Playoff Hunt Heats Up, Smokies Explode in Series Finale
Published on August 18, 2025 under Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release
Knoxville Smokies third baseman BJ Murray, Jr. (right) greets shortstop Jaylen Palmer
(Knoxville Smokies, Credit: Nick Grant)
MADISON, AL - The Knoxville Smokies hopped on the bus to Madison, Alabama for a six game set against the Rocket City Trash Pandas, Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, looking to gain some ground on the first place Birmingham Barons. Going into the series, the Smokies were 8.5 games back of Birmingham and had gone 5-5 in their last 10 games. At the beginning of the series the Trash Pandas were already 15 games back of first place with the worst run differential in the Southern League. With just 30 games remaining for both clubs, the Pandas were looking to bring the Smokies down with them and give Birmingham a clear ticket to Chattanooga for the first round of the playoffs.
Game 1: Smokies Blanked in Series Opener
The Smokies couldn't get the bats going Tuesday night, falling 5-0 to the Rocket City Trash Pandas at Toyota Field. Starter Grant Kipp navigated through early traffic, stranding runners in each of the first two innings, but the fourth proved costly. OF David Calabrese and C Myles Emmerson came through with back-to-back RBI singles to put the Trash Pandas on the board.
Rocket City added insurance in the middle frames, capitalizing on a pair of walks in the fifth to extend their lead before Calabrese struck again in the seventh with another clutch RBI knock. That steady offensive push was more than enough behind a dominant Trash Pandas pitching staff. Starter George Klassen limited Knoxville to just three hits over five scoreless innings, striking out five along the way.
The Smokies' offense never found a rhythm, finishing with only three hits and no extra-base knocks. Rocket City's bullpen trio of Kenyon Yovan, Luke Murphy, and Samy Natera Jr. was overpowering, combining for four shutout innings and nine strikeouts to slam the door. The 5-0 loss marked Knoxville's second shutout in the past week as they continue to search for consistency at the plate.
Game 2: Lightning Strikes Twice in Rocket City
Wednesday night felt like déjà vu for the Smokies, as they dropped their second straight shutout to the Rocket City Trash Pandas, again with a final score of 5-0 at Toyota Field. Antonio Santos got the start for Knoxville and looked sharp early, keeping Rocket City off the board through three innings. But the game turned in the fourth, when Josh Crouch lined an RBI single to open the scoring. An error by Reivaj Garcia at first base in the fifth extended the frame, allowing an unearned run to cross and doubling the deficit to 2-0.
The Trash Pandas added to their lead in the eighth inning against reliever Frankie Scalzo Jr. The right-hander surrendered a single and a home run without recording an out, stretching the margin to 5-0. Mitchell Tyranski entered in relief and managed to stop the bleeding by finishing the inning. Offensively, the Smokies struggled to generate momentum for the second straight night.
Knoxville mustered only five hits, none of which translated into scoring opportunities. Combined with Rocket City's steady pitching and timely hitting, the Smokies were handed another frustrating shutout defeat as their search for offensive consistency continued.
Game 3: Pablo and the Smokies feeling Grand
After being shut out in the first two games of the series, the Smokies wasted no time finding their offense on Thursday night. Knoxville erupted in the opening frame against Rocket City, with the knockout punch coming from Pablo Aliendo. The catcher delivered a momentum-shifting grand slam that ended Walbert Urena's night after only two recorded outs.
The Smokies padded their advantage in the third inning, plating three more runs to push the score to 8-2. Rocket City threatened with consistent base runners and two homers in the third inning, but the Smokies' pitching staff bent without breaking, stranding runners in key situations.
Reliever Tyler Santana earned the win, tossing 2.2 steady innings in relief while allowing just one run. Mitchell Tyranski, AJ Puckett, and Brad Deppermann combined for the final 3.1 innings, and Deppermann earned his fifth save of the season. With the 8-6 win, the Smokies improved to 52-57 overall and 20-21 in the second half, pulling within one game of second-place Chattanooga and 9.5 games behind first-place Birmingham in the Southern League North.
Game 4: Knotted Up Courtesy of the Long Ball
Knoxville wasted no time setting the tone again Friday night, as B.J. Murray Jr. doubled home the first run of the game in the opening inning against Trash Pandas starter Sam Aldegheri. Rocket City had an answer in the bottom half of the first when Oscar Colas lined an RBI single, and the Trash Pandas grabbed their first lead in the fourth behind Josh Crouch's two-run homer in the bottom of the second to go up 3-2.
The Smokies didn't trail for long. After Carter Trice tied the game up at three with an RBI hit-by-pitch in the fourth, BJ Murray stepped up again in the fifth, blasting a two-run home run (17) to put Knoxville back in front. Pablo Aliendo added to the surge with a solo shot in the seventh (9), and Knoxville kept the pressure on with another run in the ninth to give themselves some breathing room.
