Hot Rods Drop Series Opener To Fort Wayne, 8-3
Bowling Green, Ky. - Despite touching three Fort Wayne pitchers for 11 hits, the TinCaps' offense proved to be too much too early, as the Hot Rods dropped the first game of the three-game series to Fort Wayne, 8-3, in front of 2,437 fans at Bowling Green Ballpark on Tuesday night.
Bowling Green (25-25, 62-58) falls to 5-2 over the nine-game homestand, while Fort Wayne (33-17, 65-53) has won nine straight and 17 of its last 19 games since losing at Bowling Green Ballpark on Alec Sole's walkoff home run on July 26.
Fort Wayne touched Hot Rods' starter Yonny Chirinos for three runs in the top of the first inning, beginning with the first of three wild pitches by Chirinos to score Josh VanMeter - who singled into centerfield with one out - to make it 1-0 TinCaps. After a Ruddy Giron singled into left field and with two outs, Franchy Cordero took hold of Chirinos' first-pitch fastball and hit it over the right-field fence, giving the TinCaps a 3-0 lead.
It was another wild pitch that lead to the TinCaps' fourth run of the evening, when Luis Urias singled into left field with one out in the bottom of the fourth, moved to third on Josh VanMeter's second single of the game and scored on Chirinos' second wild pitch, making it 4-0.
Chirinos (3-3) lasted just 5.0 innings, allowing nine hits and a season-high four earned runs, while walking two, hitting Jose Ruiz in the top of the second inning and striking out two.
Coty Blanchard scored the first run for Bowling Green, doubling into left field with one out and taking third on an errant throw by TinCaps' catcher Ruiz. Grant Kay singled back through the middle into centerfield on a two-out payoff pitch from Fort Wayne starter Pete Kelich, bringing the Hot Rods within 4-1.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, Thomas Milone crushed his third home run of the season over the right-field fence off Kelich, cutting the TinCaps' lead in half at 4-2.
Kelich (2-0), in his second Midwest League start of 2015 after coming off Tommy John Surgery, also went 5.0 innings and scattered seven hits while allowing the two runs, walking one and striking out two in earning his second straight victory.
Diego Castillo made his Bowling Green debut in relief in the top of the sixth, but ran into trouble early, surrendering a leadoff single to Edwin Moreno who scored on VanMeter's RBI double down the first-base line, re-giving Fort Wayne a four-run advantage at 5-1. VanMeter moved to third base on a throwing error and scored on a two-out passed ball, making for a 6-2 game.
Castillo logged 2.0 innings in his first outing with the Hot Rods, allowing two runs and two hits while striking out one.
Ryan Pennell struggled over his 2.0 innings of work, giving up just one hit but issuing five walks while allowing two runs (one earned) to score - Luis Tejada's RBI fielder's choice in the eighth and Ruiz's RBI single into right field in the ninth - upping the TinCaps advantage to 8-2.
Against Fort Wayne's Aaron Cressley in the top of the ninth, Mac James drew a two-out walk to set a new Hot Rods' home on-base streak record at 24 straight games, and Cade Gotta's ensuing single to right field was mishandled by Moreno, allowing James to score and bring Bowling Green within 8-3, but Cressley induced a Milone groundout to shut the door.
Gotta collected his second straight three-hit game, going 3-for-4, while Blanchard went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Eight of nine Hot Rods collected at least one hit, but Bowling Green hit into two double plays and stranded seven runners.
Bowling Green looks to even the series Wednesday night at 7:05 p.m. CDT, throwing Brad Wallace (2-3, 5.14) to oppose Fort Wayne righty Dinelson Lamet (4-6, 3.18).
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