Former Norwell baseball player Josh VanMeter signed with the San Diego Padres on Tuesday.The shortstop, who was drafted in the fifth round with the 148th overall pick, got a $308,000 signing bonus from the Padres.FORT WAYNE – Lee Orr and Yeison Asencio hit back-to-back home runs for the TinCaps in the second inning.
Fort Wayne had just one more hit the rest of the game, and that came in the same inning, falling to Bowling Green 11-2 in front of 6,913 fans Saturday at Parkview Field.
“I thought it was going to be a good day for us. And then it was like our offense disappeared,” TinCaps manager Jose Valentin said.
The Hot Rods busted the game open with seven runs in the eighth inning. Jeff Malm drove in Jake Hager with a single to left field to give Bowling Green a 3-2 lead. Alejandro Segovia followed with an RBI single.
Taylor Motter had a big hit, driving in three runs with a triple later in the inning. The seven runs were the most the TinCaps have given up in an inning this season.
“We’re making too good of pitches, especially when we’re ahead in the count,” Valentin said. “An 0-2 pitch, we’re throwing too many strikes and you cannot do that.”
Bowling Green starting pitcher Ryan Carpenter and reliever Jason McEachern combined for the three-hitter.
Orr hit a solo home run with one out in the second. It was the third home run in four games for Orr. He has five home runs this season.
Asencio then hit his first home run of the season.
It was the first time Fort Wayne hit back-to-back home runs since Jason Hagerty and Nate Freiman hit consecutive homers against Lansing on Aug. 3, 2010.
Austin Hedges followed the two home runs with a single. That was the team’s final hit.
“We hit some balls hard early,” said left fielder Mike Gallic, who was 0 for 4. “It looked like things were going to go pretty well. Then their pitcher started mixing it up pretty well. He threw a lot of offspeed pitches and kept us off-balance after those first two innings.”
Bowling Green tied the game with two runs in the fifth. Motter scored on a throwing error by starting pitcher Colin Rea. Joel Caminero tied the game, scoring from second on fielding error by shortstop Jace Peterson.
Rea gave up no earned runs in five innings and did not factor in the decision. Luis De La Cruz gave up two runs in 2/3 of an inning for the loss. Robert Eisenbach surrendered five runs in 1/3 of an inning.
“With no offense and when you’re not making your pitches, you’re going to get hurt,” Valentin said.
Note: The TinCaps raised $3,745 for the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer through a special jersey auction.
