Smokies Hang on to Beat Trash Pandas

Written by Howie Boxley

The Tennessee Smokies beat the Rocket City Trash Pandas 5-4 on Wednesday afternoon.

The Trash Pandas (9-8) scored first and tried to rally late but the Smokies (10-6) hung on to go up two games to none in the series.

Brandon Birdsell (2-1) started for the Smokies and picked up the win by pitching five innings and only allowing one unearned run.

Offensively, Kevin Alcantara continued his hot streak by hitting in his seventh consecutive game. He went 2-for-5 with a double and a RBI. Moises Ballesteros hit his third home run of the year and picked up his seventh RBI of the year.

Frankie Scalzo Jr. notched his third save despite giving up one unearned run in the ninth inning. He stranded the tying run on third and the winning run on second to win the game.

The two teams will meet for game three of the series tomorrow at 6:35 CT.