Brendan McKay’s first home start on the mound gave Bowling Green Hot Rods fans their first chance to see what all the buzz is regarding the former University of Louisville standout who hopes to someday join Los Angeles rookie Shohei Ohtani as a two-way player in the major leagues.

It was a quick look at Bowling Green Ballpark, as McKay worked just three innings in the Hot Rods’ 5-3 win over the Fort Wayne TinCaps in the first game of a doubleheader sweep. Bowling Green, which started Sunday on a six-game losing streak, won the nightcap 7-1.

The left-handed McKay, the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2017 first-round draft pick (No. 4 overall) tossed three innings against Fort Wayne and totaled 49 pitches. McKay allowed two earned runs off two hits and a walk and struck out four. He didn’t factor in the decision and didn’t play in the nightcap.

It was the second pitching start of the season for the Pennsylvania native, who serves as the Hot Rods’ starting first baseman when he’s not on the mound. McKay upped his pitch count a bit Sunday as he slowly ramps up for a full-time workload.

With unseasonably cold weather featuring temperatures in the low 40s, Hot Rods manager Craig Albernaz might well have felt the need to use extreme caution with the Rays’ prized prospect. That wasn’t the case, though, as Albernaz stuck to the plan and McKay got in his work.

“I’ve pitched in this weather many times, so I’m fairly used to it,” McKay said. “I was locating well and mixing in everything to keep them off balance as well as I could. They put some good swings on the ball and you can’t really do anything with that.”

Albernaz said McKay has already shown he can thrive as a two-way player, and he’s settling into the rigors of full-season baseball.

“The ultimate goal is for Brendan McKay to be in the big leagues, to pitch in the big leagues,” Albernaz said. “Not throw seven, eight innings out of the chute in A ball. So by doing this, it puts everyone in the know and it keeps McKay healthy.”

In Sunday’s opener, the Hot Rods trailed 2-1 after McKay gave up a two-run home run to Fort Wayne’s Esteury Ruiz and were down two runs before rallying for four in the bottom of the fifth. Bowling Green’s Emilio Gustave and Carl Chester had RBI singles, and Ronaldo Hernandez and Zach Rutherford followed with back-to-back RBI doubles.

The win ended the Hot Rods’ six-game slide, which began after they opened the season with three straight wins.

“At the end of the day, my job here is to develop big-league, championship players,” Albernaz said. “A component of that is also winning. The games we’ve lost, we had some mistakes, some growing pains. I also attribute some of that to myself, not getting the players ready for the game and make sure they’re properly prepared. But today they came out, they played well.”

Chester, the Hot Rods’ starting center fielder and the Rays’ 12th-round pick in the 2017 MLB draft out of Miami, had three hits in the opener and added two RBIs in the nightcap.

“I’m a big believer that if the team is winning, it helps me as a player to keep playing as well as I can and I think it’s the same for everyone,” Chester said. “If the team’s winning and gelling, then everyone’s playing at their best.”

Vidal Brujan, Taylor Walls and Gustave added two hits each for Bowling Green (5-6).

Jhonleider Salinas got the win after tossing three innings in relief of McKay, allowing just an unearned run. Hunter Schryver pitched a scoreless seventh for his first save.

In the nightcap, Hot Rods starter Alex Valverde (22nd-round pick, 2017) got plenty of run support as he worked five strong innings. Valverde allowed one run off three hits with three walks in while striking out four.

Valverde, who played collegiately at Miami, said the chilly weather was tough to deal with Sunday.

“I’m definitely not used to this – I’m from Miami, so I’m used to nice Sunshine State weather,” Valverde said. “But I felt pretty good. I’ve gotten accustomed to it.”

Left fielder Moises Gomez tallied a pair of doubles and two RBIs to pace the Hot Rods’ offense. First baseman Devin Davis added a 2-for-3 day with an RBI.

Up next

The Hot Rods will be back on the road Tuesday against West Michigan. Bowling Green is scheduled to start left-hander Resly Linares against West Michigan righty Garrett King. Game time is 5:35 p.m.{&end}