Hot Rods right fielder Garrett Whitley (24) fields a ground ball Thursday, July 20, 2017, during a game against the Burlington Bees at Bowling Green Ballpark. (Bac Totrong/photo@bgdailynews.com)

The Bowling Green Hot Rods flipped the script on the Burlington Bees with a 4-1 win Thursday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

One night after being held to six hits and seeing Burlington put together a late rally, Bowling Green (47-47 overall, 16-11 second half) got strong work on the mound from Angel Yepez, Deivy Mendez and Orlando Romero, and got a big night from Jesus Sanchez to get back to .500 overall and set up a rubber match in the three-game series Friday.

“It was a really good way to bounce back after last night,” Hot Rods manager Reinaldo Ruiz said. “Yepez did a good job. He gave us five innings, then the bullpen came in and shut the door. That was impressive to see. Mendez and Romero did a great job. They kept the lead, and timely hitting … it was enough to get the win.”

Sanchez played a big role in the win, with a sacrifice fly in the first and an RBI groundout in the third after Burlington (43-53, 12-15) tied the score in the top of the inning.

Sanchez helped preserve the 2-1 lead in the fourth when he threw out Artemis Kadkhodian trying to score on fly ball to left.

One inning later, Sanchez scored on an RBI double by Robbie Tenerowicz, part of a two-run rally that included and RBI single by Bobby Melley.

“(Sanchez) was really good tonight,” Ruiz said. “He did a little bit of everything. He has been playing well all year long and he kept doing it (tonight).”

Yepez went five innings, allowing four hits and a run with three strikeouts to improve to 2-0 on the season. Mendez tossed two scoreless innings, striking out four, while Romero earned his sixth save with two scoreless frames to finish it off.

Bowling Green finished with eight hits, two hits each from Josh Lowe and Garrett Whitley.

Rounding into form

After missing more than a year with an injury, Yepez continues to make strides on the mound with a second straight five-inning performance.

Since joining the Hot Rods on June 26, Yepez has worked 25 2/3 innings – allowing two runs with 22 strikeouts.

“It’s good see to see Yepez coming back after losing a year to injury,” Ruiz said. “It’s good to see him throwing strikes and using his fastball. Today he used his fastball really well. He looked strong. Hopefully he can keep pitching the same way.”

Leading the way

Following Wednesday’s loss in the series opener, Ruiz said his team looked a little tired and he needed to find a way to get the team to play with more energy.

Ruiz said leadoff hitter Lucius Fox, who had a scheduled off day Wednesday, provided that spark Thursday. Ruiz credited Fox for beating out a grounder for an infield hit in the first, then stealing a base, as well as a couple of nice defensive plays as being a big emotional boost for the rest of the team.

“We started putting the ball in play and running hard,” Ruiz said. “The guys did a really good job of running down the line and putting pressure on the defense and we were able to get a couple of runs.”

Up next

The series concludes at 6:35 p.m. Friday.

Left-hander Kenny Rosenberg (3-6, 4.99) is scheduled to start for the Hot Rods. Rosenberg is 1-1 with a 3.20 ERA in three July appearances, two starts. He allowed two runs and five hits in four innings in his last start at Kane County on July 14.

Right-hander Erik Manoah (5-5, 3.70) is scheduled to start for the Bees. Manoah is 3-0 in his last four starts, allowing two earned runs in 20 innings of work.{&end}