Franklin Paces Hot Rods over Loons
MIDLAND, Mich. - After winning back-to-back games to start the series, the Great Lakes Loons fell short in game three of four against the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Dow Diamond. Even though the Loons (12-24) trailed by just one in the hit category, the Hot Rods
MIDLAND, Mich. - After winning back-to-back games to start the series, the Great Lakes Loons fell short in game three of four against the Bowling Green Hot Rods, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Dow Diamond.
Even though the Loons (12-24) trailed by just one in the hit category, the Hot Rods (23-15) did a much better job of converting its chances to score. Once Great Lakes got on the board in the bottom of the first, it was shut down the rest of the way.
Morales' run was the only one allowed by the entire Hot Rods pitching staff. Setting the tone was starter
Loons starting pitcher
Bowling Green tacked on its third run of the night on a sacrifice fly from
Vargas (L, 4-2) went 6.0 innings before turning the ball over to left-hander
Hoyt, making his debut for Great Lakes after being sent from Double-A Tulsa, was without a blemish on the scoreboard until the ninth inning. Following back-to-back strikeouts, Hoyt allowed a walk, double and single. The plethora of hits made it 5-1 in favor of the Hot Rods and forced Loons manager John Shoemaker to go back to the bullpen.
In his lone inning for the Drillers on May 11, Hoyt was perfect. Making his first appearance since May 12,
Morales, who scored the Loons only run, was also the lone player to record two hits off Bowling Green. With his performance, he bumped his batting average to .259.
The Loons and Hot Rods return to Dow Diamond for the four-game series finale. Right-hander
The Great Lakes Loons have been the Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers since the team's inception in 2007. Dow Diamond serves as the team's home and also houses the Michigan Baseball Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity, and ESPN 100.9-FM. For tickets or information about the Loons, call 989-837-BALL or visit Loons.com.