Game Info: Saturday, July 19 vs. Columbus (ATL): 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

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SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Saturday, July 19 vs. Columbus (ATL): 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

July 19, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Saturday, July 19, 2025 - 6:35 PM - Toyota Field - Madison, Alabama

Matchup: Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (7-12, 31-56, 4 th SL North, 5.0 GB) vs. Columbus Clingstones (10-9, 36-49, 2 nd SL South, 1.5 GB)

Pitching Matchup: LHP Mitch Farris (0-6, 5.04) // RHP Lucas Braun (4-2, 3.99)

Game: 88 of 137 - Second Half: 20 of 69 - Home Game: 44 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, July 19 | First Pitch: 6:35 pm | Gates Open: 5:30 pm | Trustmark VIP Gates: 5:00 pm

Saturday Night Fireworks: Enjoy Saturday Night Fireworks presented by SportsMED.

Margaritaville Night & Jersey Auction: There's a Bama Breeze in the Air... Wind those clocks to five o'clock, because it's Margaritaville Night. The Trash Pandas will wear Margaritaville-themed jerseys, which will be auctioned off, presented by First Stop, with proceeds benefiting the Center for the Developmentally Disabled in North Central Alabama. The auction will be live, both in-person and online, starting at noon and will conclude at the end of the seventh inning.

FOR STARTERS: The Rocket City Trash Pandas continue a weekend series against the Atlanta Braves' affiliate, Columbus Clingstones, with game two of the three-game set. Rocket City is coming off a 3-3 series split in Chattanooga (July 8-13), before the All-Star break, and kicks off the first three 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.

TRASH PANDAS STIFLE CLINGSTONES BEHIND KLASSEN'S GEM, WIN 4-1: George Klassen tossed 5.2 innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball, and Travis Blankenhorn homered in the first as the Rocket City topped the Columbus 4-1 Friday night at Toyota Field. Blankenhorn's solo shot opened the scoring, followed by an RBI triple from David Mershon in the second. Rocket City tacked on two more in the fifth, highlighted by Myles Emmerson and Nelson Rada manufacturing runs with hits and aggressive baserunning-Rada swiping both second and third, with a throwing error allowing him to score. Klassen retired 16 straight after a leadoff walk and struck out seven before a sixth-inning single ended his no-hit bid. The bullpen took over from there, with Camden Minacci escaping a bases-loaded jam, and Jose Quijada and Brady Choban closing it out. Rada and Emmerson each had two hits and a stolen base..

"IN ORDER TO BUY RUNS, YOU NEED TO GET ON BASE": Five Trash Pandas enter Saturday's game with on-base streaks of five games or more. David Mershon leads the way with an 11-game on-base streak. Also riding active streaks are Oscar Colás and Nelson Rada (8 games each), along with Travis Blankenhorn and Sam Brown (6 games each). Denzer Guzman has reached in 13 of 14 games, and Joe Redfield has been on in 11 of 12.

DENZER GUZMAN ESTÁ ARDIENDO: The San Pedro de Macoris native leads the league, and is 3rd in Double-A with a 1.142 OPS in July. He also leads the league and is T-1st in Double-A doubles with seven this month. On July 13 at Chattanooga he logged the second 5+-hit game in team history, finishing 5-for-5 with three doubles, a home run, and four RBI. 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 15 of his last 16 games, and 23 of 26 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 1.005 OPS, and batting .283 (26-for-92) with six doubles, eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and 15 walks. In the series at Montgomery, June 24-29, he 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.

ROCKET CITY POWER SURGE: Over the last 11 games since July 3rd, the Trash Pandas lead the Southern League and are 3rd in all of Double-A baseball with 13 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.

COLÁS CLEANING UP FOR PANDAS: Rocket City outfielder Oscar Colás has four home runs, two doubles, 10 RBIs, seven runs scored, a .289 batting average (11-for-38), and 1.015 OPS (2nd, SL) in his last 11 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.

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. 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.

RADA REPORT: CF Nelson Rada, the youngest player in the Southern League at just 19 years and 11 months, ranks second in the league and T-5th in all of Double-A with 31 stolen bases this season-19 of which came in a blistering month of May. His 31 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 (2nd, 31), OBP (5th, .388), batting average (7th, .282), and hits (T-8th, 80). Rada has recorded a team-best 26 multi-hit games, including four three-hit games.

ROCKET CITY BRINGS THE ATTENDANCE BOOM: Despite the addition of two brand-new ballparks in Columbus and Knoxville, the Trash Pandas continue to lead the Southern League in attendance, averaging 4,455 fans per game, inlcuding an average of 5,238 in July. Rocket City has topped the league in average attendance every season since 2021-a testament to the club's strong fan support and game-day experience.

BACK FROM THE FUTURES GAME: RHP George Klassen made a brief but electric appearance for the American League squad at the Futures Game last 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).

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 7th in the Southern League with a 3.10 ERA.

ANOTHER ONE LAUNCHED TO THE LEAGUE: On July 3, INF Chad Stevens made his MLB debut for the Angels, becoming the seventh this season, and 43rd all-time Trash Panda to make their MLB debut. In 17 games for Rocket City in 2024, he hit .316 with two homers, 10 RBIs, and two stolen bases over 17 games. He joins former Pandas Robinson Piña (debuted on June 20), Christian Moore (debuted on June 13), Alan Rangel (June 6), José Fermin (April 26), Edgar Quero (April 16), and Michael Darrell-Hicks (April 11), who all debuted this year.

NEW HALF, NEW TRASH PANDAS: In June, the Trash Pandas had 25 roster moves impact the roster, with 10 moves coming on June 17. Only 17 of the current 28-man roster were active on May 19. Newcomers joining the club in June include OF Oscar Colás (6/3), 1B Evan Edwards (6/3), INF David Mershon (6/17), INF Ben Gobbel (6/17), LHP A.J. Block (6/17), RHP Sam Ryan (6/17), while OF Travis Blankenhorn (IL, 6/7), C Jaxx Groshans (Dev. List, 6/24) and RHP George Klassen (IL, 6/1) have been reinstated from the IL, or Dev. List.

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Southern League Stories from July 19, 2025


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