Trash Pandas' Bats and Bullpen Dominate in 10-3 Win Over Lookouts
SL Rocket City Trash Pandas

Trash Pandas' Bats and Bullpen Dominate in 10-3 Win Over Lookouts

July 12, 2025 - Southern League (SL)
Rocket City Trash Pandas News Release


CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Rocket City Trash Pandas (5-12, 29-56) pounded out 13 hits and got a stellar performance from their bullpen to earn a 10-3 blowout win over the Chattanooga Lookouts (8-8, 46-36) on Saturday night at AT&T Field. With the victory, Rocket City will now aim for a series split in Sunday's finale.

For the third time in the series, the Trash Pandas were forced into a bullpen game, and their pitching staff delivered. Five arms combined to allow just one earned run on six hits, with zero walks and 15 strikeouts.

Nick Jones, making his first professional start after 140 relief outings in pro ball and 66 relief appearances in college, worked two innings. He allowed two unearned runs in the second but gave up just three hits and struck out four.

Rocket City opened the scoring in the first on a two-out RBI single by Ben Gobbel. After Chattanooga briefly took a 2-1 lead in the second, the Pandas stormed back in the fourth. Gobbel led off with a single, Sam Brown walked, and Josh Crouch tied the game with a double off the left field wall. Evan Edwards followed with another RBI double, and Mac McCroskey added a sacrifice fly. Nelson Rada and Oscar Colás chipped in with RBI singles to cap a five-run frame, chasing Chattanooga starter T.J. Sikkema (L, 3-2) and giving Rocket City a 6-2 advantage.

Former Lookout Sean Poppen (W, 2-2) took over in the third and was dominant, tossing three perfect innings with four strikeouts.

After Jay Allen II homered to cut it to 6-3 in the sixth, Rocket City answered with two more runs in the seventh. Brown and Crouch opened the inning with back-to-back doubles, and McCroskey later drove in a run with a fielder's choice.

Jose Quijada pitched a clean seventh, and Camden Minacci struck out four over the final two innings to seal the win.

The Trash Pandas added two more runs in the ninth thanks to a bases-loaded walk drawn by Travis Blankenhorn and a sacrifice fly from Denzer Guzman, pushing their total into double digits.

Offensively, Crouch led the way with two doubles, two runs scored, and two RBIs. Brown continued his hot series, going 2-for-4 with a double and a walk. Guzman extended his on-base streak to 12 games with a hit in five trips.

Next Up:

Rocket City wraps up the road trip on Sunday afternoon in Chattanooga. LHP Sam Aldegheri (3-6, 4.83) gets the start for the Trash Pandas, while the Lookouts counter with RHP Ryan Cardona (4-2, 3.26). First pitch is set for 12:15 p.m. CT. Fans can tune in on Bally Sports Live, MiLB.tv, or Talk Radio WZZN 97.7 FM HD-2.

The Trash Pandas return home to Toyota Field after the All-Star break for a three-game homestand July 18-20 against the Columbus Clingstones. The weekend will feature Tennessee Titans Night, two fireworks shows, Margaritaville Night, and a return of Lunaticos de Rocket City. Single-game tickets for Trash Pandas games start at just $8 and can be purchased at TPTix.com.

Fans can book their group outings for the 2025 season by visiting trashpandasgroups.com or calling the group sales department directly at (256) 325-1403, option 2.

Check out the Rocket City Trash Pandas Statistics



Southern League Stories from July 12, 2025


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