Rocket City Trash Pandas Complete Worst-to-First Turnaround With First Southern League Title

The Rocket City Trash Pandas completed one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Minor League Baseball on Wednesday night, beating the Biloxi Shuckers 3-1 at Toyota Field to win the first Southern League championship in franchise history.

A year after finishing with a Minor League-worst 42-95 record, the Los Angeles Angels’ Double-A affiliate closed 2026 as champions. Arjun Nimmala supplied the final blow with a seventh-inning home run, while Austin Gordon struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings.

Gordon Controls the Deciding Game

Gordon gave Rocket City the kind of start a championship game demands. The right-hander allowed six hits and one run, walked one and threw 66 of his 95 pitches for strikes.

Rocket City moved ahead in the third inning when Nick Rodriguez singled home Eddie Micheletti Jr. Tucker Flint made it 2-0 with an RBI single in the fourth.

Biloxi cut the margin to one in the seventh, but Gordon’s work had already put the Trash Pandas in control. Camden Minacci and Kenyon Yovan combined to record the final eight outs without allowing another run.

Nimmala then restored the two-run advantage in the bottom of the seventh, driving a solo homer to left-center. It was his third home run of the postseason and gave Rocket City breathing room for the final two innings.

Nimmala Delivers After Deadline Move

Nimmala arrived in the Angels organization in a four-player trade with Toronto at the deadline and quickly became the centerpiece of Rocket City’s late-season push. The 20-year-old shortstop hit seven home runs over his final 11 regular-season games, then homered in both semifinal victories against Knoxville.

His title-clinching shot against Biloxi continued that September surge and capped a postseason in which he repeatedly changed games with one swing.

The Trash Pandas also received important contributions from several other prospects added during the summer. Tyler Bremner, the second overall pick in the 2025 draft, struck out 11 over 10 playoff innings. Catcher Jacob Cozart homered twice during the postseason, while Jake Munroe provided a steady middle-of-the-order presence after joining Rocket City in June.

From 42 Wins to a Championship

The scale of Rocket City’s turnaround makes the title especially striking. The 2025 team won only 42 games and finished with the worst record across the Minor Leagues. This season’s club improved to 72-65 before finding another level in the playoffs.

Rocket City swept the Knoxville Smokies in two games to reach the Southern League Championship Series. The Trash Pandas edged Biloxi 5-4 in the opener, lost Game 2 by a 7-0 score and responded by holding the Shuckers to one run in the decisive third game.

The championship also ended Biloxi’s bid to convert a prospect-heavy roster into a title. The Shuckers featured top-ranked Milwaukee prospect Jesús Made and one of the Minors’ most productive power hitters in Andrew Fischer, but Rocket City’s pitching contained them when the season came down to one night.

A First Title at Toyota Field

The Trash Pandas began play in 2021 after the relocated franchise lost its planned 2020 debut to the canceled Minor League season. Five years later, the club has its first Southern League crown.

The final out set off a celebration in Madison, Alabama, and completed a reversal that looked improbable only one season earlier. Rocket City did not simply recover from the worst record in the Minors. It finished the climb with a championship on its home field.