Four late runs by the Rocket City Trash Pandas led to a 6-5 victory Tuesday night over the Chattanooga Lookouts at Toyota Field. This was the opening game of a seven-game series between the two teams.

Down 3-2 in the bottom of the eighth, Rocket City’s Luis Aviles Jr. led off the frame with a double. Orlando Martinez and Brendan Davis each tallied an infield single to put ducks on the pond and nobody out. David MacKinnon tied the game with a bloop single to right field. A few batters later, Ray-Patrick Didder launched a three-run home run to left center to put the Trash Pandas up 6-3 heading into the ninth.

Rocket City’s Connor Higgins came in to close the game out for the Trash Pandas, but things got dicey in a hurry. Chattanooga added two runs and had a runner on first and third with just one out. But Higgins was able to escape with the save and a 6-5 victory by getting Tennessee’s Wilson Garcia to ground out into a game-ending double play.

The Trash Pandas put runs on the board early in the first, David MacKinnon plated Davis on a RBI single to center field.

Chattanooga tied the game in the top of the second off of Rocket City starter Jhonathan Diaz. Jay Schuyler hit a RBI double down the left field line to score Mark Kolozsvary. In the fourth, Schuyler hit another RBI double to right field to score Quincy McAfee and give the Lookouts a lead of 2-1.

Michael Cruz tied things up at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame for the Trash Pandas with a RBI single up the middle to score Nay for the tying run.

In his six innings of work the mound for the Trash Pandas, Diaz gave up two earned runs on four hits with five strikeouts.

Chattanooga retook the lead 3-2 in the top of the eighth, as Garcia knotted a RBI single off of Trash Pandas reliever Keith Rogalla before the Trash Pandas had their four-run rally.

Didder went 2-for-4 with a game-winning double and three RBIs, while MacKinnon and Martinez each had two hits.