, with Jefferson Rojas adding insurance on his solo shot in the seventh. The Knoxville offense totaled 10 hits to even the series.

Striking early in the contest has been a growing theme between the two Volunteer State rivals and it was no different in the first of two on Saturday. After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Carlos Jorge singled, stole second and came into score on a single from Leo Balcazar for Chattanooga to break the ice, 1-0, against Jake Knapp.

The Smokies would respond in the second, as Ethan Hearn launched his third home run of the season out to right center, 1-1. His first home run and RBI since May 14th against Columbus.

An inning later in the second, Knoxville posted a crooked number with three more runs. A leadoff single from Hayden Cantrelle set up the first double of the season from Alex Madera, extending his hitting streak to four games and putting the Smokies in front. Owen Ayers joined the party with a two-run long ball two batters later, 4-1. It was Ayers’ homer in the last three games and seventh overall.

However, in the fourth, Chattanooga sparked a twoout rally to level the contest. Shane Sasaki reached on a double, before the two-out magic began, a walk and an infield single loaded the bases, as Balcazar worked a walk. Then, Jay Allen II shot a single through the left side to score a pair, 4-4.

Knoxville went back to the bullpen with Dawson Netz in place of Evan Taylor, who struggled after relieving Knapp. The two pitchers combined for 3.2 innings, allowing four runs on seven hits with three walks and three strikeouts.

Following a scoreless fifth, the Smokies broke the deadlock in the sixth. A Carter Trice walk led to a pitching change for the Lookouts, as they replaced starter Johnathan Harmon after 5.1 innings of work with Brody Jessee. After Trice stole second, Edgar Alvarez changed the game with his fifth home run of the year, a two-run blast to put Knoxville in front, 6-4. This contest was Alvarez’s first appearance of the week after coming off the restricted list.

Chattanooga drew one run closer in the bottom of the sixth on the fifth long ball of the season from Carlos Jorge. The Smokies meanwhile had another an- swer in the chamber in the seventh, as the top prospect in the Cubs system went deep for the sixth time in 2026 and second time this week, pushing the advantage back to a pair, 7-5.

Netz recorded the final three outs with an unconventional 1-2-3 frame in the seventh thanks to a double play, shortened to fix both of Saturday’s games. He picked up the win tossing 3.1 innings of two-hit ball, with the one run allowed and a pair of strikeouts.

Knoxville uses seven unanswered runs surge to sweep Saturday’s twin bill

Following the victory in the first half of the doubleheader, the Smokies used seven straight runs from the second to the sixth to take the lead in the series and win both contests on Saturday, 7-5. Knoxville picked up RBIs from five different players, tallying double digit hits for the second straight game and third time this week.

Just as they did in game one on Saturday, the Lookouts took an early lead to strike first. A Leo Balcazar walk and Jay Allen II single put two in scoring position for an RBI groundout from Cam Collier, 1-0. It extended the streak to three straight games with runs in the first inning for Chattanooga.

The Smokies wasted no time answering the bell and knotting the score up as Carter leadoff the second with a solo blast for the second time in the series. It was his eighth home run of the season, all of them coming in the month of May. They added another run to take the lead after singles from Cameron Sisneros and Hayden Cantrelle put runners on the corners for a sacrifice fly from Ed Howard, 2-1.

Both sides were scoreless across the next two innings, with Tyler Schlaffer’s start for Knoxville coming to an end after four innings. Schlaffer fanned six for the second straight contest, while walking three and allowing one run on two hits. Chattanooga’s Javi Rivera responded well to the two spot in the second, but as he stretched into the fifth the Smokies bats came back to life.

Rivera surrendered back-to-back extra base hits to start the fifth, headlined by the lead off home run from Alex Ramírez, his fourth wall scraper of the year and first since May 14th. Then a double by Andy Garriola chased Rivera for Bryce Hubbart, who was rocky out of the pen. Owen Ayers worked a walk and then Jefferson Rojas loaded the bases via catcher’s interference. The pressure xstarted to seep in as Trice lifted a sacrifice fly to score Garriola, then a wild pitch allowed Ayers to come across and the Smokies’ third sacrifice fly, this time from Sisneros, ballooned the lead to five, 6-1.

