MADISON, Ala — The Rocket City Trash Pandas (42-41, 9-6) frequently displayed the longball on Thursday night but it wasn’t enough in a 10-8 loss to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (47-36, 9-6) at Toyota Field.
Pensacola scored the first two runs of the game in the second as a balk from Trash Pandas starting pitcher Victor Mederos (L, 4-6) forced in a run. Blue Wahoos infielder Harrison Spohn collected a sacrifice fly to double the lead.
Rocket City collected a pair of solo shots in the fourth from designated hitter Eric Wagaman and infielder Ben Gobbel to tie the game. Wagaman picked up his 10th of the season while Gobbel collected his fourth.
The Blue Wahoos got those runs back and then some in the fifth as Pensacola sent 10 batters to the plate. A trio of run-scoring singles and a bases-loaded walk thrown by Mederos made it a 6-2 Blue Wahoos lead.
Rocket City nearly matched that outburst in the sixth as outfielders Gustavo Campero and Orlando Martinez crushed back-to-back solo shots against Pensacola starter Patrick Monteverde (W, 1-0) to bring the Trash Pandas within two. Campero tied the team lead with 12 home runs and Martinez upped his season total to four on the season. Infielder Mac McCroskey drew a bases-loaded walk to cut the deficit to one.
The Blue Wahoos ended the Trash Pandas run as outfielder Nathan Martorella blasted a two-run home run to make it an 8-5 game in the seventh. Designated hitter Joe Mack hit the Blue Wahoos second home run of the game with a long solo blast in the ninth. Pensacola got one more in the ninth as infielder Sean Roby singled in a run to get the Blue Wahoos into double figures.
Rocket City fought back in the ninth as Campero doubled in a run. Later in the inning a groundout from Martinez brought Campero to the plate to make the score 10-7. With the Trash Pandas down by three, Wagaman blasted his second solo round-tripper of the night for the Trash Pandas fifth home run of the game, all of them of the solo variety. Wagaman’s second homer of the game marked his first multi-homer game as a Trash Panda.
That tied a team record for most home runs in a game but it wasn’t enough as the Blue Wahoos held on for a 10-8 victory.
Rocket City will look to rebound against the Blue Wahoos on Friday, Toyota Field will host a Friday Night Fireworks show after the game. First pitch is set for 6:35 CT.
