Dayton Spoils Faria's Outing with Three-Run Eighth

Dayton, Ohio - Jake Faria continued his dominance of the Dayton Dragons (Class-A/Cincinnati Reds) as he tied career-highs with seven innings pitched and nine strikeouts. He left with a 1-0 lead, but the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays) fell in the finale to Dayton on Thursday night, 3-1.

Faria lowered his earned run average to 3.24 with his seven-shutout innings. He has now allowed just one run on six hits over thirteen innings against the Dragons. Faria issued just one free pass, and conceded three hits.

The game was locked in a scoreless tie until the sixth inning when the Hot Rods went in front. Armando Araiza singled through the left side to start the rally. One out later, Oscar Hernandez sent a double into left field. Araiza was off and running from first base on the pitch, and he was able to score from first to give Bowling Green the lead.

That advantage lasted until the bottom of the eighth inning when Dayton rallied for three runs to take the lead. With Faria out of the game, Jon Matthews hit the first pitch of the frame into left field for a double. Avain Rachel then laid down a bunt up the first-base line, but Alexander Simon mishandled the ball and Matthews was safe at third while Rachel reached third base. Joe Hudson reached on a fielder's choice that drove home Matthews to tie the game. Carlton Daal followed with a double to move the go-ahead runner to third base with no outs. A sacrifice fly by Jamodrick McGruder hit a sacrifice fly to put Dayton in front, and a wild pitch capped the scoring.

Luke Moran made a fill-in start for Dayton, and he tossed four shutout innings in his full-season debut. Joel Bender (3-0) worked the eighth inning and was handed the win, while Layne Somsen recorded his second save.

Faria did not factor in the decision as Jorge Rodriguez (1-3) picked up the loss. He allowed three runs, but just one was earned, in the decisive eighth inning.

The Hot Rods now travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. to close out the first half. They'll open a three-game series on Friday night, and first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT, and the fans can follow the action on 1340 WBGN - The Ticket beginning with the Pepsi Pre-Game Show at 5:50 p.m. CT. Baseball will return to Bowling Green Ballpark on Tuesday, June 24, when the Hot Rods host Lake County (Cleveland Indians). For tickets and more information, fans can visit BGHotRods.com, call 270-901-2121, or stop by the Bowling Green Ballpark box office.

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