Game Info: Wednesday, April 9 vs. Knoxville

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SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Wednesday, April 9 vs. Knoxville

April 9, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Wednesday, April 9, 2025 - 11:05 AM - Toyota Field - Madison, AL

Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (2-1) vs. Knoxville Smokies - CHC (1-2)

Pitching Matchup: RHP Joel Hurtado (0-0, --) vs. RHP Grant Kipp (0-0, --)

TV/Radio: WAAY-TV 31.6 - Bally Live - MiLB.tv - ESPN WZZN 97.7-HD-2

GAME: 4 of 138 - Home Game: 4 of 69

Today's Promotions:

Education Day: Students across the region will be on hand for the first of three Education Day matinee games at Toyota Field. If your school is Interested in attending one of the final two Education Days on Wednesday, April 23, or Wednesday, May 7, contact Ricky Fernandez at rfernandez@trashpandasbaseball.com.

TODAY'S GAME: The Rocket City Trash Pandas continue their opening nine-game homestand on Wednesday morning with game two of a six-game series against the Chicago Cubs affiliate Knoxville Smokies at Toyota Field.

LAST NIGHT: 3B Cole Fontenelle hit for the first cycle in Rocket City Trash Pandas history in Tuesday night's 4-3 win over the Knoxville Smokies at Toyota Field. The 23-year-old entered his at-bat in the bottom of the eighth needing a double for the cycle, and on a 1-2 pitch, he drove an AJ Puckett pitch into the left-center gap to finish the feat. Rocket City erased a 2-0 first-inning deficit and received home runs from Fontenelle and Myles Emmerson. Sam Brown was 2-for-3 with an RBI, run, and walk, and Nelson Rada finished 2-for-4 in the ten-hit night for Rocket City. Jared Southard, Camden Minacci, José Fermin (W, 1-0), and Brady Choban (S, 1) combined for 5.0 shutout innings to finish the game, striking out six and walking none.

FONTENELLE'S CYCLE: Not only was Fontenelle's cycle the first in Trash Pandas history, but it was also the first in the Southern League since former Smokies star Moises Ballesteros did it on June 15, 2024, at Biloxi. The last LA Angels' minor league player to hit for the cycle was José Rojas, who hit for the cycle on May 11, 2018, while playing for the Double-A Mobile BayBears. Rojas completed his cycle with a grand slam in the eighth inning, leading the BayBears to a 14-3 win over the Mississippi Braves at Trustmark Park.

TOYOTA FIELD MAGIC: Denzer Guzman's walk-off blast on Saturday night was his second as a Trash Panda, following a walk-off grand slam against Montgomery in May last year. The Trash Pandas had six walk-offs last season, including the previous walk-off home run on July 15, when Christian Moore hit an opposite-field home run. It was the 18th walk-off win in Toyota Field history.

BULLPEN BRILLIANT: The Trash Pandas bullpen has a 2.04 ERA (17.2 IP/4 ER) through the first three games, with 21 strikeouts to six walks. Samy Natera Jr. and José Fermin have led the way with victories out of the bullpen.

FROM KODAK TO DOWNTOWN KNOXVILLE: Formerly the Tennessee Smokies, the club has rebranded to the Knoxville Smokies after a move to downtown Knoxville where they will call the new $114 million facility, Covenant Health Park, home. The Smokies played at Smokies Stadium in Kodak from 2000 to 2024. The Trash Pandas were 29-31 in Kodak. Knoxville hosted professional baseball as long ago as 1897 with the Knoxville Indians and had their first minor league team in 1910. The team has gone through many nicknames, including the Reds, Appalachians, Pioneers, Smokies, Sox, and Blue Jays.

BRIEFLY LAUNCHED TO THE LEAGUE: Former Trash Pandas pitcher Micahel Darrell-Hicks had his contract selected by the Angels on Sunday but was optioned back to Triple-A Salt Lake on Monday. Darrell-Hicks was 6-4 with a 1.73 ERA over 30 relief outings in 2024 for the Trash Pandas, earning eight saves in ten chances and 46 strikeouts to eight walks over 41.2 innings. Overall, Darrell-Hicks had a 6-7 record in Rocket City over 33 games and three starts, striking out 58 and walking 13 over 53.2 innings in 2023 and 2024. The Angels signed the Parkersburg, WV native to a minor league contract on July 26, 2022.

IT WENT MYLES AND MYLES: Catcher Myles Emmerson has been on fire to begin the 2025 season. The 26-year-old from Spring Valley, CA is 4-for-7 with a double, two homers, and three RBI. He became the first Southern Lague player with two home runs after his blast on Tuesday night vs. Knoxville. He had two of Rocket City's three hits on Friday night, including the first, a double in the third inning, and a solo home run in the fifth. The home run provided Rocket City with their lone run, Emmerson's second as a Trash Panda and fifth in his career.

BACK FOR MOORE: Christian Moore returns to Rocket City, ranking as the top prospect in the Angels' organization and the No. 66 overall player in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list. Selected eighth overall in the 2024 MLB Draft, Moore starred as a second baseman for the Tennessee Volunteers, where he emerged as one of college baseball's brightest stars, leading them to the 2024 College World Series Title. He played in only two games with Single-A Inland Empire in the California League last season before being promoted to Rocket City. Moore hit .347 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in his first 25 minor league games.

PROSPECTS WITH A HALO: The Opening Day roster features five of the Angels' top 10 prospects and 11 of the top 25, included in the top 10 are Moore (1), RHP George Klassen (3), LHP Sam Aldegheri (5), OF Nelson Rada (6), and INF Denzer Guzman (9). The other members of the roster included in the Top-30 include LHP Samy Natera Jr. (16), RHP Walbert Ureña (17), RHP Joel Hurtado (19), RHP Camden Minacci (20), INF Cole Fontenelle (23), and RHP Ryan Costeiu (24).

SCHATZLEY RETURNS FOR FOURTH SEASON: The 2022 Southern League Manager of the Year, Andy Schatzley, returns for his fourth season with the Trash Pandas. Under his tutelage, he has helped guide 23 Trash Pandas to the Major Leagues since '22. He came to Rocket City after serving as the manager with High-A Tri-City in 2021. He earned the Preston Gomez Award as the Angels' Minor League Manager of the Year that year. The Arkansas native guided the team to the top of the Southern League standings in 2022, winning first and second-half North Division titles for the best record in the league at 81-57. The 2022 Trash Pandas marked the first time the Angels' Double-A affiliate reached the postseason since the Arkansas Travelers accomplished the feat in 2015.

SEC! SEC! SEC!: The 2025 Opening Day roster features seven players from SEC schools, starting with Hoover native and Auburn star Sonny DiChiara. The others include Ryan Costeiu (Arkansas), Houston Harding (Mississippi State), Luke Murphy (Vanderbilt), Jared Southard (Texas), Evan White (Kentucky), and Christian Moore (Tennessee), who have spent time in the Southeastern Conference.

THE YOUNG GUNS, GUZMAN, AND RADA: OF Nelson Rada had a fantastic spring with the Angels, batting .333 over 11 games, a .370 on-base percentage, and six RBI. The Venezuela native spent the 2024 season in Rocket City, hitting .234 with 13 extra-base hits in 123 games. The 19-year-old was seventh in the Southern League with 35 stolen bases as the youngest player in the league. INF Denzer Guzman was promoted to Rocket City on May 7, collecting six home runs, nine doubles, and 30 RBI in 83 games. The 21-year-old from the Dominican Republic had his season highlighted with a walk-off grand slam on May 25, leading the Trash Pandas to a win over Montgomery.

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