The Knoxville Smokies capped the regular-season home slate at Covenant Health Park with a 6-5 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Sept. 6, winning the series four games to two.
Knoxville went 37-31 in home games during the regular season, including three straight wins over the Lookouts to close the final homestand.
"To win the last home series, (it took) a lot of grit, a lot of fight with these guys," Smokies manager Lance Rymel told Knox News. "Hopefully, they'll keep it rolling."
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For the second time in three days, the Smokies opened scoring with a first-inning blast. First baseman Miguel Useche ushered a two-run homer to left-center field for an early Knoxville lead. Right fielder Alex Ramirez doubled the lead with a two-run shot of his own in the second inning.

#series

After dropping the opener, the Chattanooga Lookouts evened the Knoxville Smokies' final home series of the regular season with a 5-1 win Sept. 2 at Covenant Health Park.
With the Smokies clinging to a one-run lead in the seventh inning, Lookouts center fielder Austin Hendrick blasted a three-run home run off reliever Marino Santy. It gave the Lookouts their first lead of the series and ruined five scoreless innings from Knoxville starter Brody McCullough.
The Smokies' offense offered little support, managing just four hits and a lone first-inning run.
"It's just a good job by their pitching staff of holding us at bay," Smokies manager Lance Rymel told Knox News. "Just didn't get much going offensively tonight."
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#smokies #lookouts #knoxville #Health

With a pink "9-5" painted behind the batter's box at Covenant Health Park, the Knoxville Smokies honored Dolly Parton and took a 12-3 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts to open the final home series of the regular season Sept. 1.
The tribute to Parton, who died Aug. 25 at age 80, included a pregame moment of silence for the "Queen of Country Music."
"We won another one for Dolly, for sure," Smokies manager Lance Rymel told Knox News.
Smokies pitcher Kevin Valdez retired the first 11 batters of the game until issuing a four-pitch walk in the fourth inning. Knoxville left fielder Carter Trice responded in the bottom of the frame, depositing a three-run blast over the left field fence to put the Smokies on the board first.
The Lookouts cut the deficit to a single run in the sixth inning, but a Karson Simas triple to clear the bases gave Knoxville a 7-2 lead in the bottom half of the inning. Right fielder Alex Ramirez provided the second bases-clearing hit of the night as part of a five-run eighth inning.

#smokies #knoxville #inning #dolly

Right-hander Luis Rujano moves from the High-A South Bend Cubs to the Double-A Knoxville Smokies
Right-hander Jackson Kirkpatrick joins the South Bend Cubs from the ACL Cubs.
South Bend right-hander Jose Romero was released.
The Iowa Cubs evaded the Omaha Storm Chasers (Royals), 7-3.
It was a terrific start for Kohl Franklin who allowed no runs on two hits over 4.2 innings. Franklin struck out seven and walked just one.

#Cubs #hander #franklin #high

Chicago Cubs starter Edward Cabrera, on a rehab **** ignment with the Smokies in Knoxville, held Rocket City hitless through five innings before the visiting Trash Pandas rallied for a 6-1 win Aug. 11.
The Trash Pandas scored six unanswered runs off Smokies relievers after Cabrera left the game at Covenant Health Park.
Cabrera had seven strikeouts and finished his start retiring 13 straight batters. The only baserunner to reach base came from a two-out walk in the first inning.
"That's kind of how you draw it up," Smokies manager Lance Rymel told Knox News. "Really, really electric stuff."
Knoxville's only run came from an RBI double by Ariel Armas in the second inning.

#cabrera #really #inning #Cubs

The Knoxville Smokies needed just one good swing, but a bases-loaded groundout in the bottom of the ninth inning gave the visiting Penscola Blue Wahoos their third win of the series July 31 at Covenant Health Park.
After losing 5-4, Knoxville must win Saturday and Sunday to split the six-game series.
Right fielder Andy Garriola was called out for batter's interference as center fielder Alex Ramirez was caught stealing, giving the Smokies their first and second outs of the ninth inning. Knoxville loaded the bases, but first baseman Edgar Alvarez grounded out to end the game.
The Smokie went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, leaving 12 runners on base.
"We were probably one hit away probably three or four at-bats tonight," Smokies manager Lance Rymel told Knox News. "And the timely hitting just didn't get it done."

#smokies #ninth #first

Covenant Health Park will return to form as a baseball diamond, with the Knoxville Smokies back in town for their July 28-Aug. 2 series against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos after two weeks away.
The playoff-bound Smokies − still first place in the Southern League North − went 3-6 on their road trip following the MLB All-Star break.
The Smokies have been missing catcher Owen Ayers, who was promoted after Knoxville's last homestand to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs alongside the Southern League Pitcher of the Month for June, Jace Beck. Ayers is now the Cubs' No. 3 prospect, according to the MLB Pipeline's updated top prospects list.
Right-handed pitcher Luis Gomez-Martinez highlighted the Smokies' 3-3 split with the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Activated from the 60-day injured list July 17, Martinez-Gomez struck out a career-best 12 batters in the Smokies' win July 24. He didn't walk a batter in six innings and gave up just one earned run.
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#league #pitcher

Last year, the United Soccer League began looking at Pensacola to set up a new team for its USL League One, but one of the biggest questions beyond who would invest in a team is where a team would play. Blue Wahoos Stadium may be the only viable answer.
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves told the News Journal that the city will conduct a feasibility study into converting Blue Wahoos Stadium to host a soccer team along with the Minor League Baseball team.
“This is a feasibility study in every form of the word,” Reeves said. “Is this idea even possible? And if it turns out it is, then we can take another step.”
Several USL soccer teams share their stadiums with baseball teams, including Blue Wahoos' rival, the Knoxville Smokies, which shares the new Covenant Health Park with One Knoxville SC, a USL League One team.
USL, which has multiple levels, has been expanding in recent years as part of a plan to create a Division I league in 2028 that would compete for the same level of players as Major League Soccer. As part of that, it has been looking to start more teams at the Division III level, which is USL League One.

