It was all about the pitching on Monday night in Tennessee as the Smokies brought home the W in a low scoring 2-1 matchup. It took the former 3rd rounder Thomas Hatch and a trio of high-upside bullpen arms to lock it down. The offense was supplied by one swing, a home run off the bat of the red-hot Jeffrey Baez (no relation to the other red-hot, Javy Baez). 

Thomas Hatch got the nod in this one and he was every bit as advertised for the first 4 innings. He did not allow a run to cross the plate in those 4 innings, while allowing only 3 hits, two of which were an infield hit and a broken bat blooper that dropped in front of Charcer Burks in left field.

His fifth inning of work was not quite as impressive, as Hatch seemed to lose sight of the zone. In the inning he walked 3 and hit one more Jacksonville batter to force a run across the plate.

All in all, it was still a great night for Hatch. He ended with a final line of 5 innings pitched, 1 earned run, 3 hits, 5 strikeouts, and 5 walks (plus the hit batter) on 98 pitches.

But Hatch was not the only stud on the bump on Monday night. He was relieved by 2 very strong innings of work by Craig Brooks where he struck out 4 Jumbo Shrimp batters while not allowing a hit. Jake Stinnett followed with one inning pitched, giving up a double which proved to be the only extra-base hit of the night for Jacksonville. He threw up zeros besides that gap shot.

In to close it out was Dakota Mekkes who just continues to absolutely dominate every time his foot touches the rubber. He struck out 2 batters on his way to the save, using a devastating curve to put them away. This kid is something special and I don’t think he needs much more time before he gets a call to Iowa. He is progressing through the system at rocket speed, and it is entirely because opponents can’t touch him.

The Smokies continue their series with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp with a Taco Tuesday afternoon matchup as Oscar De La Cruz takes the hill.