Bastardo tosses six stellar innings, but Drive fall 3-2

Bastardo: 6.0 IP, 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K

A masterful night from Greenville Drive (15-19) starter Angel Bastardo would be upended in the seventh inning as the Bowling Green Hot Rod’s (18-15) catcher Jeffry Para sent a homer to left field off reliever Maceo Campbell erasing a 2-0 Drive lead. It would ultimately be enough to topple the Drive, as Drive batters failed to muster any more runs, giving Bowling Green a 3-2 victory.

The first four innings were quiet for both teams as Bastardo and Hot Rods’ starter Patrick Wicklander held the teams at-bay. Bastardo spun three hitless innings before relinquishing a single in the fourth inning, but it’d be the only hit he’d allow.

While the Drive loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, they wouldn’t scratch a run across and failed to muster a run until the bottom of the fifth when a Brainer Bonaci infield single plated Eduardo Lopez. Bonaci ultimately finished the night going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI. Marcelo Mayer followed up Bonaci with a deep fly ball to right field which was caught just shy of the warning track for a sacrifice fly that plated Ronald Rosario to make it 2-0.

Bastardo exited the game after the sixth inning, finishing his night allowing a lone hit, no runs, issuing two walks and fanning seven.

The Drive carried the 2-0 lead into the seventh on the strength of Bastardo’s efforts, but the lead turned out to be fleeting. Maceo Campbell came on in relief of Bastardo, issuing two walks before the one-out, three-run home run by the Hot Rod’s Para gave Bowling Green the 3-2 lead.

Drive relievers Graham Hoffman and Alex Hoppe came on for the eighth and ninth innings respectively. The game seemed like it might get out of hand in the eight as Hoffman yielded three straight singles to load the bases. But he recovered, striking out the next three batters to keep the deficit at just one run. Hoppe also picked up three strikeouts in the ninth as well while giving up a solitary single, giving the Drive a chance to be heroes in the bottom of the ninth.

But Bowling Green pitching stifled the Drive from the seventh inning on, sending down nine Drive batters to close out the game and preserve a 3-2 victory.

The Drive (Boston Red Sox) return to action tomorrow, May 18 at Fluor Field for game three of the six-game series with the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays), with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. The series is currently split at one game apiece.