The Knoxville Smokies just got absolutely hammered, taking a brutal 9-2 loss to the Rocket City Trash Pandas last night. That puts them down 1-0 in their best-of-three divisional playoff series, and man, that’s not how you wanna start a postseason run.
On a side note, the Iowa Cubs got rained out in Omaha, messing up scheduled rehab games for Dansby Swanson and Gavin Hollowell. There’s no decision yet on if or when that game will even be made up.
Early Fight, Then The Fall
Smokies starter Brooks Caple got off to a rough start, giving up a leadoff bomb in the second inning to Caleb Bartolero. The Trash Pandas then tacked on another run in that same inning after Caple allowed a walk and a single, followed by two ground outs. So yeah, it wasn’t looking great. But our guys, they showed some fight, right? Angel Cepeda, man, he ripped a solo shot in the third to get us on the board. Then in the fourth, Carter Trice smacked a double that brought Ariel Armas home, tying the game up at 2-2. That’s the kind of grit you love to see, even in a tough spot.
The Bottom Drops Out
Then the wheels just came flying off in the sixth. Caple gave up a one-out infield single and that was it for him. Tyler Schlaffer came in, and it got wild fast. He hit a batter, then served up a three-run dinger to Eddie Micheletti Jr. And just like that, the game was out of reach. Caple took the loss, charged with three runs on four hits over his 5.1 innings, striking out four. Schlaffer, though, he took the brunt of it, giving up five runs on four hits in just two innings. Our bats, man, they went silent after that, managing just three hits all game. Cepeda with his homer, Trice with his double, and Armas got a walk, but that was pretty much it.
So now, the Smokies are heading back home to Knoxville for Game 2 on Thursday, with their season hanging by a thread. They absolutely HAVE to win both Thursday and Friday if they wanna keep this dream alive and make it to the Southern League Championship Series. It’s do or die, folks. Let’s hope they bring the fire!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply