Trash Pandas Even Series With 4-1 Win

The Rocket City Trash Pandas hit a pair of early home runs to back a dominant start from Chase Silseth in a 4-1 victory over the Tennessee Smokies on Friday night at Toyota Field in front of a crowd of 6,168. The win evens the series for the Trash Pandas at two games apiece after dropping the first two.

Making his return to Rocket City after his third stint in the big leagues with the Los Angeles Angels, Silseth was dominant. In the top of the first, a ground ball double play erased a leadoff walk for a scoreless top of the first.

From there, the newest members of the Trash Pandas teed off to give the home team an early lead. Livan Soto reached on an error to begin the bottom of the first. Logan O’Hoppe followed by crushing a two-run homer 382 feet to left, his first with the Los Angeles Angels organization after being traded by the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, to put the Trash Pandas up 2-0. Preston Palmeiro then walked on four pitches. Sonny DiChiara was next and he crushed a two-run blast over the Tennessee bullpen in left for his first professional home run, putting Rocket City up 4-0 after one.

Pitching with the lead from the second inning on, Silseth was strong. He set the Smokies down one, two, three in the second. In the third, he picked off Christian Donahue to negate a two-out walk.

Yonathan Perlaza got the Smokies on the board in the fourth with a long solo home run off the batter’s eye in center. A single and a walk started the fifth for the Smokies, but Silseth got an inning ending double play to navigate through that jam.

In the sixth, Perlaza was hit by a pitch and tempers flared for a moment as the benches cleared. But no punches were thrown and nobody was ejected. Silseth struck out the next two hitters he faced to end the inning.

A walk and a single sandwiched around a pair of strikeouts brought an end to Silseth’s night in the seventh. Kolton Ingram entered and struck out Harrison Wenson to end the inning with the tying run at the plate.

Brett Kerry (S, 1) was called on in the eighth and worked around baserunners in both the eighth and ninth, pitching two scoreless innings while striking out three to earn his first professional save.

Silseth (W, 3-0) earned his third win of the season for the Trash Pandas, allowing one run on three hits with four walks and nine strikeouts over 6.2 innings. At the plate, O’Hoppe and DiChiara’s homers provided all the offense while DiChiara was the only Rocket City player to record a multi-hit game in a 2-for-4 night.

The win is Trash Pandas Manager Andy Schatzley’s 100th professional win, having earned 43 with High-A Tri-City in 2021 and 57 so far for Rocket City in 2022.

The Trash Pandas (57-43, 16-15 second half) continue their series with the Smokies (54-46, 17-14 second half) on Saturday night. First pitch at Toyota Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. 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 matchup, fireworks will light up the Rocket City sky, courtesy of Bill Penney Toyota.