Cardenas spoils Lingos' gem

(Bowling Green, KY) - Eli Lingos fired six strong innings on Friday night, but former Captain Ruben Cardenas burned his old club. Cardenas' fourth-inning solo home run represented the only run in the game, as the Lake County Captains (33-34, 73-63) lost to the Bowling Green Hot Rods (41-25, 80-56) at Bowling Green Ballpark, 1-0.

Lingos blanked the Hot Rods over the first three innings and struck out the first two men in the fourth when Cardenas came up. On a 1-1 pitch, Cardenas, who was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 28, pulled the ball over the left field wall to put Bowling Green in front, 1-0. It was Cardenas' 13^th homer of the year, his third with Bowling Green and his second against the Captains.
Lingos (3-4) went on to take a tough-luck loss. The lefty allowed just one run over six innings with five strikeouts and one walk. Kyle Marman followed Lingos and spun two scoreless frames, in which he struck out five of the six men he faced.
Hot Rods starter Alan Strong earned the win. Strong (10-4) held the Captains scoreless over five innings. He allowed four hits, struck out six and walked one. Hector Figueroa followed with two scoreless innings with three hits, no walks and two strikeouts. Lefty Michael Costanzo nailed down his third save and secured the three-man shutout. He struck out one and allowed one baserunner on a strikeout wild pitch. Costanzo ended the game by getting Jesse Berardi to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play in the ninth.
The Captains lost the last two games of their three-game series at Bowling Green and will return home to wrap up the regular season with a three-game series against the Great Lakes Loons the same team they will face in the opening round of the playoffs. The opening game of the final regular season series of the season is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. at Classic Park. The Captains host game one of the playoffs on Wednesday, September 4, at 7:00 p.m.
Individual game tickets for all Captains games are on sale at the Classic Park box office, online at captainsbaseball.com and by phone at 440-954-WINS (9467). Mini ticket plans for the 2019 season are still available for great prices complete with several exclusive benefits. Information can be found at the Captains website www.captainsbaseball.com.