Game Info: Friday, July 18 vs. Columbus: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field
SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Friday, July 18 vs. Columbus: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

July 18, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Friday, July 18, 2025 - 6:35 PM - Toyota Field - Madison, Alabama

Matchup: Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (6-12, 30-56) vs. Columbus Clingstones (10-8, 36-48)

Pitching Matchup: RHP George Klassen (2-7, 6.49) // RHP Landon Harper (2-3, 2.64)

Game: 87 of 137 - Second Half: 19 of 69 - Home Game: 43 of 69

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

TODAY'S ROSTER MOVES:

INF David Mershon was reinstated from the Temporary Inactive List

TODAY'S PROMOTIONS:

Friday, July 18 | 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 AVID Hotels!

Tennessee Titans Night: Meet T-Rac, the Titans Cheerleaders, and newly announced majorette Chloe Holladay (from Huntsville), the first majorette in Titans history! The first 500 fans through the gates will receive a free mini football, and all fans will have the opportunity to enter a drawing to win an autographed JC Latham jersey.

FOR STARTERS: The Rocket City Trash Pandas return to action tonight at Toyota Field, opening a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves' affiliate, the Columbus Clingstones. Rocket City is coming off a 3-3 series split in Chattanooga (July 8-13) and kicks off the first of 15 second-half matchups with Columbus. The Pandas will head to Synovus Park for the first time from August 5-10, then host the Clingstones again for a six-game set at Toyota Field, August 16-21.

GUZMAN MADE HISTORY AS PANDAS ROLLED INTO BREAK WITH SERIES SPLIT: Denzer Guzman made history Sunday with the first five-hit game in Trash Pandas history, powering Rocket City to an 8-2 win over Chattanooga and a series split heading into the All-Star break. Guzman went 5-for-5 with three doubles, a homer, and four RBIs, falling just a triple shy of the cycle. Rocket City's offense stayed hot with 12 hits, capping a 37-hit stretch over the final three games. Sam Aldegheri earned the win in his return, and the bullpen held Chattanooga scoreless over the final four frames. Guzman extended his on-base streak to 13 games, while Joe Redfield (11) and Sam Brown (three straight multi-hit games) stayed hot at the plate.

"IN ORDER TO BUY RUNS, YOU NEED TO GET ON BASE": Seven Trash Pandas enter Friday's series opener with on-base streaks of five games or more. Denzer Guzman leads the way with a 13-game streak dating back to June 29, followed by Joe Redfield (11 games) and David Mershon (10 games). Also riding active streaks are Oscar Colás and Nelson Rada (7 games each), along with Travis Blankenhorn and Sam Brown (5 games each).

BACK FROM THE FUTURES GAME: RHP George Klassen made a brief but electric appearance for the American League squad at the Futures Game on Saturday, throwing 11 pitches in the bottom of the third inning. He fired two 99 ‚ mph heaters-striking out Chicago's Owen Caissie and inducing a weak groundout from Colorado's Charlie Condon. Klassen allowed one infield single and issued one walk, but managed to escape further damage. The No. 3 prospect for the Angels is the only representative for the Angels and becomes the sixth Rocket City player to earn a Futures Game selection, joining RHP Caden Dana ('24), OF Kyren Paris (' 23), C Edgar Quero (' 23), RHP Ky Bush (' 22), and LHP Reid Detmers ('21).

CLOSE CALLS: Ten of Rocket City's last 15 games have been decided by two runs or fewer, including seven one-run contests. The Trash Pandas are 3-7 in those close games during that stretch. On the season, 51% of their games have been decided by two runs or less, including 26 one-run games (11-15) and 17 two-run decisions (9-8).

COLÁS CLEANING UP FOR PANDAS: Rocket City outfielder Oscar Colás has four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBIs, seven runs scored, a .314 batting average (11-for-35), and a 1.082 OPS in his last nine games. He recorded his first three-homer game on July 3 vs. Knoxville, leading off the third, fourth and sixth innings with solo shots. It was the second in club history, with the first coming in game four of the franchise by Orlando Martinez on May 7, 2021 at Chattanooga.