The Smokies started Nick Dean who only went three innings in his second start off of the IL. Tommy Romero did the bulk of the work and was lights out in the middle innings, spanning five scoreless frames and striking out six Pandas. Rocket City pushed late, scratching across a run in the bottom of the ninth on a Ben Gobbel RBI single, but the Smokies held firm to secure a 7-4 victory.
Game 5: Slowly But Surely, Gaining Ground
Game five at Toyota Field got started with a bang as Brett Bateman led off the night by homering on the very first pitch he saw from Panda starter Bryce Osmond. Knoxville quickly doubled its lead in the second when Andy Garriola lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 2-0. Rocket City answered in the third, cutting the deficit in half on an RBI single from Ryan Nicholson.
That was all the Trash Pandas could manage against Tyler Schlaffer. The right-hander was sharp, striking out nine across six innings while keeping Rocket City off balance. The only run to cross the plate while Schlaffer was on the mound was unearned, marking the first scoreless start in Double-A for the top prospect. Pablo Aliendo padded the lead in the sixth with another sac fly, and Bateman came through again in the ninth with a clutch 2-RBI single to give Knoxville some insurance. LHP Chase Watkins dazzled in two innings of relief before handing it over to the newly dubbed closer, Brad Deppermann.
The Trash Pandas tried to rally in the bottom of the ninth, plating a pair of runs to keep the pressure on, but Deppermann shut the door to finish off a 5-3 Smokies victory. After game five, the Smokies had improved their position in the standings from the beginning of the week. Now just 7.5 games behind Birmingham after they dropped two in a row to Pensacola, who held a narrow 2.5 game lead over Columbus and Montgomery for the Southern League South.
Game 6: Sunday Scaries
Entering the series finale, Knoxville ranked first amongst all Southern League teams in batting average and OPS on day games and Sundays. After three straight wins, all signs seemed to lean in favor of the Smokies on Sunday, but no one could've expected the offensive onslaught that began in the very first inning.
The Trash Pandas sent out RHP George Klassen to start, who was feeling confident against a lineup he had blanked on Tuesday. Long story short, the Smokies got their revenge and Klassen left the game after recording only one out. BJ Murray started the scoring with a 2-RBI single bringing home Brett Bateman and Corey Joyce. Then Reivaj Garcia brought Murray home with a single. Pablo Aliendo drove a run home after being hit by a pitch, and then Jordan Nwogu reached on a fielder's choice that extended the lead to 5-0. The exclamation point was two more RBI from Brett Bateman, tying the most runs and hits the Smokies have recorded in a single inning all season.
BJ Murray launched a home run in the middle of two three-spots in third and fourth innings for Knoxville, extending their lead over Rocket City to 13-1.
Smokies starter Grant Kipp exited after three innings allowing just one run, but struggled to lock in his command and walked three batters. The Smokies bullpen held strong between Nick Hull, Evan Taylor, AJ Puckett, and last but certainly not least Casey Opitz. With the score at 13-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the catcher was given his second chance at the mound this season. Opitz let up two homers and three total runs, but more importantly recorded all three final outs to secure the series win and the 13-5 victory in the series finale.
Wrap Up
The Smokies won the series 4-2 and awaited Birmingham's final score on Sunday to see where they would sit in the standings heading into the final 24 games of the season. The Barons won their series finale against Pensacola from behind and have left the Smokies 7.5 games back of first place with only four series remaining.
Knoxville will look to carry their hot bats home to host the Montgomery Biscuits, Double-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. This will be the second of three meetings between these two clubs, and final at Covenant Health Park. The Biscuits sit at 22-23, just 2.5 games back of first place Pensacola in the Southern League South. Montgomery comes to town in the midst of a 12 game roadtrip, and a series in Chattanooga that was heavily impacted by rain, causing the Biscuits to play six games Thursday through Sunday.
The Smokies bats will look to take advantage of a potentially tired Biscuits staff and gain more ground towards punching a playoff ticket. Knoxville will need some help from their foes in Rocket City, who will be taking on Birmingham this week. Find your tickets to the final two homestands of at Covenant Health Park on smokiesbaseball.com and tune into all the action on 92.5 FM/1180 AM WKCE or milb.tv.
Images from this story
 Knoxville Smokies third baseman BJ Murray, Jr. (right) greets shortstop Jaylen Palmer (Nick Grant) |
Southern League Stories from August 18, 2025
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- Columbus Clingstones' David McCabe Named Southern League Player of the Week - Columbus Clingstones
- Playoff Hunt Heats Up, Smokies Explode in Series Finale - Knoxville Smokies
- Calvin Harris Three-Run Home Run Lifts Barons to a 6-3 Win over the Blue Wahoos - Birmingham Barons
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