SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Big Sixth Powers Trash Pandas Past Barons, 8-2

Published on May 20, 2022 under Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - The Rocket City Trash Pandas got back to their winning ways on Friday night at Regions Field behind a brilliant night on the mound from a trio of pitchers and a six-run sixth inning for an 8-2 win over the Birmingham Barons.

The win, coupled with Tennessee's loss to Chattanooga, moves the Trash Pandas to one game out of first place in the Southern League's North Division.

Making his third Double-A start, Los Angeles Angels number one prospect Sam Bachman got into an early jam as the Barons loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on two soft singles and a walk. With two out, Bachman ended the inning by inducing a ground out from Yoelqui Cespedes to keep the game scoreless.

Rocket City's offense got to work in the top of the third. Kevin Maitan reached on a dropped third strike. Anthony Mulrine followed with a walk to put two on with nobody out. Later in the frame, Braxton Martinez laced a single to left, allowing Maitan to score as Mulrine was caught in a rundown between second and third.

Bachman did his best to hold the lead in the third, getting a double playground out from Raudy Read to erase a one-out single from Lenyn Sosa.

The Barons threatened to tie the game in the fourth as they put two on again with two outs. Jagger Rusconi looked to have a base hit through the right side. But Rocket City second baseman Jose Gomez made a diving stop and fired to first in time to save a run and end the inning for Bachman.

That would be the end of Bachman's night. Over four scoreless innings, he allowed four hits with two walks and three strikeouts. In his first three Double-A starts, Bachman has thrown 11 scoreless innings, striking out six while allowing five hits and four walks.

Rocket City broke the game open over the next two innings. Livan Soto added an RBI single to double the lead to 2-0 in the fifth. In the sixth, Gomez and Ryan Aguilar started the inning with back-to-back doubles for a third Rocket City run. Maitan added another with his second hit of the night, a sharp RBI single to center. An error allowed Bryce Teodosio to come home and Soto drove in a run for the second straight with a sacrifice fly. Orlando Martinez capped the inning's scoring with a two-run single to left, giving Rocket City a commanding 8-0 lead.

In relief for Rocket City, Luke Murphy (W, 4-1) held the lead with 1.2 scoreless frames. Cristopher Molina entered in the sixth and allowed a solo home run to Sosa in the seventh and another solo shot by Cespedes in the eighth as Birmingham got on the board. Molina then just ended the game with a scoreless ninth to finish Rocket City's sixth win in seven games at Regions Field to start the 2022 season.

Murphy earned his fourth win of the season to tie for the Southern League lead. Molina pitched the final 3.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on three hits with four strikeouts to earn his first save of the year.

At the plate, Maitan led the way in a 3-for-5 performance with three runs scored and an RBI. Eight of the nine Rocket City starters recorded at least one hit in the victory. Aaron Whitefield went 1-for-3 from the leadoff spot to extend his franchise-record hitting streak to 18 games.

The Trash Pandas (21-16) and Barons (14-23) continue their series on Saturday night. First pitch at Regions Field is set for 6:30 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio.

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics

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Southern League Stories from May 20, 2022


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