Edwards’ Three Hits Boost Hot Rods to 4-3 Win Friday

Winston-Salem, North Carolina– Evan Edwards had three hits as the Bowling Green Hot Rods (77-35) defeated the Winston-Salem Dash (41-70) 4-3 on Friday night at Truist Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The Hot Rods magic number to clinch the one-seed in the High-A East postseason and home-field advantage is down to three. The two teams will play the penultimate game of the six-game series on Saturday with a 5:00 PM CT first pitch.

Bowling Green jumped out to an early lead against Dash starter Karan Patel in the first. Grant Witherspoon walked with one out and took second on a wild pitch. Edwards singled with two outs, knocking in Witherspoon to take a 1-0 lead. Winston-Salem tied the game in the bottom of the first with a solo homer off the bat of Alex Destino against Hot Rods starter Carlos Garcia to make it a 1-1 game.

Witherspoon scored the second run of the game after a bit of drama in the third. The centerfielder blasted a ball to deep centerfield that landed over the wall and bounced back in. After deliberation, the umpires ruled it Witherspoon’s 21st homer of the season, giving the Hot Rods a 2-1 lead. Winston-Salem tied the game again in the bottom of the third with Luis Curbelo striking a two-out double to left-center, scoring Destino while turning it into a 2-2 contest.

The Hot Rods took another lead in the fifth against Dash reliever Sammy Peralta. Curtis Mead led off with a single to center and went to third on Edwards’ single. With two outs, Hill Alexander lifted a sacrifice fly to center allowing Mead to score from third, but the inning ended at second base where Edwards was thrown out trying to advance on the play. Mead crossed before the out at second was made, giving the Hot Rods a 3-2 edge.

Winston-Salem tied the game in the seventh on a wild pitch at 3-3, but the Hot Rods took their fourth lead of the game in the eighth. Edwards led off with a single to right and Qsar walked. Alexander reached on an infield single to load the bases and Erik Ostberg lifted a sacrifice fly to center, plating Edwards to give the Hot Rods a 4-3 advantage. Alan Strong earned his fourth save of the year by closing out the ninth inning in the 4-3 victory.

Garcia allowed two runs on four hits with four walks and four strikeouts in a no-decision over 4.0 innings. Trey Cumbie (1-2) allowed one unearned run over 3.0 innings with four strikeouts. Nathan Witt worked the eighth inning, allowing a walk. Alan Strong (4) earned the save after throwing a scoreless ninth, allowing two hits with a strikeout.

*Notes: *Mead had his 19th multi-hit game of the season for BG… He has a four-game hit streak… Three of the four games are multi-hit games… Edwards had a multi-hit game for the 14th time this season… It was his third three-hit game of the year… Alexander has an RBI in three straight games… Garcia’s four walks tie a career-high… It’s the second time he’s issued six walks… Martinez had his 13th multi-hit game of the season… The Hot Rods magic number to secure the one-seed in the High-A east postseason is three… BG is 8-3 in September this season… BG is 20-13 in one-run game… The Hot Rods and Dash play the fifth game of a six-game series on Saturday with a 5:00 PM CT first pitch… The Hot Rods will send RH Taj Bradley (2-0, 2.20) to the mound against a Dash pitcher yet to be announced… Fanscan catch all of the action by watching on MiLB.tv or listening through the MiLB First Pitch app, tuning into WBGN 94.5 FM and 1340 AM, or visiting https://www.milb.com/bowling-green/fans/audio-listen-live.

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