Bats Silent Again in 2-1 Loss to Hot Rods

Bowling Green, KY -- Despite six quality innings from Max Fried and two perfect innings of relief by Ruben Mejia, the TinCaps fell the Bowling Green Hot Rods Sunday afternoon, 2-1. The loss drops Fort Wayne's record against Bowling Green this year to 4-10.

Max Fried (6-6) retired the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the third inning, but that's when trouble arose. Brandon Martin singled and then advanced to second base on an errant pickoff throw by Fried. Joey Rickard doubled to plate Martin for the game's first run, and Leonardo Reginatto followed with an RBI single to put Bowling Green (39-24, 77-54) ahead 2-0.

Fort Wayne (25-37, 68-63) scored its only run against Kevin Brandt (2-0) in the top of the sixth inning. Alberth Martinez and Reynaldo Bruguera began the inning with back-to-back singles. After Hunter Renfroe sacrificed the runners to second and third base, respectively, Gabriel Quintana walked to load the bases. Diego Goris hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Martinez, cutting the Hot Rods lead to 2-1. The TinCaps threat was thwarted, however, with Luis Domoromo striking out.

The final nine Fort Wayne batters of the game were retired in order. The TinCaps, who were shut out 7-0 in the series opener Saturday, went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. For the series, Fort Wayne is 0-for-10 in such situations and has abandoned 15 baserunners.

While Fried allowed five hits and only one walk with four strikeouts, Brandt was even better. The left-hander lasted seven innings, scattering six hits and one walk. Brandt fanned six. Andrew Hanse and Marcus Jensen each pitched a perfect frame of relief.

The TinCaps attempt to salvage the three-game set and avoid a sweep on Monday morning. Colin Rea starts for Fort Wayne against Bowling Green's Reinaldo Lopez. First pitch is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. EST. The game can be heard on The Fan 1380 and TheFanFortWayne.com.