Trash Pandas Pitching Brilliant In 6-1 Win 

The Rocket City Trash Pandas took a no-hitter into the seventh in a dazzling performance on the mound, and the offense broke through with a five-run third inning in a 6-1 victory over the Birmingham Barons on Friday night in front of a spirited crowd of 6,075 at Toyota Field.

The win evens the four-game series at two games apiece and gets the Trash Pandas back to within one game of .500 at 18-19.

Trash Pandas starter Sam Bachman and Barons starter Matt Thompson (L, 1-4) began the game in fine form, trading zeroes for the first two innings.

Birmingham broke through in the third as Taylor Snyder walked, stole second, and came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Moises Castillo. The lead wouldn’t last long for the visitors.

In the bottom of the frame, Aaron Whitefield reached on an error and stole second. Kyren Paris walked two put two on with one out. A double steal moved the runners to second and third. Orlando Martinez took a walk of his own to load the bases. Jeremiah Jackson followed with an RBI single to tie the game. Two batters later, Zach Humphreys took a bases-loaded walk to bring home Martinez for a 2-1 Trash Pandas lead. David Calabrese then hit a soft ground ball to third. Looking to throw Calabrese out at first, Snyder’s throw to first was late and off the mark for an error, allowing all three runners to come home and score to make it a 5-1 game.

Bachman narrowly escaped danger in the fourth, walking the bases loaded before a ground out from Moises Castillo ended the threat. That would be the end of Bachman’s start. Over four hitless innings, he allowed one run while walking six and striking out three.

Brett Kerry (W, 2-2) was masterful out of the bullpen, retiring the first six hitters he faced to keep the 5-1 lead into the sixth. The Trash Pandas added one more in the bottom of the frame. Whitefield led off with a single, stole second, advanced to third on an error, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Martinez to make it a five-run game at 6-1.

In the seventh, Kerry quickly struck out the first two hitters he faced. But the no-hit bid came to an end seven outs shy of history when Castillo’s ground ball was hit between third and short for a single, the first Birmingham hit of the night.

Kerry continued his strong work by pitching a clean eighth around a one-out single. In the ninth, Kerry shut down the Barons one, two, three, fielding a comebacker by Snyder to record the final out.

Kerry earned the win with five scoreless relief innings, allowing two hits, walking none, and striking out seven to pick up his second consecutive victory.

Offensively, Whitefield led the way from the bottom of the Trash Pandas lineup, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three stolen bases, tying a Rocket City franchise record. Jackson also went 2-for-4, scoring a run and driving in another. As a team, the Trash Pandas set a new season-high with five stolen bases, with Whitefield taking three, Paris adding one, and Tucker Flint recording his first stolen base of the season.

The Trash Pandas (18-19) continue their series with the Barons (13-24) on Saturday night. First pitch at Toyota Field is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Josh Caray and Bryan Neece will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio. The game will be broadcast locally on WAAY 31.6, This TV.

The Trash Pandas will celebrate Armed Forces Night on Saturday night, with the team wearing specialty Armed Forces jerseys for the game. Fans can bid on the game worn, autographed jerseys by texting ‘armedforces’ to 76278 and by visiting armedforces.givesmart.com. Proceeds will benefit the Rocket City Trash Pandas Foundation and First Stop. After the game, a brilliant fireworks show will light up the sky above Toyota Field, presented by Crumbley-Blackwell-Price Attorneys.