Knoxville tacked on its final run in the sixth with two outs against Easton Sikorski. Ramírez got the ball rolling with his second extra-base hit, a double to left, and then a base hit from Garriola brought him in, 7-1. It concluded an impressive Saturday from Garriola as he went 5-for-8 across the twin bill.

The Lookouts battled back against Jackson Kirkpatrick, striking for four in the seventh. Back-to-back walks put the first two on as Allen II bounced a ball up the middle to score Carlos Jorge. Then a single from Ruben Ibarra drove in two more, forcing Lance Rymel to dip back into the bullpen after a third of an inning, going to Marino Santy for the final two outs. One more run scored on a groundout from Pablo Aliendo, 7-5, but the run was charged against Kirkpatrick, as Santy posted his second save of the series.

It’s the second time this year that the Smokies have swept a doubleheader, they did so on May 8th against Birmingham Barons with 8-1 and 3-2 victories.

Rojas and late-game magic propel Smokies to series win on the road

The Smokies entered Sunday with a chance to win its first series since early May when they took five of six against the Birmingham Barons. They did exactly that platting four runs in the final four innings to overcome a slow start. Jefferson Rojas built upon his hot run of form, driving in two runs, including the game-winning run in the 4-2 victory. The Cubs No. 1 prospect has hits in 13 of his last 15, and bookended the trip to The Scenic City with multi-hit games.

It was another quick start for the Lookouts as they scored in the first inning for the fourth consecutive game. Carlos Jorge produced a lead off base hit and moved to second after a balk from Knoxville starter Brooks Caple. A single to left from Jay Allen II delivered the game’s first run, 1-0.

After the first inning Caple settled down and departed after five innings, fanning seven, while surrendering one run on four hits. His start was massive to match opposing pitcher Jose Acuna in the series finale, who was lethal against the Smokies. Despite allowing three base runners through the first two innings, Acuna found his groove facing the minimum from the third to the fifth. The right-hander did not allow his first hit until the sixth inning, when Knoxville drew even.

Alex Ramírez kickstarted the inning with a base hit to break-up the no-hitter. Following a wild pitch, Ramírez stood on second as Rojas delivered the game-tying hit with a single to center field, 1-1.

Acuna bounced back in the seventh with a 1-2-3 frame as his day came to a close. The 23-year-old tallied his second double digit strikeout performance of the month with 11, giving up two hits. The two starters, Caple and Acuna, combined for 18 strikeouts to three walks.

Behind a pair of no-hit innings in relief from Jace Beck, the Smokies claimed momentum and the lead with a trio of runs in the eighth. It started with Ramírez working a one-out walk, and courtesy of another wild pitch it was déjà vu for Rojas stepping up to the plate. Following an Andy Garriola free pass, Rojas once again came through on a base hit and drove in Ramírez to give Knoxville the lead on his first multi-RBI game since May 5th. More runs followed after a Carter Trice base knock scored Garriola and an RBI single through the right side for Edgar Alvarez pushed the cushion to three, 4-1.

The Lookouts cut the deficit down to two in the bottom of the eighth on a solo home run from Cade Hunter, his third of the season, 4-2. They applied more pressure against Vince Reilly in the ninth, getting the tying run on base working backto- back walks. Reilly slammed the door, striking out Hunter for his fourth save of the season and third straight win for the Smokies.

Wrap Up

Following a split and a loss in their last two series, the Smokies answered back taking the last three contests against the North Division leaders. It’s their first series win since Birmingham during the week of May 11th. It more importantly draws them closer to the top spot in the division. Jefferson Rojas stayed hot .350 across the week driving in four with a pair of home runs, reaching base at a .435 clip, with Alex Ramírez pacing the team with eight hits.

Knoxville now sits half a game back of the top spot in the North as they return home for a six-game set against the lastplace Birmingham Barons. So far this season, the Smokies are 6-3 against the Barons and won the final four of their series at the start of May.