Tag: Rocket City Trash Pandas

Angels assign Ben Joyce to minor league ahead of opening day

The Angels assign former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce to the minor league ahead of opening day.

Opening day in Major League Baseball is taking place on Thursday for the Angels.

Baltimore will host Los Angeles on Thursday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. First pitch is slated for 3:05 p.m. EDT.

Ahead of opening day, the Angels assigned former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce to the Rocket City Trash Pandas. The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of Los Angeles.

Joyce was selected by the Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

He appeared in 27 games and started one contest in his final season at Tennessee in 2022.

Joyce had a 2-1 record, while totaling 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference East division for the second consecutive season, the league regular season and tournament championships in 2022.

Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The minor league Rocket City Trash Pandas threw a no-hitter and still managed to give up 7 runs in an absurd loss

The Rocket City Trash Pandas didn’t allow a hit through seven innings and somehow lost 7-5.

Baseball logic had to take a rain check during an absolutely inconceivable sequence of events went down during Saturday’s doubleheader between the Rocket City Trash Pandas and the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Rocket City, the AA affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, somehow did not give up a hit in a seven-inning contest and managed to still lose the first game of the doubleheader to Chattanooga, 7-5.

If you’re wondering how that’s even remotely possible, it happens in a catastrophic collapse with some of the weirdest pitches to ever come from a team that had thrown a no-hitter through seven innings.

The Lookouts had a number of guys who got nailed by pitches or drew walks and other hijinks ensued to make sure this goofy blown lead would cement itself in the annals of embarrassing baseball history.

The Trash Pandas did rally in the second game of the series, topping the Lookouts in a one-hit victory for the team’s first victory of 2023.

Well, at least Rocket City gave the folks in the stands something to wash down whatever the heck happened earlier in the day.

Ben Joyce assigned to Angels’ organization following playoffs

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce assigned to Angels’ organization following playoffs.

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

Joyce was assigned to the Rocket City Trash Pandas Aug. 5.

The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of the Angels.

Rocket City’s season ended Sept. 23 against the Tennessee Smokies in the Southern League division series.

Joyce was assigned to the Angels’ organization Wednesday. Los Angeles (69-86) has seven games remaining in its 2022 regular season.

The former Vol is currently not listed on the Angels’ active or 40-man roster.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols. Joyce (2-1) totaled 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Below are Joyce’s regular-season statistics with Rocket City.

Ben Joyce records first professional hold

Former Vol Ben Joyce records first professional hold.

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce made his seventh professional appearance Tuesday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Joyce (1-0) pitched one inning, recording two strikeouts against three batters in Rocket City’s 5-4 win against Biloxi. The former Vol totaled 11 pitches with eight strikes.

Joyce recorded his first professional hold in the contest.

A hold is earned when a pitcher enters a contest with a lead of three runs or less and maintains the lead, while recording at least one out. A hold can also be earned when a pitcher enters a contest with the tying run on-deck, at the plate or on the bases, and records one out.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of the Angels.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols. Joyce (2-1) totaled 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Below are Joyce’s game-by-game strikeout totals with Rocket City.

Ben Joyce records first professional save

Former Vol Ben Joyce records first professional save.

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce made his sixth professional appearance Thursday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Joyce (1-0) pitched one inning, recording one strikeout against five batters in Rocket City’s 3-2 win at Tennessee. The former Vol earned his first professional save and totaled 21 pitches with 13 strikes.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of the Angels.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols.

Joyce had a 2-1 record, while totaling 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference East division for the second consecutive season, the league regular season and tournament championships in 2022.

2022 Tennessee baseball: Ben Joyce by the numbers

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Ben Joyce returns to Smokies Stadium, records one strikeout

Former Vol Ben Joyce returns to Smokies Stadium and records one strikeout.

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce made his fifth professional appearance Tuesday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Joyce (1-0) pitched one inning, recording one strikeout, while surrendering one hit against four batters.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of the Angels.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols.

Tennessee played against Tennessee Tech at Smokies Stadium during the 2022 season.

Tennessee Tech defeated the Vols, 3-2, April 12 in a wood bat game. Joyce pitched two innings against Tennessee Tech, recording six strikeouts, while surrendering one walk, two hits, two runs and two earned runs.

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Ben Joyce earns first professional win

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce earns first professional win.

Former Tennessee pitcher Ben Joyce made his fourth professional appearance Saturday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Joyce (1-0) pitched one inning, recording two strikeouts, one walk and zero runs against Chattanooga. Rocket City defeated the Lookouts, 8-7, and Joyce earned the win.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of the Angels.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols.

Joyce had a 2-1 record, while totaling 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference East division for the second consecutive season, the league regular season and tournament championships in 2022.

2022 Tennessee baseball: Ben Joyce by the numbers

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Ben Joyce records two strikeouts, totaling eight strikes in 12 pitches against Lookouts

Former Vol Ben Joyce records two strikeouts, totaling eight strikes in 12 pitches against the Chattanooga Lookouts.

Former Vol Ben Joyce made his third professional appearance Wednesday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Rocket City defeated the Chattanooga Lookouts, 8-7, in Madison, Alabama.

Joyce pitched one inning, totaling two strikeouts. He recorded eight strikes in 12 pitches.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The Trash Pandas compete in the Southern League and are a Double-A affiliate of the Angels.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols.

Joyce had a 2-1 record, while totaling 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference East division for the second consecutive season, the league regular season and tournament championships in 2022.

2022 Tennessee baseball: Ben Joyce by the numbers

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Ben Joyce makes second appearance with Rocket City

Former Vol pitcher Ben Joyce makes second appearance with Rocket City.

Former Vol Ben Joyce made his second professional appearance Friday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Rocket City defeated Biloxi, 14-5.

Joyce pitched one inning, surrendering one walk.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols.

Joyce had a 2-1 record, while totaling 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference East division for the second consecutive season, the league regular season and tournament championships in 2022.

2022 Tennessee baseball: Ben Joyce by the numbers

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Ben Joyce records strikeout in professional debut

A look at former Vol Ben Joyce’s professional pitching debut.

Former Vol Ben Joyce made his professional debut Saturday with the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Tennessee defeated Rocket City, 5-3, in Madison, Alabama.

Joyce pitched one inning, recording one strikeout, while allowing four hits, two earned runs and zero walks.

Joyce was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the third round (No. 89 overall) in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft.

The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Joyce appeared in 27 games and started one contest in 2022 for the Vols.

Joyce had a 2-1 record, while totaling 53 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched during the 2022 campaign.

Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference East division for the second consecutive season, the league regular season and tournament championships in 2022.

2022 Tennessee baseball: Ben Joyce by the numbers

Below is social media reaction of Joyce’s professional debut.