Trash Pandas Fall 8-3 In Front Of Sellout Crowd

Despite an enthusiastic franchise record crowd of 7,500, the Rocket City Trash Pandas fell behind from the outset and ultimately dropped the opener of their six-game series against the Chattanooga Lookouts 8-3 on Independence Day at Toyota Field.

The Lookouts got on the board quickly against Rocket City starter Ky Bush (L, 0-2). The second batter of the game, Francisco Urbaez, hit a solo home run to left to give Chattanooga the early edge.

In the bottom of the frame, Rocket City threatened, loading the bases against Chattanooga starter Teddy Stankiewicz with two outs. Stankiewicz escaped the jam by getting Sonny DiChiara to line out to third, maintaining the 1-0 lead.

The Lookouts extended their lead over the next few innings. A wild pitch by Bush allowed James Free to score in the second. Alex McGarry’s RBI single plated Blake Dunn for a 3-0 lead in the third, before Quincy McAfee’s homer later in the inning made it 5-0. Nick Northcut’s solo homer in the fourth capped the scoring off Bush with a six-run lead for the visitors.

Over four innings, Bush allowed six runs on seven hits with one walk and seven strikeouts to suffer his second straight loss. Luke Murphy was first out of the Trash Pandas’ bullpen and pitched two scoreless frames.

Rocket City couldn’t get anything going against Stankiewicz for the first five innings. But in the sixth, the Trash Pandas got the crowd back into the game. Jeremiah Jackson crushed a solo homer 400 feet into the Rocket City bullpen in left field, his tenth home run of the season to get the home team on the board. Gabe Matthews followed with a single to keep the rally going. DiChiara then hit a towering fly ball that just cleared the fence and landed in the Chattanooga bullpen in left for his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to cut the Lookouts’ lead in half at 6-3.

That would be the end of Stankiewicz’s (W, 1-1) night. Over 5.1 innings, he allowed three runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts to earn his first win of the season.

The Lookouts padded their lead with a run in the seventh against Ivan Armstrong and one more in the eighth against Robinson Pina. Andy Fisher held the lead with 2.1 innings out of the bullpen. Pedro Garcia got the final four outs to finish the win for Chattanooga.

Rocket City was held to five hits in the loss, with the two home runs marking the only extra-base hits. The sellout crowd of 7,500 marks the tenth sellout in Toyota Field history.

The Trash Pandas (34-41, 3-3 second half) and Lookouts (42-33, 4-3 second half) continue the series on Wednesday night. First pitch at Toyota Field is set 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.

At Wednesday’s game, 1,500 adults ages 18 and up will receive a limited-edition bobblehead of former Rocket City and current Los Angeles Angels infielder Zach Neto, presented by Inline Electric.

Wednesday night games are All You Can Eat Wednesdays. All tickets are specially priced to include an unlimited selection of food including hot dogs, burgers, fries, nachos, popcorn, and fountain drinks. Click HERE to learn more about All You Can Eat Wednesdays. Wednesday is also a Tito’s Dog Day, where fans can bring their furry friends and sit with them on the Budweiser Berm. A $1 donation per dog is requested, benefitting the Greater Huntsville Humane Society. During the game as part of Wheels Up Wednesday, fans can enter to win a $250 flight voucher from Breeze Airways. The winner will be announced during the game.