Frederick, Maryland – Tampa Bay Rays No. 28 prospect Blake Morgan hurled 5.0 solid innings, but the Bowling Green Hot Rods (74-34, 27-16) dropped the series opener 3-1 to the Frederick Keys (66-39, 25-16) on Tuesday at Nymeo Field in Frederick, Maryland.
The Keys started the scoring in the bottom of the first against Hot Rods starter Blake Morgan. DJ Layton led off the inning with a solo homer to center, handing the Keys a 1-0 lead.
Frederick added to their lead in the bottom of the fourth with Morgan still on the mound. Vance Honeycutt reached on a one-out double. Leandro Arias lined a double off the third base bag, scoring Honeycutt, increasing the Frederick advantage to 2-0.
Another run came around to score for the Keys in the bottom of the sixth against Hot Rods Garrett Gainey. Braylin Tavera led off with a double, and Arias drove him in with a single, making it 3-0 in favor of Frederick.
Bowling Green pushed in a run in the top of the ninth inning against Frederick reliever Christian Rodriguez. Ryan Cermak led off with a double, and Narciso Polanco drove him in with a single to left, creating a 3-1 score. Bowling Green failed to score any more runs, ending the game in a 3-1 victory for Frederick.
Rodriguez (1-1) was given the win, tossing 5.0 innings in relief, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out five. Morgan (0-1) was tagged with the loss, surrendering two runs on five hits, walking one and striking out five over 5.0 innings.
The Hot Rods and Keys play the second game of a six-game series on Wednesday with a 6:00 PM CT first pitch at Nymeo Field. Bowling Green will send out RHP Trevor Harrison (3-1, 4.84) against Frederick LHP Steven Still (0-1, 4.50).
Fans can catch all the action by watching on MiLB.tv, listening through the MiLB First Pitch App and BGHotRods.com. Fans can also secure their seats for future home Hot Rods games by calling (270) 901-2121, visiting the Bowling Green Ballpark box office during normal business hours, or going to www.bghotrods.com.
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Hot Rods Baseball