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SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Flint's Homer, Strong Pitching Power 4-3 Rocket City Win

June 15, 2023 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee - The Rocket City Trash Pandas took the lead with timely offense in the middle innings and then held on with a solid night on the mound in a 4-3 victory over the Chattanooga Lookouts on Thursday night at AT&T Field.

Leading off the game, the Trash Pandas looked to start with a bang. David Calabrese laced a double to right center and looked to extend it into a triple. However, a strong relay by Chattanooga right fielder Rece Hinds and second baseman Francisco Urbaez combined to nab Calabrese at third for the first out of the game.

In the bottom of the inning, Victor Mederos struck out the first batter he faced. While the second hitter, Ivan Johnson, was at the plate, rain intensified at AT&T Field, causing a delay as the tarp was brought onto the field. After a delay of 35 minutes, the game resumed and Mederos finished a scoreless inning.

Once play resumed, Mederos and Lookouts starter Joe Boyle started zeroes for the first four innings.

Rocket City finally broke through to open the scoring in the fifth. Jose Gomez got it started with a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball. Bryce Teodosio took a walk of his own to put two on with two outs. With two outs, Kyren Paris laced a double to the gap in left-center, plating both Gomez and Teodosio to give the Trash Pandas a 2-0 lead. That would be Boyle's final pitch of the night. He allowed two runs on four hits with 10 strikeouts over 4.2 innings.

The Lookouts came right back in the bottom of the inning. Rece Hinds connected on his fourth home run of the series, a solo blast to left, to start the frame. Jose Torres kept the inning alive with a two out double, moved to third on an infield single from Blake Dunn, and scored the tying run on a wild pitch by Mederos. The Rocket City righty ended the fifth with the tying run stranded on second by striking out Johnson to end the inning.

Mederos (W, 3-3) also allowed two run on four hits with a career-high 10 strikeouts over five innings to earn his third victory of the season.

The Trash Pandas immediately restored the lead in the sixth. Sonny DiChiara started the inning with a sharp single to center against Lookouts center Tommy Eveld (L, 2-2). Tucker Flint followed with a towering two-run home run high over the wall in right-center for his fifth home run of the season, putting the Trash Pandas back in front 4-2.

Robinson Pina was first out of the Rocket City bullpen in the sixth and was sensational. In the sixth, he worked around an error to pitch a scoreless frame, striking out Hinds to end the inning as the tying run. A double play ended the seventh without any harm, and Pina retired the side in order to end the eighth. Over three scoreless, hitless innings, Pina struck out one to hold the lead in his longest outing with the Trash Pandas this season.

Quincy McAfee trimmed the Lookouts' deficit in half with a leadoff home run to start the bottom of the ninth against Trash Pandas reliever Kenyon Yovan (S, 6). The closer rebounded to retire the next three hitters he faced to finish the one-run win and earn his sixth save of the season.

The victory is just the Trash Pandas' fourth of the 2023 season when scoring four runs or fewer. DiChiara reached base in all four of his plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with two singles, two walks, and a run scored. Flint and Paris each added two hits and two RBI to drive in al four Rocket City runs.

The Trash Pandas (29-31) continue their six-game series with the Lookouts (32-27) on Friday night. First pitch at AT&T Field is set for 6:15 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



Southern League Stories from June 15, 2023


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