Joe Ryan tied the Hot Rods' single-game record with 12 strikeouts and the Hot Rods scored in five consecutive innings in an 10-4 victory over the Lake County Captains in the rubber game of the three game series. Bowling Green improved to 7-7 ahead of the start of a three-game
Joe Ryan tied the Hot Rods' single-game record with 12 strikeouts and the Hot Rods scored in five consecutive innings in an 10-4 victory over the Lake County Captains in the rubber game of the three game series. Bowling Green improved to 7-7 ahead of the start of a three-game series at Great Lakes, which begins with a 5:05 p.m. CDT first pitch on Thursday.
Ryan issued a leadoff walk to begin the game, but after a fly out to center, he embarked on an impressive string of swings and misses. Ryan struck out the final two hitters of the first inning, then struck out the side in the second, giving him five straight strikeouts.
In the bottom of the second, the Hot Rods took the lead as Roberto Alvarez connected for a solo homer off Captains starter Juan Mota. His second homer of the season cleared the left field wall to put the Hot Rods up 1-0.
In the third, Ryan's strikeout string continued as he collected his sixth consecutive punch-out to begin the inning, but followed it up by issuing a pair of walks. After a pop-up for the second out, a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Will Benson then beat out a ground ball to deep short to score Hosea Nelson, tying the game at one apiece.
The Hot Rods took advantage of a pair of free baserunners in the bottom of the third. Bryce Brown drew a walk and Connor Hollis was hit by a pitch, putting two on with two outs for Chris Betts. Betts turned around a 1-2 pitch and lined it over the wall in right field for a three-run homer that put the Hot Rods up 4-1.
On the mound, Ryan controlled the Lake County offense. He retired the final seven hitters he faced, striking out six of them, including four straight punchouts to finish off his dominant start.
The Bowling Green bats continued to rack up offensive support, scoring single runs in the fourth and fifth, followed by two runs in the sixth to build an 8-1 lead.
Lake County scored twice in the eighth and once in the ninth, but the Bowling Green offense got in the final cuts, receiving an RBI single from Brown and Wander Franco's second sacrifice fly of the day to reach double-digit runs, capping off a 10-4 win that gave the Hot Rods their second consecutive series victory to cap off the homestand.
Ryan worked 5.0 innings, allowing one run on just one hit, walking three and striking out 12. Miguel Lara came out of the bullpen and worked around three walks, striking out two in a pair of scoreless innings. Justin Marsden finished off the contest, allowing three runs in two innings of work.
Notes: Ryan's 12 strikeouts tied the single-game franchise record, the fifth time that a Hot Rod has fanned 12 in a game (Last time: Ryne Stanek on July 2, 2014 at Lake County)… Ryan fanned six consecutive hitters spanning the first three innings, the most consecutive strikeouts by a Hot Rods hurler this season…The 12 strikeouts by Ryan mark the first double-digit strikeout performance by a Hot Rods starter this season… It's the first time since Resly Linares K'd 10 West Michigan White Caps on July 1, 2018 that a Hot Rods' pitcher struck out 10 or more batters in a game… The pitching staff fanned 14 batters, marking the fifth time this season Bowling Green has struck out 13 or more hitters… The Hot Rods scored ten runs for the second time this series and the third time this season… The ten runs and 12 hits are both the third-highest total for the team this season… Chris Betts launched his second home run of the series (and season)…All eight of his RBI this season have come vs. Lake County, seven in this series…Jake Palomaki stroked three hits, tallying his first multi-hit game of the season…Wander Franco and Bryce Brown both picked up their first multi-RBI game of the year…Osmy Gregorio tied a career-high with three runs scored…The Hot Rods won their second consecutive series, improving their series record on the season to 2-1-1…The Hot Rods finished their first extended homestand of the season with a 4-2 record, improving to 5-3 at home overall…The Hot Rods improved to 2-0 in the rubber game of a series…The Hot Rods are 88-69 all-time vs. Lake County, 51-30 at Bowling Green Ballpark…Bowling Green hits the road for a three-game series against the Great Lakes Loons on Thursday night with a 5:05 p.m. CDT first pitch…Bowling Green will start LHP Michael Plassmeyer (0-1, 2.45) while Great Lakes counters with RHP Gulliermo Zuniga (0-0, 1.23 ERA)…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.
