Game Info: Saturday, August 2 vs. Birmingham: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field
SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Saturday, August 2 vs. Birmingham: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

Published on August 2, 2025 under Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Saturday, August 2, 2025 - 6:35 PM - Toyota Field - Madison, Alabama

Matchup: Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (11-20, 35-64, 4 th SL North, 11.0 GB) vs. Birmingham Barons - CHW (22-9, 60-40, 1 st SL North, +6.0 GB)

Pitching Matchup: RHP Walbert Urena (4-6, 5.08) // RHP Riley Gowens (7-4, 3.94)

Game: 100 of 137 - Second Half: 32 of 69 - Home Game: 50 of 69

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

TODAY'S PROMOTIONS:

Saturday, August 2 | First Pitch: 6:35 pm | Gates Open: 5:30 pm | Trustmark VIP Gates: 5:00 pm

Dinosaur Weekend (Day 1): In partnership with the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, get ready for a Jurassic-sized adventure at Toyota Field! The prehistoric fun will allow fans to enjoy life-sized animatronic and static dinos, dino-themed activities for kids, and interactive photo ops that will transport you back in time. Fans can also look forward to special giveaways, themed ballpark fare, and appearances from some ROAR-some dinosaur guests, and even a hatching baby Dino Egg.

THIS WEEKEND:.

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.

BARONS GROUND TRASH PANDAS ON SPACE NIGHT: The Rocket City Trash Pandas were shut out for the third time in four games, falling 6-0 to the Birmingham Barons on Friday night at Toyota Field. Birmingham jumped ahead early and never looked back, scoring four runs in the first two innings and cruising behind a dominant pitching effort. Mitch Farris struck out seven but allowed a career-high 11 hits and five earned runs over six innings in the loss. Offensively, Rocket City managed just three hits, while Birmingham's Sam Antonacci led the way with four RBIs. The Barons' pitching staff has now held opponents scoreless in 43 of their last 44 innings.

COSMIC SHAKEUP: TRASH PANDAS HIT BY 16 ROSTER MOVES ON SATURDAY: The Angels announced 16 roster moves that impacted the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Headlining the changes were the promotions of RHP Brady Choban, INF Denzer Guzma n, and OF Nelson Rada to Triple-A Salt Lake. On the injury front, OF Joe Redfield, RHP Jordan Holloway, and INF Evan White were placed on the 60-day Injured List. The Angels gave an unconditional release to RHP Sean Poppen. Joining the Trash Pandas from Triple-A Salt Lake is OF Korey Holland, while seven players were added from High-A Tri-City: INF Matt Coutney, RHP Max Gieg, INF Ryan Nicholson, RHP Roman Phansalkar, LHP Dylan Phillips, RHP Jake Smith, and INF Arol Vera.

RADA REPORT: CF Nelson Rada, moves to Triple-A after being the youngest player in the Southern League the past two seasons, He ranked 3rd in the league and 5th in all of Double-A with 34 stolen bases at the time of his promotion on August 2-19 of which came in a blistering month of May. His 34 steals ranked 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 ranked among the league leaders at the time of his promotion in stolen bases (3rd, 34), OBP (5th, .380), batting average (12th, .277), and hits (T-9th, 91). Rada had a team-best 26 multi-hit games, including five three-hit games.

GUZMAN 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 ranked among the league leaders at the time of his promotion in several categories, including doubles (2nd, 23), extra-base hits (T-1st, 35), RBIs (6th, 53), total bases (T-6th, 139), home runs (T-7th, 11), and slugging (7th, .415), and OPS (12th, .749). Guzman led 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 IN JULY: 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.

FARRIS WHEELING AND DEALING STRIKEOUTS: LHP Mitch Farris became the seventh pitcher in Trash Pandas history to record 100 strikeouts in a single season, reaching the milestone in his 17th start on July 25 at Biloxi. He currently ranks 2nd in the Southern League with 110 strikeouts across 19 appearances (18 starts) in 2025, trailing only Montgomery's Brody Hopkins, who leads with 112. Farris is currently tied for 4th in team history for single-season strikeouts, matching Chase Silseth's 110 from 2022. He trails Brett Kerry (118, 2022), Coleman Crow (128, 2022), and franchise record-holder Caden Dana, who struck out 147 batters 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 30 of 37 games since returning from the Injured List on June 13. The veteran outfielder is tied for the league with eight home runs, and ranks 6th in the Southern League with an .819 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

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Southern League Stories from August 2, 2025


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