League strikeout leader quiets Hoppers

GREENSBORO ― Winning pitcher Mason Montgomery and two relievers combined to strike out 14 batters, leading the Bowling Green Hot Rods to a 6-2 victory over the Greensboro Grasshoppers on a sunny Tuesday morning at First National Bank Field.

Montgomery (1-2) struck out nine in five solid innings, allowing four hits including a pair of towering solo home runs that actually raised his ERA to 1.55. Montgomery leads the Sally League with 52 strikeouts in 29 innings of work this season.

Hoppers cleanup hitter Jacob Gonzalez, the South Atlantic League player of the week, stayed red-hot. Gonzalez went 3-for-4 and hit a laser line drive over the left-field fence in the fourth inning to tie the game 2-2.

Gonzalez, who joined the Hoppers eight days ago, has hits in all six games since his promotion from the Florida State League. Gonzalez is 15-for-23 (.652) with four home runs and eight RBIs.

Matt Gorski went 2-for-4 and gave Greensboro a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a solo shot that landed among the Sunbrellas on the concourse beyond the left-field hill. The exit velocity off the bat measured 105 mph.

Jack Herman and Hudson Head singled to account for the rest of Greensboro's seven hits in the game.

Hoppers starter Jared Jones (2-2) took the loss, but deserved better. Jones allowed three runs ― just two earned ― in five innings of work.

Tanner Murray, the ninth hitter in Bowling Green's lineup, went 2-for-3 with a home run and a walk.

NOTES

• Greensboro left eight runners on base, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.
• It was a school kids day at the ballpark, with second-graders from Guilford County Schools and surrounding districts comprising the crowd of 6,169.
• Hard-throwing Jared Jones, a 20-year-old right-hander rated as Pittsburgh's No. 12 prospect by MLB Pipeline, ranks sixth in the South Atlantic league with 39 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings.
• First baseman Jacob Gonzalez, the 23-year-old son of former big-league All-Star Luis Gonzalez, batted .393 with 11 doubles, four home runs and 16 RBIs in 24 games for the Bradenton Marauders before his promotion to Greensboro. He was a second-round pick of the San Francisco Giants in 2017, turning pro right out of high school, and is in his fifth minor-league season.
• Center fielder Matt Gorski ranks second in the Sally League with 10 home runs, and third in both RBIs (27) and runs scored (26). He's fifth in OPS (.972) and 10th in stolen baes (9). Gorski has hits in six of his last seven games, and he has been on base in 29 of 32 games played.
• Hudson Head went 1-for-3 with a walk. Head, a 21-year-old outfielder rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 22 prospect in Pittsburgh's farm system, has hits in 10 of his last 11 games. He has reached base in 16 of his last 17 games.