Trash Pandas blast past Lookouts for 6-2 win

BOX SCORE

MADISON, Alabama – The Rocket City Trash Pandas hit three early home runs to take the lead and never looked back in a 6-2 win over the Chattanooga Lookouts in front of a passionate crowd of 6,103 at Toyota Field on Friday night.

The victory extends the Trash Pandas’ winning streak to a club-best seven games, passing the previous mark of six set in 2021. Rocket City also improves to 19 games over .500 at 49-30 for the season and 8-2 over the first 10 games of the second half.

Fresh off earning June Southern League Pitcher of the Month honors, Trash Pandas starter Coleman Crow was strong to open the game. A two-out double was the only batter to reach against Crow for the first two innings before the Trash Pandas offense broke through.

Kevin Maitan reached with a two-out walk in the bottom of the second to keep the inning alive. Bryce Teodosio followed with a high drive to deep left center field that carried 383 feet into the Trash Pandas bullpen for a two-run homer to open the scoring. The home run is Teodosio’s 10^th of the season, tying him with Trey Cabbage for the team lead.

An inning later, Livan Soto led off with a home run of his own, a 415-foot shot to right center for his third homer of the year and a 3-0 advantage for the home team.

Crow kept the lead with three strikeouts in a scoreless fourth. Leading off the bottom half, Adams connected with a 415-foot home run of his own over the bullpen in left center, his second with the Trash Pandas to increase the score to 4-0.

Chattanooga got on the board in the fifth when Ivan Johnson reached on a double off the left field wall then came around to score on Mike Siani’s single. They got one more in the sixth on James Free’s single to plate Alex McGarry, who led off with a double.

Crow (W, 7-2) then walked Quincy McAfee, and that would be the end of his night. Jack Dashwood entered and got back-to-back strikeouts of Johnson and Jacob Hurtubise, ending the inning. Crow finished a solid start by allowing two earned runs on seven hits with two walks and five strikeouts over 5.1 innings to earn his league-leading seventh victory of the season.

Dashwood returned to the mound in the seventh and immediately allowed a single to Siani. But a strong throw from Anthony Mulrine caught Siani trying to steal second base, helping Dashwood get through the inning unscathed.

Rocket City added a run in the bottom of the seventh as Ryan Aguilar walked, stole second base, and came around to score on Adams’ line drive single to left. They got one more insurance run in the eighth on Soto’s RBI single to left, scoring Teodosio from second.

Kolton Ingram finished the game on the mound for the Trash Pandas with a scoreless ninth, clinching a series victory over Chattanooga after taking the first four games of the six-game series.

At the plate, the top three hitters in the Trash Pandas lineup, Soto, Jose Gomez, and Preston Palmeiro, all recorded two hits in the whin while Soto, Adams, and Teodosio each drove in a pair. Dashwood dominated with 2.2 scoreless relief innings and seven strikeouts, a season-high for a Trash Pandas reliever

The Trash Pandas (49-30 overall, 8-2 second half) continues their series with Chattanooga (36-43 overall, 2-8 second half) on Saturday night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m. at Toyota Field. 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.

Following Saturday night’s game, an extraordinary fireworks show will light up the Rocket City sky, courtesy of Big Bear A.I.