ROCKET CITY POWER SURGE: Over the last 10 games since July 3rd, the Trash Pandas lead the Southern League, and are T-3rd in all of Double-A baseball with 12 home runs, including five on July 3 vs. Knoxville at Toyota Field, which tied a club record. Oscar Colás and Ben Gobbel have combined for seven of the 12, leading the league individually with four and three, respectively.

GUZMAN AND BROWN GO BACK-TO-BACK FOR LEAGUE POW: INF Denzer Guzman was named Southern League Player of the Week for July 1-6 after leading the league with a 1.316 OPS and seven extra-base hits, along with six RBIs and six walks during a six-game series against Knoxville. One week later, INF Sam Brown earned the honor for July 8-13, posting a league-best .444 batting average (8-for-18) over five games in Rocket City's road series at Chattanooga. Brown added four extra-base hits, six RBIs, five walks, four runs scored, and a 1.398 OPS-also the highest in the league that week. Guzman and Brown became the 13th and 14th players in Trash Pandas history to win the award, and for the second consecutive season, Rocket City produced back-to-back weekly honorees, following Tucker Flint (Aug. 12-18) and Christian Moore (Aug. 5-11) in 2023.

DENZER GUZMAN ESTÁ ARDIENDO: The San Pedro de Macoris native extended his team-best on-base streak, which began on June 29, to 13 games on July 13 at Chattanooga with the second 5+-hit game in team history, finishing 5-for-5 with three doubles, a home run, and four RBI. Guzman leads all of Double-A, and ranks 12th in MiLB with a 1.241 OPS in July. He also leads Double-A and is T-2nd in doubles with seven this month. He now ranks among league leaders in several offensive categories, including doubles (2nd, 21), extra-base hits (2nd, 32), RBIs (T-5th, 46), total bases (T-6th, 122), and home runs (T-8th, 10).

SOUND THE BLANKENHORN: OF Travis Blankenhorn has reached base in 14 of his last 15 games, and 22 of 25 since returning from the Injured List on June 13; the veteran outfielder is tops in the league, and is 4th in Double-A with a .977 OPS, and batting .281 (25-for-89) with six doubles, seven home runs, 19 RBIs, and 14 walks. In the series at Montgomery, June 24-29, finished 7-for-25 with a double, five home runs, nine RBIs, and 1.360 OPS ... Blankenhorn became the fifth Panda to homer in three straight games, June 22-25.

RADA REPORT: CF Nelson Rada, the youngest player in the Southern League at 19 years and 11 months, is T-2nd in the Southern League, and is 6th in Double-A with 29 stolen bases this season, including 19 in May., but dropped to just four in June. He hit his first home run of 2025 on June 28 at Montgomery, his second as a Trash Panda and first since June 7 of last season against Pensacola at Toyota Field. Rada ranks among the league leaders in stolen bases (T-2nd, 29), OBP (6th, .384), batting average (10th, .278), and hits (T-9th, 78). Rada has recorded a team-best 24 multi-hit games, including four three-hit games.

ROCKET CITY BRINGS THE ATTENDANCE BOOM: The Trash Pandas led the Southern League in attendance over the Independence Day stretch, drawing a league-best 7,157 fans to Toyota Field on July 3. The next closest was Chattanooga, which welcomed 6,311 fans on July 4. Overall on the season, Rocket City leads the league by averaging 4,402 fans per game. The Trash Pandas have led the league in attendance each season since 2021.

FARRIS WHEELIN' AND DEALIN STRIKEOUTS: LHP Mitch Farris is T-4th in the Southern League in strikeouts with 85 over his first 15 outings in 2025.

BEN JAMMIN': INF Ben Gobbel has 21 hits over his last 18 games while batting .304 with five doubles, three home runs, and 13 RBIs. He homered in back-to-back games-one on July 6 in Knoxville and two more in Tuesday's game at Chattanooga, marking his second multi-homer game of his career with the first being against the Lookouts as well, on June 6, 2024 at Toyota Field. Since joining the Trash Pandas on June 17, the Georgia native is hitting .280 overall, a strong jump from his .228 average over 68 games with Rocket City last season.

KEEPIN' IT QUALITY: Starter Joel Hurtado, has not made a start since June 20, but still ranks 3rd in the Southern League with seven quality starts, and ranks 5th in the Southern League with a 3.10 ERA.

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics



Southern League Stories from July 18, 2025


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