SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Rocket City Offense Quieted in 6-1 Loss

Published on August 8, 2023 under Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


MADISON, Alabama - The Rocket City Trash Pandas offense couldn't get anything going and the pitching staff struggled with walks in a 6-1 loss to the Mississippi Braves on Tuesday night in the opener of a six-game series at Toyota Field.

A week removed from his most recent stint with the Los Angeles Angels, Victor Mederos got the start on the mound for the Trash Pandas. The M-Braves struck first against Mederos, with Tyler Tolve's RBI single scoring Cody Milligan, who began the game with a walk. Mississippi later loaded the bases with two outs against Mederos. The Rocket City righty escaped further damage by striking out Cal Conley to end the inning.

Mississippi starter Alan Rangel (W, 2-12) was just a little better. He worked around singles in the first two innings before striking out the side in the third and retiring the Trash Pandas in order in the fourth.

Mederos settled down after the rocky first, keeping the Braves off the board until the fifth. Then, Milligan began the inning with a double, Luke Waddell reached on an error and stole second to put runners on second and third with nobody out. Tolve then connected on his second hit of the game, a two-run single to center to increase the Mississippi advantage to 3-0.

The Trash Pandas finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth with Jose Gomez's leadoff home run 363 feet to left field, his fourth of the season to make it a two-run game at 3-1.

Jack Dashwood was first out of the Rocket City bullpen with one out in the fifth and stranded the runners on base to keep the deficit at three. Mederos (L, 4-7) finished with 4.1 innings pitched, allowing three runs, two earned, on four hits with four walks and six strikeouts to suffer the loss.

Dashwood continued with a clean sixth and Jake Lee pitched around a single and a walk for a scoreless top of the seventh.

Mississippi tacked on a couple runs against Kenyon Yovan in the eighth to extend the lead to 5-1. Yovan was pulled with runners on and one out. John Swanda was next into the game and got an inning-ending double play to prevent further damage. Milligan's RBI single in the ninth capped the game's scoring.

Rangel pitched six strong innings for Mississippi, allowing one run on four hits with 10 strikeouts to earn his second victory of the season. Out of the bullpen, Braves relievers Hayden Deal, Hayden Harris, and Ty Tice each pitched a clean inning to finish the win.

The five Trash Pandas pitchers combined to walk 11 Braves, while the offense was limited to six hits in the loss. Gomez accounted for half of them, going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run, finishing a triple shy of the cycle.

The Trash Pandas (47-55, 16-17 second half) continue the series against the M-Braves (46-55, 13-20 second half) on Wednesday night. First pitch at Toyota Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio. The game will also be televised locally on WAAY 31.6, This TV.

Wednesday is the second of the Trash Pandas' Space Nights, and the team will be wearing specialty jerseys to commemorate the occasion. Fans can bid on the game worn, autographed jerseys by visiting space.givesmart.com. The jersey auction begins at 4 p.m. and concludes at the end of the seventh inning. Proceeds will benefit the Rocket City Trash Pandas Foundation and The US Space and Rocket Center Education Foundation.

Wednesday night games are All You Can Eat Wednesdays. All tickets are specially priced to include an unlimited selection of food including hot dogs, burgers, fries, nachos, popcorn, and fountain drinks. Click HERE to learn more about All You Can Eat Wednesdays. Wednesday is also a Tito's Dog Day, where fans can bring their furry friends and sit with them on the Budweiser Berm. A $1 donation per dog is requested, benefitting Rocket City Rescue. During the game as part of Wheels Up Wednesday, fans can enter to win a $250 flight voucher from Breeze Airways. The winner will be announced during the game.

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics

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Southern League Stories from August 8, 2023


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