Beech Tree News Network

Late rally isn’t enough in series ending loss

Greensboro, North Carolina– Brett Wisely and Connor Hollis hit their fifth home runs of the season as the Bowling Green Hot Rods (67-29) lost 11-6 to the Greensboro Grasshoppers (60-36) on Sunday afternoon at First National Bank Field in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Hot Rods are off on Monday before starting a 12-game homestand on Tuesday, beginning with a sixgame set against the Rome Braves.

After a scoreless first inning, the Grasshoppers put up three runs against Hot Rods opener Trey Cumbie in the second. In the fourth, Greensboro batted around the order against Alan Strong in relief, collecting seven runs on eight hits, including back-to-back homers by Matt Gorski and Nick Gonzalez to take a 10-0 lead.

Brett Wisely hit a leadoff homer in the fifth to put the first run of the game on the board for the Hot Rods. It was his fifth homer with Bowling Green this season. The Grasshoppers took back the run in the bottom of the sixth off Bowling Green reliever Angel Felipe, extending their lead in an 11-1 ballgame.

The Hot Rods mounted a rally in the eighth against Hoppers reliever Michell Miliano. Curtis Mead was hit by a pitch and Hollis worked a one-out walk. Hill Alexander hit a fly ball to right that was dropped to load the bases and Roberto Alvarez was hit by a pitch, making it an 11-2 game. With two outs, Luis Trevino doubled to right, scoring Hollis and Alexander to make it 11-4. Wisely walked for the third time in the game and Pedro Martinez did the same, forcing another run home to cut the deficit to six in an 11-5 game. Hollis added a solo homer in the ninth, but the Hot Rods were unable to mount a large enough comeback to overcome the Grasshoppers in the 11-6 loss.

Cumbie (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits with five strikeouts in a loss over 1.2 innings. Strong pitched 2.0 innings with three strikeouts while the Grasshoppers scored seven runs on seven hits with a walk. Felipe allowed one run on two hits with three walks and a strikeout. Trevor Brigden tossed 2.0 perfect innings with a strikeout.

Notes: The Hot Rods have lost each of the last four Sunday games… Martinez extended his hit streak to six games… Bowling Green was 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position… Sunday was the fourth time in August an opponent scored 10 or more runs against BG… Bowling Green is 8-5 on Sundays… They’re 3-3 on the road on Sundays… Hollis had his 13th mutli-hit game of the season… His five home runs this season are the second-most he’s hit in his career… The Hot Rods enjoy a league-wide off day on Monday… The team will be back in action at Bowling Green Ballpark on Tuesday to start a 12-game homestand… Monday starts a six-game series against the Rome Braves… Fans can catch all of the action by watching on MiLB.tv or listening through the MiLB First Pitch app, tuning into WBGN 94.5 FM and 1340 AM, or visiting https://www.milb.com/bowlinggreen/fans/audio-listen-live.

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