Brian Kice
KNOXVILLE, TN — After mashing their way to a series victory against their volunteer state foes last week in Chattanooga, the Smokies returned home to Covenant Health Park to play a matchup against the Rocket City Trash Pandas – the other team at the top of the Southern League North.
In a potential postseason preview, the Smokies showed off all the tools that helped them win the first half. The bats stayed hot, the pitching showed why they are the best in the Southern League, and several key contributors continued to prove that the Smokies are a team to be cautious of as we enter the final 30 days of the season.
Game 1: Rehab Restart
The Smokies started the series on their home turf on the wrong foot, but saw several good signs in a 6-1 loss. Cubs starting pitcher Edward Cabrera toed the slab in a rehab start for the Smokies and showed that he was ready to return to Chicago. He struck out seven of the 16 batters he faced across five full innings of work, not allowing a run. One of two Major League faces to appear in the game, Daniel Palencia took the ball from Cabrera out of the pen, but struggled. Palencia would walk three and allow four earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning.
Ariel Armas continued his hot hitting from Chattanooga with his 15th double that came with an RBI for the Smokies' only run of the contest in the bottom of the second.
Game 2: A Taste of Their Own Medicine
Knoxville entered game two with a bitter taste in their mouth, coming out slugging their way to a 7-1 win. In the box, the Smokies would collect 13 base hits in the contest, with multi-hit days from four players. Alex Ramirez doubled as part of a two-for-five, two-RBI performance. Miguel Useche followed suit with a double and an RBI of his own. Ariel Armas stayed hot as a pistol, with a three-for-four day, including an RBI and three total bases. Drew Bowser got in on the fun at the bottom of the order with a two-hit performance as well.
On the hill, the Smokies staff took care of business. Connor Schultz hurled five innings of one-run baseball, inducing lots of contact on his way to his fourth win of the season. Yet another big league rehabber, 13-year veteran Shelby Miller, came in and slammed the door with three punchouts in an inning of work, using a high nineties fastball to overpower the Trash Pandas hitters. Tyler Schlaffer and Vince Riley also appeared and kept zeros on the scoreboard for the final three innings of the game.
Game 3: Smokies Stay Swinging
After evening up the series at one game apiece, the Smokies' thunderous bats struck again. After falling down early in the contest, it would take until the seventh inning for the Smokies to stun the Trash Pandas pitcher again. Alex Ramirez got the scoring started with an infield single before Miguel Useche cleared the bases with a three-run double down the right-field line that gave the Smokies a 4-1 lead.
Knoxville would add on in the eighth on a Karson Simas RBI single and Kane Kepley’s second double in a Smokies uniform that came with an RBI as well.
Brody McCullough looked fantastic, going five full innings with a season-high eight strikeouts and just one run allowed. Daniel Palencia looked more like himself, working an efficient inning. Yenri Rojas earned the win – his third of the season after two frames of his own, with a pair of punchouts. Tyler Ras slammed the door in the ninth as well with one inning of work.
Game 4: No Signs of Stopping
Game four of the series was much the same as the previous two games, as the Smokies picked up a 5-4 victory on Friday to take a commanding three-game lead in the series. On the backs of a strong performance from Luis Martinez-Gomez on the mound and Carter Trice at the plate, the Smokies pulled off a one-run win. Edgar Alverez had a sac-fly RBI in the second to even up the score, before Kane Kepley showed off his speed at the top of the lineup with his third double of the season, tacking on an RBI in the process. Trice lifted off against Rocket City in the sixth for his 14th homer of the campaign as part of a three-for-three day. Trice would hit a sac fly in the bottom of the eighth for Knoxville’s fifth run game.
Luis Martinez Gomez gave up just one run in the first inning of the game on his way to a win thanks to five innings with four punchouts. He looked strong despite three walks scattered throughout his appearance.
New Smokie Jackson Brockett threw three frames and looked sharp, not allowing a hit and mixing in two strikeouts of his own. Marino Santy came in for the ninth, but the Rocket City bats woke up for three runs thanks to three walks from Santy in just a third of an inning. Grayson Moore came in for the final two outs, earning his first Double-A save and holding on for the win.
Game 5: Smokies Take the Series
Game five on Saturday drew nearly six thousand fans on University of Tennessee night. The Smokies once again limited the Trash Pandas to one run, taking the series in a 4-1 final. After falling behind early, Alex Madera singled home a pair of runs in the bottom of the second to give Knoxville a 2-1 lead. Madera finished with a two-for-three line and two RBI – the only Smokie bat with more than a hit. Alex Ramirez added some insurance in the third with a single to center field that plated a run. Just a few batters later, Andy Garriola produced a run thanks to his 15th double of the year, making the score 4-1.
The Smokies pitching staff went on cruise control after the second, backing up Brooks Caple, who went five and a third innings, giving up just a run despite five hits and three walks. He finished with four strikeouts and came away with his fourth win of the season.
The bullpen looked stellar in this contest, not allowing a hit through the final three and two-thirds innings of the game. Frankie Scalzo Jr. and Tyler Schalaffer each earned holds, and Tyler Rasnotched his sixth save of the season.
Game 6: Knoxville Slams the Door
The Smokies didn't take their foot off the gas in the series finale, winning a quick two-hour-and-seven-minute game 5-4. Andy Garriola concluded a nice series with another RBI in the bottom of the third. Miguel Useche continued to prove that he was one of the best bats in the lineup, collecting his fifth RBI of the series to give the Smokies a 2-1 lead in the third. After allowing the tying run in the top of the fourth, Kane Kepley delivered his second homer of the season – a three-run shot – to give Knoxville the lead right back.
Five runs is all the Smokies needed, as Kevin Valdez spun six innings, giving up just two runs and fanning six batters. Yenri Rojas was dominant across two no-hit frames, and Vince Riley picked up his seventh save, despite allowing a pair of runs in the ninth.
Wrap Up
Knoxville has now won three of the four series versus Rocket City in the 2026 season, with the one other series being a split back in April. Despite trailing to start five of the six games in the series, the Smokies were able to score 28 runs in the series, holding a .287 batting average as a team. On the flip side, the Smokies pitching staff allowed 17 runs and held a 2.67 ERA across the six games this week – a mark that found them second in all of Double-A. The Smokies have looked much more comfortable offensively over the past two series, with a team batting average that sits top ten in Double-A. Great rehab stints from three Major League arms, and offensive fireworks that fueled fans at Covenant Health Park all week long helped the Smokies not only retake the lead in the Southern League North standings, but take a three-game lead over Rocket City as well.
The Smokies will hit the road to the tip of the Florida Panhandle to face a red-hot Pensacola team next week.
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