Game Info: Wednesday, July 30 vs. Birmingham: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field
SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Game Info: Wednesday, July 30 vs. Birmingham: 6:35 PM: Toyota Field

July 30, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


Wednesday, July 30, 2025 - 6:35 PM - Toyota Field - Madison, Alabama

Matchup: Rocket City Trash Pandas - LAA (10-18, 34-62, 4 th SL North, 10.0 GB) vs. Birmingham Barons - CHW (20-8, 57-39, 1 st SL North, +5.5 GB)

Pitching Matchup: RHP George Klassen (3-8, 5.74) // RHP Tanner McDougal (3-1, 1.93)

Game: 97 of 137 - Second Half: 29 of 69 - Home Game: 47 of 69

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

TODAY'S PROMOTIONS:

Wednesday, July 30 | First Pitch: 6:35 pm | Gates Open: 5:30 pm | Trustmark VIP Gates: 5:00 pm

Tito's Dog Days: Bring your pup and cheer on the Trash Pandas together! Fans with dogs are welcome to enjoy the game in Sections 1 and 2 or out on the grass berm. While pups don't need a ticket, we kindly ask for a $1 donation per dog on entry, with all proceeds benefiting the Greater Huntsville Humane Society. All dogs must enter through the Pepsi Gate with a completed waiver and remain on a leash throughout the game. As a special treat, every dog will receive a free Pup Cup, redeemable at Sweet Space.

Educator Appreciation Night, presented by COUNTRY Financial®: The Trash Pandas teamed up with COUNTRY Financial® to salute local Educators.

Supply Drive: Fans are encouraged to bring new school supplies to Toyota Field to help stock classrooms for the upcoming school year. Donations will benefit educators across North Alabama. Collection bins will be located at the Pepsi Gate entrance.

THIS WEEK:

Thursday, July 31: Throwback Thursday with $3 beers and a Negro Leagues tribute featuring Rickwood Classic uniforms.

Friday, August 1: Friday Night Fireworks, presented by SAIC, Space Night with NASA, and a space jersey auction benefiting local nonprofits.

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.

BARONS EDGE TRASH PANDAS 2-0 IN 10-INNING PITCHER'S DUEL: The Trash Pandas dropped a 2-0 extra-innings heartbreaker to the Birmingham Barons on Tuesday night at Toyota Field. Despite a dominant six-inning, scoreless outing from Sam Aldegheri, Rocket City couldn't capitalize on several chances, leaving 10 runners on base. The Barons broke through with two runs in the 10th to claim the win. Nelson Rada and Denzer Guzman each had multi-hit games for Rocket City, while Aldegheri finished July with a 1.57 ERA and a perfect 3-0 record.

THE FIRST DOMINO FALLS: 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.

PANDAS ON FANDUEL SPORTS NETWORK WEST: The Trash Pandas are hitting the West Coast! Beginning Thursday, July 31, four Trash Pandas games will be televised and streamed live on FanDuel Sports Network West during the second half of the 2025 season. Broadcasts-produced in-house by the Trash Pandas team-will feature veteran voices Josh Caray and Chris Harris. Fans in the Angels' local TV market can tune in via the FanDuel app or network to catch the action and experience Toyota Field like never before. Game Schedule: July 31 vs. Birmingham, August 14 vs. Knoxville, August 28 vs. Columbus, and September 10 vs. Chattanooga.

GUZ GONE WILD: DENZER'S BLAZING THROUGH JULY: The San Pedro de Macorís native has been one of the hottest hitters in Double-A this July, leading the Southern League-and 2nd in all of Double-A-with a 1.102 OPS, 47 total bases, and 13 extra-base hits. He ranks second in the league with a .365 batting average and is also first in slugging (.635) and on-base percentage (.467). His nine doubles rank second in the league, and his 27 hits are 3rd. 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 (5th, 137), home runs (T-7th, 11), and slugging (5th, .428), and OPS (7th, .768). Guzman leads the team with 16 multi-RBI games.

ALDEGHERI CHIUDE LUGLIO IN GRANDE STILE: Itallian lefty, Sam Aldegheri has been one of the Southern League's most dominant starters in July, leading the league with a 0.78 ERA. In four starts, the left-hander is 3-0, allowing just four earned runs over 23.0 innings while recording 19 strikeouts and 10 walks.

"YOU CAN'T SCORE IF YOU DON'T GET ON BASE.": Led by Denzer Guzman, who has reached safely in nine straight games and hit safely in eight consecutive games, the Trash Pandas have enjoyed some lengthy on-base streaks lately. Myles Emmerson has reached in seven of his last eight games. Nelson Rada has reached base in 16 of his previous 17 games. Guzman has also been consistent over the long haul, getting on base in 22 of his last 24 games. Meanwhile, Travis Blankenhorn has reached base in 21 of his previous 25 games, and David Mershon has reached base in 17 of his last 19. Over the Trash Pandas last 13 games, highlighted by a four-game win streak from July 12-20. During this stretch, they've posted a .336 OBP, ranking sixth in Double-A baseball, racking up up 98 hits and 54 walks.

REACHING THE 100 STRIKEOUT MARK: 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 IS LIVING UP TO ITS NAME: Since July 3, the Trash Pandas have launched 18 home runs over 20 games, T-1st in the Southern League and ranking T-6th in all of Double-A baseball. That stretch includes a five-homer outburst on July 3 against Knoxville at Toyota Field, tying a franchise record. Prior to that, Rocket City had hit 53 home runs over 76 games-an average of just 0.7 per game. The recent surge has seen that average jump to 0.9 per game, fueled by Oscar Colás and Ben Gobbel, who have combined for 10 of the 18 homers. Colás leads the league in that span with six, while Gobbel is right behind with four.

SOUND THE BLANKENHORN: OF Travis Blankenhorn has reached base in 21 of his last 25 games, and 28 of 34 since returning from the Injured List on June 13. The veteran outfielder ranks 4th in the Southern League with a .856 OPS with six doubles, a triple, eight home runs, 20 RBIs, and 18 walks over that span.

COLÁS BROUGHT THE BOOM IN JULY: Rocket City outfielder Oscar Colás is 3rd in all of Double-A with six home runs in July, 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. This marked only the second three-homer game in franchise history, the first being Orlando Martinez's performance on May 7, 2021, at Chattanooga.

RADA REPORT: CF Nelson Rada, the youngest player in the Southern League at just 19 years and 11 months, has reached in 16 of his last 17 games, and ranks 2nd in the league and 4th 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 (2nd, 34), OBP (5th, .384), batting average (8th, .281), and hits (T-8th, 89). Rada has recorded a team-best 26 multi-hit games, including five three-hit games.

PROSPECTS WITH A HALO: The Trash Pandas roster features four of the Angels' top 11 prospects and eight of the top 20 in MLB Pipeline's newest prospect rankings released on July 22; included in the top 11 are RHP George Klassen (3), OF Nelson Rada (6), LHP Sam Aldegheri (8), and INF Denzer Guzman (11). 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), and RHP Camden Minacci (20).

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics



Southern League Stories from July 30, 2025


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