Crow Carries Trash Pandas Past Barons 4-0 

Rocket City Trash Pandas starter Coleman Crow was brilliant for eight scoreless innings, powering the Trash Pandas to a 4-0 win over the Birmingham Barons on Saturday night at Regions Field.

In the longest start of his professional career, Crow (W, 5-2) kept the Barons off the board for eight innings, allowing just two hits while walking four and striking out five to earn his fifth victory of the season.

For the fourth time in five games, the Trash Pandas opened the scoring in top of the first when Livan Soto began the game with a single to center, stole second base for his seventh steal of the year, and scored when Jeremiah Jackson’s ground ball was misplayed for an error by Barons shortstop Jose Rodriguez.

Pitching with the lead from the start, Crow initially worked into trouble. D.J. Burt led off the bottom of the first with a single. After a ground out, Tyler Neslony walked, Craig Dedelow struck out, and Yoelqui Cespedes also walked to load the bases with two outs. Crow escaped the damage by getting Moises Castillo to fly out to center, stranding the bases loaded.

Two innings later, the Trash Pandas added on as Soto laid down a perfect bunt for a single to start the inning. Aaron Whitefield followed with a line drive two-run homer 418 feet down the left field line for his eighth home run of the season and a 3-0 Rocket City lead. In the fourth, Rocket City got one more when Anthony Mulrine’s RBI single to center, scoring Braxton Martinez for a four-run advantage.

From there, Crow was nearly unhittable. A two-out walk to Nesnony in the second was the only baserunner allowed by Crow between the second and fourth innings. Raudy Read led off the fifth with a hit-by-pitch. Crow quickly erased it by getting Ian Dawkins to ground into a double play before Ivan Johnson ended the inning with a ground out of his own.

Following a one, two, three sixth inning, Crow immediately worked into trouble in the seventh as Craig Dedelow lined a leadoff triple down the right field line. Again, the Barons were unable to convert as Cespedes popped out, Castillo lined out to short, and Read grounded out to get through the frame. In the eighth, Crow again issued a walk with one out before Burt popped out and Rodriguez grounded out to end the inning, and his start.

In the ninth, the Barons loaded the bases off with one out against reliever Aaron Hernandez, but the righty got Read to pop out to second and Dawkins to ground into a fielder’s choice to end the game and complete the Trash Pandas’ eighth shutout of the season.

At the plate, Soto and Martinez each recorded a pair of hits in the win for Rocket City while Soto scored two of the visitors’ four runs. The eight scoreless innings lower Crow’s June ERA to a stellar 1.33, allowing just four earned runs over 27 innings spanning four starts, going 3-0 in that span.

The first-half North Division Champion Trash Pandas (41-27) conclude their final series of the first half with the Barons (30-38) on Sunday afternoon. First pitch at Regions Field is scheduled for 4 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio.