Series Preview - Knoxville Smokies vs Rocket City Trash Pandas

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Series Preview - Knoxville Smokies vs Rocket City Trash Pandas

July 1, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release


Knoxville Smokies shortstop Corey Joyce at bat
Knoxville Smokies shortstop Corey Joyce at bat
(Knoxville Smokies, Credit: Lindsay Coward)

After a competitive opening series against the Barons this past week, the Smokies sit in first place in the Southern League North, tied with the Barons after splitting the series.

The Smokies will begin the week in Rocket City taking on the Trash Pandas for three games, before both teams return to Knoxville to close out the series at Covenant Health Park over the fourth of July weekend.

This matchup will mark the teams' third meeting this season. Rocket City has been the worst team in the Southern League so far this season but has continued to be a bit of a thorn in the side of the Smokies. The last time they faced off, Christian Moore made his return to Knoxville. Now Rocket City sits winless in last place to start the second half.

After a competitive series against the Barons, Knoxville will look to capitalize on this week's weak competition and try to build a lead in the Southern League North. As we look ahead in the schedule, Knoxville will play three of the top teams in the Southern League the rest of the month, so building a lead and momentum will be crucial during this series.

First pitch of the series is set for 7:35 PM ET at Toyota Field.

Knoxville sits tied with the Barons atop the Southern League North standings after splitting the series at Covenant Health Park. The series featured a lot of competitive baseball with the only real blowout win coming last Thursday as Knoxville beat the Barons 9-3.

Manager Lance Rymel gave credit to the pitching staff for the hard-fought games this week.

"We're playing good baseball," Rymel said. "Had some good nights offensively and pitched the ball pretty well this week."

Over the course of the series, Knoxville's staff recorded a 2.83 ERA, good for third in the Southern League to begin second half play. The starters were consistent with a 3.68 ERA, though Nick Dean's rough outing (five earned runs in 5.1 innings) inflated that number. The bullpen was hot and cold throughout the series. Some games saw dominant relief pitching that shut down Birmingham's offense, while other games featured late-inning struggles that allowed the Barons to rally and take leads.

While their offense as a whole has not exactly been clicking, a select group of players have been carrying Knoxville's offense. In the last two weeks, four Knoxville players have hit over .320, three of which have an OPS of .900 or better. BJ Murray Jr. and Pedro Ramirez lead the team with 15 and 14 RBIs respectively over that time period.

Rymel's main goal going into this week is to hit more with runners in scoring position as a team.

"You have to have that big hit, no matter what," Rymel said. "That's the name of the game. You've got to score runs to win."

As for Rocket City, they haven't gotten much production on either side of the ball to start their second half, but there have been a couple of bright spots. So far, they've had a pair of pitchers throw well for them to start the second half. Starters Jorge Marcheco and Mitch Farris each put up solid starts this past week. Marcheco tossed four innings of shutout baseball on Saturday and Farris went 5.2 innings allowing just one run on Wednesday. AJ Block, Camden Minacci and Jordan Holloway have headlined the bullpen with 15 combined strikeouts over 7.2 innings. Minacci and Holloway have also yet to allow a run in the second half.

The Trash Pandas will attempt to record their first win of the second half as they face off against Knoxville this week.

Players to Watch

Pedro Ramirez has been on fire lately. To go along with his 14 RBIs over the last two weeks, he is also working on a 13-game on-base streak. Over the course of the streak, Ramirez is batting over .370 and has an OPS over 1.000. His production has been enormous out of the two-hole. He will look to break his season high on-base streak this week against the Trash Pandas. Right-hander Jaxon Wiggins (2-0, 2.38 ERA) was recently named to the MLB Futures Game roster for the National League. He will play alongside fellow Chicago farm hand and former Smokie, Owen Caissie.

The Trash Pandas offense struggled mightily over the last week as well. During that span, they have had only one player hit over .230, veteran Travis Blankenhorn. However, Blankenhorn was on an absolute tear to start the second half. From June 24 to June 29, he hit .304 and had a slugging percentage of 1.000 with five home runs in six games, including a two-home-run night on Friday. He will be a name to circle for the Smokies as they look towards this series against Rocket City.

Probable Pitching Matchups

7/1 Tuesday, 7:35 PM ET

RHP Nick Dean* (1-5, 4.47 ERA) vs LHP Mitch Farris (0-4, 4.02 ERA)

7/2 Wednesday, 7:35 PM ET

RHP Antonio Santos* (1-2, 1.93 ERA) vs LHP Sam Aldegheri (2-6, 5.27 ERA)

7/3 Thursday, 7:05 PM ET

RHP Grant Kipp* (5-2, 3.22 ERA) vs RHP Walbert Urena (3-5, 5.37 ERA)

7/4 Friday, 7:00 PM ET (Independence Day Celebration/Summer Fireworks/Feel Good Fridays)

RHP Chris Kachmar* (3-5, 4.28 ERA) vs RHP Jorge Marcheco (4-5, 3.71 ERA)

7/5 Saturday, 7:00 PM ET (Summer Fireworks)

RHP Sam Armstrong* (2-6, 4.67 ERA) vs RHP George Klassen (2-7, 6.99 ERA)

7/6 Sunday, 2:00 PM ET

RHP Nick Dean* vs LHP Mitch Farris

*Unconfirmed rotation

Both teams have a chance to define their start to the second half of this season. For the Smokies, they have a chance to take a strong lead in the Southern League North with a momentous series win over last-place Rocket City. For Rocket City, a win against the Smokies could give them the confidence they need to turn their poor start to the second half around.

While the Smokies start the week on the road, make sure to visit Covenant Health Park this weekend when the series returns home. Friday features post-game fireworks and patriotic jerseys for Independence Day, with more fireworks following Saturday's game. Come celebrate the Fourth of July while supporting your Knoxville Smokies as they look to capitalize on this pivotal series.

Listen to all the action on radio: 92.5 FM/1180 AM WKCE

Watch live on MiLB.tv or the MLB App.

Check out the Knoxville Smokies Statistics




Images from this story

Knoxville Smokies shortstop Corey Joyce at bat
Knoxville Smokies shortstop Corey Joyce at bat
(Lindsay Coward)		   



Southern League Stories from July 1, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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