Matt Scalzo
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Knoxville heads back on the road after their first home series since the first week of July against a Lookouts team that sits in last place of the Southern League South. After the All-Star Break, the Smokies offense has sputtered and it only mounted in the series loss against Pensacola last week, dropping four of six. Since July 17th, Knoxville is 5-10, the only team with a worse record is Chattanooga at 4-11.
This past week the Smokies welcomed the now-first-place Blue Wahoos to Covenant Health Park. Nobody in the Southern League has been better than Pensacola since the All-Star Break, notching a 10-5 record following the week on the Rocky Top. It was a series that was a pitching duel from the first strike to the last, with no one scoring more than five runs in a single game. The Blue Wahoos pitching staff held a 2.89 ERA in 53 innings the last week, surrendering 18 runs on 37 hits with 55 strikeouts, limiting the Smokies to a .198 batting average. While Knoxville’s stingy pitching staff kept their offense in the game, with a 3.27 ERA across the past six games, striking out 55, and holding Pensacola to a .226 batting average.
So far the Smokies and Lookouts have split the season series, 9-9, and are intertwined in how the 2026 campaign has fared. On April 30th, Chattanooga held a seven-game lead over Knoxville in the North Division. However after a Smokies surge, the last time they faced off was the final series in the first half to decide the North Division title. With the 3-1 victory in Game 5, Knoxville won the North Division First Half crown and punched its ticket to the postseason.
The Lookouts enter the week fresh off a stomping from the Birmingham Barons losing five of six, with their lone win coming on Saturday, 4-1. They are 2-8 in their last 10, and their 12-21 mark in the second half is the worst in the Southern League. After a strong first half, finishing 37-32, much of the top talent received the call-up to Triple-A, but Chattanooga still boasts six of the Reds top prospects, No. 1 Alfredo Duno, No. 12 Cam Collier, No. 13 Carlos Sanchez, No. 16 Leo Balcazar, No. 29 Jay Allen II and No. 30 Carter Graham.
There is no light at the end of the tunnel looking at the Lookouts stats in the second half, ranking towards the bottom of the Southern League statistically on offense and pitching. Chattanooga’s staff holds the highest ERA since the start of the second half with a 6.43 ERA in Double-A. Opponents are hitting .261, fourth-highest in the league, and have issued the second most walks (150) and have the highest opponent OPS at .860, as nobody has given up more home runs in the second half in Double-A as the Lookouts with 68.
Offensively Chattanooga has a team batting average of .237 in half number two, third-lowest in the Southern League, and one point better than Knoxville. Despite this, the Lookouts have the third-most RBI with 174 in the league, which leads the North Division, and is fifth with 46 home runs. The basepaths have been quiet in the second half, the Lookouts have the least amount of stolen bases at 21, and attempted stolen bases with 29, in all of Double-A.
First pitch of the series is set for 7:00 p.m. from Erlanger Park on Tuesday night in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Players to Watch
With the departure of Jefferson Rojas following the Cubs’ trade deadline acquisition of Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor, there is more pressure on the skidding Smokies’ bats. However, Miguel Useche has performed since his return to Double-A on July 17th. In that span, he is batting .289, second-best on the team, with a team-best .391 OBP. Against Pensacola, he was 5-for-17 (.294) with a pair of RBIs, his first since he came back to Knoxville. In addition to fellow backstop Ariel Armas, who led the team with a .308 average and .550 OBP with a homer and three RBIs this past week. The pair worked six walks apiece, while striking out a combined five times.
On the bump, Brody McCullough has found his groove since returning from a rehab stint. The 26-year-old last appeared at the Double-A level in 2024, making one appearance with the Tennessee Smokies. He proceeded to miss all of 2025 before two rehab starts with the A-Cubs and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Despite an 0-2 record, in his three starts with Knoxville the former 10th round pick has a 1.98 ERA with 12 strikeouts and is limiting opponents to a .091 batting average. McCullough tossed five innings of two-hit ball allowing one run with five strikeouts in his start this past week against Pensacola.
Headlining this prospect-laden lineup for Chattanooga is Cincinnati's top prospect Alfredo Duno, the 20-year-old was promoted at the end of June and is batting .288 with three home runs and eight runs batted in across 18 games. While the Reds No. 12 prospect, Cam Collier has been a consistent piece in 2026, was the Lookouts offensive player this past week, going 9-for-23 (.391) with a homer and tallied 10 of the team’s 26 RBIs against Birmingham.
Probable Pitching Matchups
8/4 Tuesday, 7:00 p.m. ET
RHP Connor Schultz vs. LHP Nate Peterson
8/5 Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. ET
RHP Dawson Netz vs. RHP Javi Rivera
8/6 Thursday, 7:00 p.m. ET
RHP Brody McCullough vs. RHP Ryan Garcia
8/7 Friday, 7:00 p.m. ET
RHP Luis Martinez-Gomez vs. RHP Nestor Lorant
8/8 Saturday, 6:30 p.m. ET
RHP Brooks Caple vs. RHP Beau Blanchard
8/9 Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
RHP Kevin Valdez vs LHP Nate Peterson
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