Bowling Green Hot Rods outfielder Colton Ledbetter (5) edges towards home as Winston-Salem Dash infielder Jordan Sprinkle (2) delivers a pitch Sunday, July 28, 2024, during a minor league baseball game at Bowling Green Ballpark in Bowling Green, Ky. (Daily News photo by Joe Imel/joe.imel@bgdailynews.com)

The Bowling Green Hot Rods capped off a strong homestand with an 8-2 win over Winston-Salem on Sunday at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Bowling Green (55-40 overall, 19-10 second half) hit three homers as part of a 13-hit attack to power past the Dash and go 5-1 in the six-game series.

Both teams displayed a bit of power early, with the Hot Rods jumping out to a 3-2 lead after two innings.

Bowling Green struck first with a two-run homer from Cooper Kinney in the bottom of the first, before Winston-Salem answered with a two-run shot from Calvin Harris in the top of the second.

The Hot Rods only needed one batter to regain the advantage as Brock Jones led off the inning with a homer to right-center.

Kinney struck again with an RBI single in the sixth – part of a five-run rally that included a two-run homer from Ryan Cermak, his third of the season.

Winston-Salem (44-52, 13-16) was unable to mount a comeback in the final three innings.

Xavier Isaac finished with three hits for the Hot Rods. Kinney, Ledbetter and Jones added two hits each.

Owen Wild earned the win, his second in the series, to improve to 5-1 on the season. Wild went five innings, allowing two runs and five hits with seven strikeouts.

Adam Boucher and Jackson Lancaster tossed two shutout innings of relief each. Boucher allowed two hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Lancaster allowed two hits and a walk with one strikeout.

MAGNIFICENT MONTHKinney’s two-hit day continued a red-hot month that has seen the infielder’s average climb above .300. Entering Sunday’s finale, McKinney was hitting .361 – a mark that improved after a 2-for-4 day. McKinney has four homers, 11 doubles and 18 RBIs in July.

He leads the South Atlantic league and is second in all of minor league baseball with 32 doubles.

REINFORCEMENTSThe Bowling Green Hot Rods roster will likely look very different in the next few days with a slew of trades by the Tampa Bay Rays leading to expected additions for the Hot Rods.

Pitcher Dylan Lesko and outfielder Homer Bush, Jr. – acquired from San Diego for Jason Adams – are listed as added to the Hot Rods roster, but have yet to be reported on the MILB website. Outfielder Mac Horvath and pitcher Jackson Baumeister, part of the trade with the Baltimore Orioles for Zac Eflin, are also listed as being assigned to Bowling Green but have not reported.

UP NEXTThe Hot Rods head out for a 12-game, two-city road trip starting with a six-game series at Rome. Game one is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT on Tuesday in Rome, Georgia.

It will be the third series between two teams this season, with Bowling Green holding a 9-3 advantage. The Hot Rods are 3-0 at Rome this season, sweeping the Emperors July 1-3.

Neither team has announced a starter for Tuesday’s opener.