Loons drop series to the Hot Rods
MIDLAND -- The Great Lakes Loons played the Bowling Green Hot Rods close Wednesday night, but were unable to find the lead at any point, eventually losing to Bowling Green 4-3 in front of 5,945 Loons fans at Dow Diamond, which marked the largest crowd of the season.
The Hot Rods jumped on the board quickly in the first inning, scoring three runs on three hits and two Loons errors. The Loons were able to cut the lead to one with a pair of solo home runs in the bottom of the inning. Loons designated hitter Blake Dean and Chris Jacobs hit back-to-back jacks with two outs.
Bowling Green was able to extend the lead in the fourth inning when Robby Price, who reached on a Loons throwing error, crossed home plate on a Luke Bailey single. Again the Loons cut the visitor’s lead to one in the bottom of the frame with a first-pitch home run from third baseman Chris Henderson. The Loons had chances late, but did not score again. Both teams finished with eight hits.
“Tonight it didn’t fall in our favor,” Jacobs said after the game. “[If] we played just a little bit more, get one more hit, one guy doesn’t get thrown out, or something else bounces our way, then we’re right in there and we have the win.”
Jacobs, the Loons first baseman, went three-for-four and was a triple shy of the cycle, improving his batting average to .211.
“Since I’ve come back, I’ve been working on [my game],” he said. “I try too hard sometimes, and in baseball when you do that, [your game can get] worse and worse. Sometimes you just have to back up and relax. Today I felt a lot more relaxed at the plate. It was a lot easier and it fell in place. My average doesn’t reflect how hard I’ve been working, but that’s baseball.”
Twice the Loons avoided any further damage by stranding Hot Rods runners in the seventh and eighth innings. Reliever Andrew Pevsner entered in the middle of the seventh to pitch out of a bases loaded situation, while it was Logan Bawcom who saved the eighth by downing two batters, one by strikeout the other on a pop-fly, to strand runners on the corners.
Loons starter Zach Lee was charged with the loss, his second, allowing four runs, two earned, across five innings pitched.
The Loons will begin a three-game series against the Lansing Lugnuts Thursday night at Dow Diamond, which celebrates the second night of its Red Wings Legends Series presented by MidMichigan Health. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive Ted Lindsay bobbleheads. Pitching for the Loons will be RHP Angel Sanchez (2-1, 1.83) against the Lugnuts LHP Egan Smith (2-2, 3.60). Gates open at 6 p.m. for the 7:05 p.m. game.
