Trash Pandas Drop Sixth Straight, 5-1

BIRMINGHAM, AL – Barons rightfielder Craig Dedelow belted two homers and drove in three runs as Birmingham defeated Rocket City 5-1 Saturday night in front of 4,535 fans at Regions Field. The loss is a season-high sixth straight for the Trash Pandas with the Barons taking the first five of the series. The homers for Dedelow were his second and third of the series.

The Barons started the scoring in the second when Dedelow smashed a solo homer to right. It was his 16th homer of the season and gave Birmingham a 1-0 lead.

The Trash Pandas responded in the third. With one out centerfielder Torii Hunter Jr. singled to center and second baseman Livan Soto lobbed a single to left to put runners at first and second with one away. After a fielder’s choice to second from shortstop Luis Aviles moved Hunter to third with two out, Barons starter Johan Dominguez uncorked a wild pitch scoring Hunter and tying the game at one apiece.

Rocket City had a chance to take the lead in the fourth against Dominguez as they loaded the bases with one out on three singles. However, rightfielder Cade Cabbiness struck out swinging and Hunter flied to center to end the threat.

Birmingham, meanwhile, responded with three in the bottom-half. After Rocket City starter Robinson Pina hit centerfielder Yoelqui Cespedes to start the inning, Dedelow provided his second homer of the night; a two-run blast to right to make the score 3-1. It was also his 17th dinger of the season.

After the homerun, leftfielder Ian Dawkins doubled to left then advanced to third and home on wild pitches by Pina to give the Barons a three-run lead.

The Barons added an insurance run in the seventh. With two out and nobody on base, Cespedes laid down a bunt single to the mound, went to second on a walk, then scored on an RBI single to center from Dawkins to give Birmingham the final margin.

Getting the win for the Barons was Dominguez (2-2) who allowed a run on five hits with a walk over five innings. He also struck out seven. Pina (0-3) suffered the loss for Rocket City after he gave up four runs on six hits over 4.2 frames. He walked one, struck out five, and plunked two batters.

The Trash Pandas only managed six hits on the night including five singles. They remained homerless for the series. Their five games without a homer is a season-high.

Leading the way for Rocket City was Hunter who went 2-3 with a double and run scored. The Barons registered 10 hits including a 3-4 performance from Dawkins who singled twice, doubled, scored a run and drove in another. Dedelow finished 2-3 with his two round-trippers and three RBI. Catcher Carlos Perez was 2-5 with a double, and second baseman Yolbert Sanchez went 2-4 with two doubles to aid the Birmingham cause.

The Trash Pandas (53-54) will finish their six-game series against Birmingham (61-52) Sunday afternoon at Regions Field. First pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. CT. The game can be heard on 103.9 FM THE UMP and SportsRadio 730 AM with Josh Caray on the call.