#team

The Los Angeles Angels announced Wednesday that they are expanding access to minor league baseball broadcasts, with Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV) set to air 10 games featuring the organization's Double-A and Triple-A affiliates during the remainder of the 2026 season.
According to an Angels press release, fans with a cable or satellite subscription that includes ABTV will be able to watch the broadcasts, while affiliate games will also continue to be available through Angels TV.
Among the scheduled broadcasts, one matchup stands above the rest. On Aug. 9, the Triple-A Salt Lake Bees will host the Oklahoma City Comets, the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. The game could feature several of the top prospects from both organizations, giving fans a chance to watch some of the next generation of talent in Southern California's longtime baseball rivalry.
The Angels' televised slate includes four Salt Lake Bees games and six Rocket City Trash Pandas contests. Fans can expect to follow some of the organization's top prospects throughout the second half of the season, including No. 2 prospect Nelson Rada, No. 4 prospect George Klassen, No. 11 prospect Chris Cortez and No. 14 prospect Raudi Rodriguez.
ABTV's affiliate coverage begins July 23 when the Rocket City Trash Pandas host the Knoxville Smokies, the Chicago Cubs' Double-A affiliate. The broadcast schedule concludes Sept. 13, when the Salt Lake Bees host the Round Rock Express, the Texas Rangers' Triple-A affiliate.

#Angels

Blake Burke was preparing to board a plane when he saw Andrew Fischer had been drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burke was the organization’s first-round pick the year prior and was heading home for the 2025 All-Star break when he saw the news. He knew exactly what the Brewers were getting in Fischer, who was coming off an All-America season at Tennessee. Burke, after all, was synonymous with the program’s rise to the top of college baseball as a centerpiece of the Vols’ 2024 national championship team.
While the two didn’t overlap at Tennessee – Fischer only played one season with the Vols – they knew each other from when Burke came back to train in the offseason. Burke reached out to offer his congratulations.
“He big-leagued me the first time I called him,” Burke said. “Didn’t get a text or a call back for a few days, but that’s all right. Getting him in the organization was pretty exciting because I didn’t get to play with him.”
The two are now not only playing together, but this week are doing so back in Knoxville with the Biloxi Shuckers, the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, for a six-game series against the Smokies at Covenant Health Park.

Blake Burke was preparing to board a plane when he saw Andrew Fischer had been drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers.
Burke was the organization’s first-round pick the year prior and was heading home for the 2025 All-Star break when he saw the news. He knew exactly what the Brewers were getting in Fischer, who was coming off an All-America season at Tennessee. Burke, after all, was synonymous with the program’s rise to the top of college baseball as a centerpiece of the Vols’ 2024 national championship team.
While the two didn’t overlap at Tennessee – Fischer only played one season with the Vols – they knew each other from when Burke came back to train in the offseason. Burke reached out to offer his congratulations.
“He big-leagued me the first time I called him,” Burke said. “Didn’t get a text or a call back for a few days, but that’s all right. Getting him in the organization was pretty exciting because I didn’t get to play with him.”
The two are now not only playing together, but this week are doing so back in Knoxville with the Biloxi Shuckers, the Double-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers, for a six-game series against the Smokies at Covenant Health Park.

The Cubs made a trade, sending first baseman Cameron Sisneros to the Astros for right-handed pitcher Jayden Murray. Murray, 29, has been very good for Triple-A Sugar Land, going 0-1 with six saves and a 1.17 ERA over 15.1 innings. In that time, he’s struck out 19 and walked six. Murray’s major league time with the Astros has not been nearly as good, posting a 7.43 ERA over 13.1 innings. The Astros designated Murray for **** ignment earlier this week.
Sisneros was a 14th-round pick out of East Tennessee State in 2024. This year he was hitting .265/.419/.422 with six home runs over 49 games this year stretched between High-A South Bend and Double-A Knoxville.
To make room for Murray on the 40-man roster, the Cubs designated right-hander Luis Peralta for **** ignment.
The Smokies join South Bend in the playoffs!
The Iowa Cubs lost to Indianapolis (Reds), 7-4.

Shortstop Ezequiel Pena was promoted to Low-A Myrtle Beach from the ACL Cubs
Rained out. They’ll play a doubleheader on Saturday.
The Knoxville Smokies defenestrated the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 6-2.
Connor Schultz pitched four innings and gave up just one run on three hits. The one run came on a solo home run in the fourth. Schultz struck out seven and walked just one.
Evan Taylor threw the next two innings, didn’t allow either a run or a hit and got the win. He struck out three and walked one.

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