Game Info: Friday, August 1 vs. Birmingham: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field
SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Friday, August 1 vs. Birmingham: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

August 1, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Friday, August 1, 2025 - 6:35 PM - Toyota Field - Madison, Alabama

Matchup: Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (11-19, 35-63, 4 th SL North, 10.0 GB) vs. Birmingham Barons - CHW (21-9, 59-40, 1 st SL North, +6.0 GB)

Pitching Matchup: LHP Mitch Farris (1-6, 4.80) // RHP Connor McCullough (0-0, --)

Game: 99 of 137 - Second Half: 31 of 69 - Home Game: 49 of 69

TV/Radio: FanDuel Sports Network West, WAAY-TV "MORE" 31.6, Bally Sports Live, MiLB.TV, Talk Radio WZZN 97.7 HD-2

TODAY'S PROMOTIONS:

Friday, August 1 | First Pitch: 6:35 pm | Gates Open: 5:30 pm | Trustmark VIP Gates: 5:00 pm

Friday Night Fireworks: Fireworks will light up the night sky after the game, presented by SAIC!

Space Jersey Auction: The Trash Pandas will wear Space-themed jerseys, sponsored by Bridge Street Town Centre, inspired by the close relationship with the space industry, with proceeds benefiting Family Center Services, Inc. and the Trash Pandas Foundation.

Space Night with NASA: The Trash Pandas have teamed up with NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center for photo opportunities and activities, including rocket inflatables, NASA letters, and an RS-25 engine outside the Pepsi gates. Marshall Center Director Joseph Pelfrey will throw out the ceremonial first pitch and present the Trash Pandas with a special gift from the Marshall workforce.

THIS WEEK:

Saturday, August 2: Dinosaur Weekend kicks off with animatronic dinosaurs, themed activities, and Jurassic photo opportunities.

Sunday, August 3: Dinosaur Weekend continues with pregame autographs and postgame Kids Run the Bases.

PANDA NOTES:

FOR STARTERS: The Rocket City Trash Pandas continue a six-game homestand against the Birmingham Barons, Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. Rocket City is coming off a 2-4 road trip in Biloxi and looks to bounce back in the first matchup of the second half against Birmingham. This marks the third of four series between the division rivals this season, with the final meeting set for August 19-24 at Regions Field.

FOUR ARMS, TIMELY FIFTH-INNING RALLY POWER TRASH PANDAS PAST BARONS: On Negro League throwback night at Toyota Field, the Rocket City Trash Pandas snapped out of a scoring slump and shut down the red-hot Birmingham Barons with a 3-0 win. Four Rocket City pitchers combined for a five-hit shutout, led by strong outings from Nick Jones, Sean Poppen, Samy Natera Jr., and Brady Choban. A three-run fifth inning, sparked by a Mac McCroskey triple and a perfectly placed RBI bunt from N elson Rada, provided all the offense the Trash Pandas would need. The win ended a 22-inning scoreless streak for Rocket City and snapped Birmingham's 31-inning shutout stretch.

RADA REPORT: CF Nelson Rada, the youngest player in the Southern League at just 19 years and 11 months, has reached in 18 of his last 19 games, and ranks 3rd in the league and 5th in all of Double-A with 34 stolen bases this season-19 of which came in a blistering month of May. His 34 steals already rank 3rd in Trash Pandas single-season history, trailing only his own mark of 35 from last year and Kyren Parris' franchise record of 44 set in 2023. Rada ranks among the league leaders in stolen bases (3rd, 34), OBP (5th, .384), batting average (T-8th, .281), and hits (T-8th, 91). Rada has recorded a team-best 26 multi-hit games, including five three-hit games.

