Hot Rods Drop 2-1 Nail-Biter to Cubs to Open Series

The Bowling Green Hot Rods allowed a ninth-inning run and fell 2-1 to the South Bend Cubs in front of a crowd 6,172 fans at Bowling Green Ballpark, snapping a five-game winning streak. Bowling Green fell to 76-55, 37-24 in the second half, ahead of Sunday's game, which will begin with a 2:05 p.m. first pitch.

Easton McGee and South Bend starter Cam Sanders traded zeroes for the first three inning before the Cubs mounted a rally in the fourth. After a flyout to begin the inning, South Bend strung together three-straight singles to load the bases. Hector Velazquez then rolled into a fielder's choice, beating the throw to first which allowed a run to score. However, Jake Slaughter also attempted to score, but was thrown out at the plate by Seaver Whalen, ending the inning and limiting the damage to one run.
In the bottom of the fourth, the Hot Rods responded right away against Sanders. Nick Schnell led off the inning by tripling off the left-field wall. Jonathan Aranda then lined out to right, but Schnell slid in safely ahead of Velazquez's throw home to tie the game at one apiece.
McGee gave way to Michael Costanzo in the seventh inning, who promptly allowed a leadoff double to Cole Roederer. After Roederer moved to third on a groundout, Costanzo struck out Fidel Mejia. Gustavo Polanco then hit a grounder to the left field that Ford Proctor stopped with a dive, then threw out Polanco to end the inning and keep the game deadlocked.
The game remained tied into the ninth inning. Costanzo struck out the first two batters, but allowed consecutive singles to Roederer and Velazquez to put runners on the corners. Mejia followed with a single on an 0-2 count to break the tie, giving South Bend a 2-1 lead.
The Hot Rods then went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, sending Bowling Green to a loss that ended their five-game winning streak.
McGee went 6.0 innings, allowing a run on three hits, while walking two and striking out five in a no-decision. Costanzo (1-3) allowed a run on four hits, while striking out four and taking the loss.
Notes: The crowd of 6,172 was the seventh-largest in Hot Rods history, and the second-largest this season (behind 6,199 on July 4)…Aranda saw his hit streak end at 15 games…McGee went at least 6.0 innings for the 12^th time and recorded his eighth quality start…The Hot Rods are 14-9 in the month of August…BG is 24-22 in one-run games this season…They're 58-38 in games started by an opposing right-hander… BG is 23-18 series openers this season… The Hot Rods will play the second game of the four-game series with South Bend tomorrow afternoon, with first pitch at 2:05 p.m. CDT on Sunday afternoon…RHP Zack Trageton (4-0, 1.48) will start for Bowling Green, while South Bend will send LHP Faustino Carrera (8-6, 3.29) to the hill…Tomorrow is the final Signature Sunday of the season, featuring postgame autographs on the field…The first 250 fans will also receive a team photo at the gate…Fans can catch all the action with Shawn Murnin on Willie 107.9 FM, as well as, with their smart phones via the MiLB First Pitch app and TuneIn Radio app.
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