TinCaps Baseball: Caps Find Power Stroke
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The TinCaps used three home runs to build an 11-0 lead in an eventual 12-7 win over the Bowling Green Hot Rods (Tampa Bay Rays) on Saturday afternoon at Bowling Green Ballpark.
All three homers came in the third inning. But before that, Fort Wayne (3-7) was already in great shape.
The TinCaps scored five runs in the first, ending the day for Travis Ott (L) after just an inning. Right fielder Jorge Oña offered an RBI double to start the scoring. Third baseman Hudson Potts drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk to make it 2-0. Then designated hitter Marcus Greene Jr. provided the big hit with a bases-clearing double to bolster the lead to 5-0.
Potts led off the third with a solo home run to right-center field. Two batters later, Greene Jr. clubbed a two-run blast into the left-field bullpen. Later in the frame, first baseman Brad Zunica socked his second home run of the season — a three-run shot — well beyond the fence in right.
Meanwhile, Jerry Keel (W) cruised through five innings, allowing only a couple of runs in the third. The 6-foot-6 left-hander struck out five with just one walk.
Fort Wayne added an unearned run in the fourth. The Hot Rods chipped into their deficit against the TinCaps’ bullpen with a pair in the sixth and three in the eighth.
The TinCaps set season highs for runs and hits (12). Everyone in the lineup reached base. Eight of the nine had at least one hit, and eight of nine reached base multiple times.
For Greene Jr., the 5 RBIs marked a career high.