GUZ GONE WILD: DENZER BLAZED THROUGH JULY: The San Pedro de Macorís native was named the Trash Pandas Player of the Month, and was one of the hottest hitters in Double-A last month, leading the Southern League-and was 5th in all of Double-A-with a 1.020 OPS, 47 total bases, and 13 extra-base hits. He ranked 2nd in the league with a .333 batting average and is also was tops in slugging (.580) and 2nd in on-base percentage (.440). His nine doubles rank 2nd in the league, and his 27 hits were T-5th. On July 13 in Chattanooga, he recorded the second five-hit game in Trash Pandas history, going 5-for-5 with three doubles, a home run, and four RBIs.. He now ranks among the overall league leaders in several categories, including doubles (2nd, 23), extra-base hits (T-1st, 35), RBIs (6th, 53), total bases (T-4th, 139), home runs (T-7th, 11), and slugging (7th, .424), and OPS (T-10th, .754). Guzman leads the team with 16 multi-RBI games.

KLASSEN AND ALDEGHERI DEALT IN JULY: LHP Sam Aldegheri and RHP George Klassen were two of the Southern League's best starters in July. Aldegheri has led the league with a 0.78 ERA. In four starts, the left-hander went 3-0, allowing just four earned runs over 23.0 innings while recording 19 strikeouts and 10 walks. Klassen finished T-1st in the league with 26 strikeouts over four starts, finishing with a 3.32 ERA, striking out 26 and walking seven across 21.2 innings.

PITCHING STAFF PACKED A PUNCH: The Rocket City pitching staff racked up 213 strikeouts over 24 games in July-an average of 8.9 strikeouts per game-ranking 3rd in the Southern League and 9th across all of Double-A.

SAM BROWN TRADED TO NATS: On Wednesday, the Angels traded Trash Pandas first baseman Sam Brown to the Washington Nationals as part of a four-player deal. A 2023 12th-round pick out of Washington State, Brown hit .244 with 12 doubles, five homers, and 40 RBI in 92 games for Rocket City this season. He was named Southern League Player of the Week in mid-July and ranked fourth in batting average in May. In return, the Angels received LHP Andrew Chafin and RHP Luis García, while LHP Jake Eder also goes to Washington. José Quijada was designated for assignment.

"YOU CAN'T SCORE IF YOU DON'T GET ON BASE.": The Trash Pandas rode a wave of consistent on-base production throughout July. Nelson Rada has reached safely in 18 of his last 19 games, while Denzer Guzman has done so in 10 of his last 11, and David Mershon in 19 of his last 21. That trio helped fuel a strong 10-game stretch from July 11-25 in which Rocket City led all of Double-A with a .368 on-base percentage-part of a 14-game span that included a four-game winning streak from July 12-20.

REACHING THE 100 STRIKEOUT MARK: Tonight's starter, Mitch Farris became the seventh pitcher in Trash Pandas history to reach 100 strikeouts in a single season on July 25 with six over 6.0 innings at Biloxi. He currently ranks 3rd in the Southern League with 103 strikeouts across his first 18 outings (17 starts) in 2025. The league leader is Birmingham's Riley Gowens, who sits at 105. The single-season franchise record belongs to Caden Dana, who tallied 147 strikeouts in 2024.

ROCKET CITY LIVED UP TO ITS NAME IN JULY: In July, the Trash Pandas launched 19 home runs over 24 games, 3rd in the Southern League and ranking T-10th in all of Double-A baseball. That stretch included a five-homer outburst on July 3 against Knoxville at Toyota Field, tying a franchise record. The surge was fueled by Oscar Colás and Ben Gobbel, who combined for 10 of the 19 homers. Colás led the league in that span with six, while Gobbel was T-4th.

SOUND THE BLANKENHORN: OF Travis Blankenhorn has reached base in 29 of 36 games since returning from the Injured List on June 13. The veteran outfielder leads the league with eight home runs, and ranks 6th in the Southern League with an .823 OPS with six doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and 19 walks over that span.

COLÁS BROUGHT THE BOOM IN JULY: Rocket City outfielder Oscar Colás finished July 4th in all of Double-A with six home runs, plus he has three doubles, 15 RBIs, and 11 runs scored. On July 3 vs. Knoxville, Colás recorded his first career three-homer game, hitting solo home runs to lead off the third, fourth, and sixth innings. That marked only the second three-homer game in franchise history, the first being Orlando Martinez's performance on May 7, 2021, at Chattanooga.

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics



Southern League Stories from August 1, 2025


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