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SL Knoxville Smokies

Smokies' Ninth-Inning Rally Comes up Short, Fall to Trash Pandas

April 19, 2022 - Southern League (SL)
Knoxville Smokies News Release


KODAK, Ten. - The Tennessee Smokies (5-4) fell 4-1 to the Rocket City Trash Pandas (7-3) Tuesday night at Smokies Stadium in the opener of their six-game series.

The Smokies brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth with nobody out but failed to score, as Rocket City left-hander Eric Torres worked into and out of trouble to earn his first save of the season.

Tennessee mustered one run on six hits against a dominant Rocket City pitching staff. Starter Ky Bush - the Los Angeles Angels' No. 5 prospect - kept the Smokies off the board in five innings of shutout ball. The lefty Bush allowed four hits and struck out two as he recorded his first win of 2022. The Smokies' only run of the contest came on a Nelson Maldonado sacrifice fly in the seventh inning.

Tennessee starter Javier Assad (0-1) was the pitcher of record on the short side, as he went five strong innings, allowing just two hits, however both left the yard. Aaron Whitefield jumped on Assad's first pitch of the game and drove it out to right center, and Torri Hunter Jr. hit a solo home run in the third inning.

The Smokies and the Trash Pandas will play the second contest of the six-game series Wednesday night at Smokies Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET when the Smokies send Anderson Espinoza (0-1, 10.13 ERA) to the mound against Rocket City's Brett Kerry (0-0, 0.90 ERA). Fans can hear all Smokies games by going to https://www.milb.com/tennessee/fans/audio-listen-live.

Wednesday is the second day of Healthcare Appreciation Nights, presented by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, and also All-You-Can-Eat Wednesday. For tickets, fans can call the box office at (865) 286-2300 or visit smokiesbaseball.com.

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Southern League Stories from April 19, 2022


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