Trash Pandas Squander Chances In 7-5 Loss

In a back-and-forth game early, the Rocket City Trash Pandas couldn’t find the clutch hit they desperately needed in a 7-5 loss to the Birmingham Barons in the second game of their six-game series on Wednesday night at Regions Field.

The loss puts the Trash Pandas two games behind the Barons for the final Double-A South playoff spot with 10 games remaining in the regular season.

After being shut out on Tuesday, the Trash Pandas got off to a better start on Wednesday. On the game’s first pitch, Luis Aviles Jr. hit a ground ball to third. Birmingham third baseman Joe DeCarlo’s throw to first was wild, allowing Aviles Jr. to get all the way to third on the error. Two batters later, Orlando Martinez lifted a sacrifice fly to center, plating Aviles Jr. with the first run of the night.

The Barons got the run right back in the bottom of the frame against new Rocket City starter John Swanda on back-to-back doubles from Carlos Perez and Jameson Fisher to tie it 1-1 after one. Ian Dawkins propelled Birmingham in front 3-1 with a two-run homer to left off Swanda in the second.

Rocket City rebounded to tie it in the third on an RBI single from Mitch Nay and a sacrifice fly to center from David MacKinnon.

The tie didn’t last long, as a double from Xavier Fernandez and two fielding errors from the Rocket City defense allowed the fourth Birmingham run to score. Two more runs off Swanda doubled the advantage for the home team at 6-3.

Livan Soto’s RBI single in the fourth scored Carlos Herrera to make it 6-4 in the fourth. Jameson Fisher restored the three-run Barons lead with an RBI ground out in the bottom of the inning.

In his Double-A debut, Swanda (L, 0-1) gave up seven runs on nine hits without a walk or a strikeout to suffer the defeat.

Rocket City loaded the bases with nobody out to start the fifth in a bid to get back in the game. But a strikeout from Michael Cruz and a double play from Anthony Mulrine ended the inning with the 7-4 score intact.

In relief for Rocket City, Nathan Bates, Kieran Lovegrove, and Adrian Almeida combined to pitch four scoreless innings.

The Trash Pandas made it a two-run game in the ninth on a sacrifice fly from Nay. However, Birmingham closer Brian Glowicki (S, 1) induced a ground out from Martinez to end Rocket City’s third straight loss.

Four Trash Pandas recorded two hits in the loss, with Hunter Jr.’s pair of doubles increasing his season total to 10. Both Aviles Jr. and Hunter Jr. scored twice while Mitch Nay drove in two of Rocket City’s five runs.

Rocket City (53-51) and Birmingham (58-52) meet again on Thursday night. First pitch at Regions Field is set for 7:05 p.m. Josh Caray will be on the call for 103.9 FM THE UMP and 730 AM SportsRadio.