The Bowling Green Hot Rods closed out the best regular season in franchise history in winning fashion, blanking the Dayton (Ohio) Dragons 4-0 on Monday in Bowling Green Ballpark.

The victory secured the 90th win of the season for Bowling Green (90-49 overall, 43-27), which won the Midwest League Eastern Division in both halves and finished with the best record in the league.

It was Bowling Green’s 11th shutout of the season, eighth in the second half.

“I just can’t say enough about how proud I am of these guys in the clubhouse and our staff,” BG manager Craig Albernaz said. “Everyone has been great. Since day one, these guys have brought it every day. They are high energy, love to compete, love to work and love to compete out there. It’s made my job easier and the staff’s jobs easier. These guys are great. Obviously they are very talented, but just the type of character guys they are – it’s fun to be around.”

Bowling Green struck quickly – getting an RBI single from Jim Haley and a two-run double by Alexander Alvarez in the first.

Moises Gomez added a solo homer in the third and the pitching took it from there.

Alex Valverde earned the win to improve to 8-7. Valverde worked six innings for the first time since June 29, allowing five hits with a career-high eight strikeouts.

Jesus Ortiz tossed two scoreless innings in his Bowling Green debut, while Kyle Goodbrand finished it off with a scoreless ninth.

“Valverde has made a lot of adjustments,” Albernaz said. “I wouldn’t say it’s been an up-and-down year for him, but there have been some things that he has struggled with mechanically. It’s good to see him finish on that note.

“The pitching was outstanding. This was a great team win.”

Gomez, Justin Bridgman and Zach Rutherford led the offense with two hits each.

“It’s a great team to be a part of – from the coaching staff all the way to players,” Rutherford said. “It makes it fun to come to the yard every day. Everybody is playing hard and it’s a lot of fun.”

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Gomez led the Hot Rods with 82 RBIs, tying Jesus Sanchez for second on the franchise’s list of most RBIs in a season. Gomez also led the Hot Rods in doubles (34) and triples (7).

Ronaldo Hernandez led the team with 21 homers, one off Derek Dietrich’s franchise record for most home runs in a season.

Other offensive leaders include Taylor Walls with 142 hits and 66 walks, Jim Haley with a .323 batting average and Vidal Brujan with 43 stolen bases.

PITCHING LEADERS

Tommy Romero led the staff with 11 wins, although three came prior to joining the Hot Rods.

Hunter Schryver and Tyler Zombro led the team with eight saves each, while Romero led the team with 131 strikeouts.

UP NEXT

The Hot Rods will begin postseason play at Lansing (Mich.) at 6:05 p.m. CDT Wednesday in Game 1 of the best-of-three opening round series.

Bowling Green is 0-5 all time in playoff series, getting swept four times. The Hot Rods were 8-5 against Lansing in the regular season – 4-3 in Lansing.

The teams have yet to announce a starter for Wednesday’s opener. Postseason rosters will be finalized Tuesday.