CHATTANOOGA, TN – The Rocket City Trash Pandas (28-28) saw a crucial road win slip away Tuesday night, falling 5-3 to the Chattanooga Lookouts (32-26) in the series opener at Erlanger Park. After carrying a two-run lead into the late innings, the Trash Pandas were undone by a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth following a 1-hour, 47-minute rain delay. The loss dropped Rocket City 3.0 games behind first-place Chattanooga and 1.5 games behind second-place Knoxville in the North Division standings with 12 games remaining in the first half.
Rocket City, playing in their first-ever game at Erlanger Park, threatened early but left opportunities on the table. The Trash Pandas put multiple runners aboard in each of the first three innings, stranding six runners while scoring only once. Their lone early run came in the third inning when Cole Fontenelle led off with a double, Harold Coll followed with a walk, and Elijah Dunham delivered a two-out RBI double for a 1-0 lead.
The Lookouts answered quickly in the bottom of the third as Jay Allen II launched a one-out solo home run over the left-field wall and onto the berm, his fifth homer of the season, tying the game at 1-1.
The Trash Pandas regained the lead in the fourth. Mac McCroskey worked a one-out walk against Chattanooga starter Kevin Abel before Nick Rodriguez ripped the first of his three doubles on the night, bringing home McCroskey to make it 2-1.
Rocket City added another run in the sixth when J.J. D’Orazio crushed a 393-foot solo home run, extending the lead to 3-1.
Starter Austin Gordon continued his recent stretch of strong outings. The 22-year-old threw 75 pitches over 5.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits while walking one and striking out four. The lone blemish was Allen's home run, the 11th Gordon has allowed this season. Over his last two starts, Gordon has surrendered just two runs across 11.2 innings, striking out 11 and walking three.
Abel, making his 13th career start against Rocket City, battled through traffic throughout the night. The right-hander threw 99 pitches and allowed three runs on seven hits while walking four and striking out six. Taylor Floyd (W, 2-1) followed with 2.1 scoreless innings to earn the victory.
Lucas Mahlstedt relieved Gordon in the sixth and recorded the final out of the inning. Chattanooga chipped away in the seventh when Leo Balcazar singled, advanced to second on an error, moved to third on a flyout, and scored on a Julio Carreras groundout to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Kenyon Yovan (L, 2-2) entered in the seventh and recorded the final out before returning for the eighth. After recording the first out of the inning and issuing two walks, rain arrived at Erlanger Park as manager Joe Kruzel went to the mound for a pitching change. Luke Murphy threw one strike to Ruben Ibarra before heavy rain halted play for 1 hour, 47 minutes. Action resumed shortly after 11:00 pm local time.
Following the delay, Leonard Garcia struck out Ibarra for the second out of the inning. However, Balcazar followed by launching a three-run home run to left field, giving Chattanooga its first lead of the night at 5-3.
Jonathan LaVallee (S, 4) allowed a leadoff walk to Tucker Flint in the ninth but induced a game-ending double play off the bat of Fontenelle to secure the save and cap a wild series opener.
Nick Rodriguez paced the Trash Pandas offense, finishing 3-for-5 with three doubles and an RBI. His three-double performance gave him a Southern League-leading 16 doubles, tied for the third-most in Double-A. It also marked just the third three-double game in franchise history, joining Denzer Guzman (July 13, 2025, at Chattanooga) and David MacKinnon (July 3, 2021, at Tennessee).
Overall, the Trash Pandas left 11 runners on base and finished 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position.
The Trash Pandas and Lookouts continue their series on Wednesday night at Erlanger Park. First pitch is set for 6:00 pm CT with RHP Nate Snead (0-2, 7.88) starting for Rocket City against LHP Nick Sando (1-1, 0.82) for the Lookouts. Fans can watch on Bally Sports Live, MLB.tv, and MiLB.tv, and listen locally on Talk Radio WZZN 97.7 FM HD-2 and ESPN The Zone 97.7 FM.
The Rocket City Trash Pandas return to Toyota Field to close out the first half of the season, June 9-14, against the Montgomery Biscuits!
Tickets are available starting at just $8. They can be purchased online HERE. Fans can book a group outing for the 2026 season by visiting trashpandasgroups.com or by calling the group sales department directly at (256) 325-1403 option 2. A complete promotional schedule for the season can be found HERE.
Fans are reminded that Toyota Field follows MiLB's clear bag policy. Guests are allowed one clear bag no larger than 12″ x 6″ x 12″ or a one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag. Small, clear clutches are also permitted. Exceptions will be made for medical needs and parents with infants (diaper bags). Learn more about this policy here.
ABOUT THE ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS
Owned and operated by BallCorps, LLC, the Rocket City Trash Pandas are the proud Double-A Affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels in the Southern League. The Trash Pandas play at state-of-the-art TOYOTA Field in Madison, Alabama. The organization's mission is to unite our communities by creating positive and lasting memories one experience at a time.