The Bowling Green Hot Rods kept rolling along with a 7-2 win Sunday over Great Lakes (Mich.) at Bowling Green Ballpark.

Adrian Navas pitched seven strong innings for a second straight start, and the Hot Rods scored in five of the first six innings as Bowling Green (42-43 overall, 11-7 second half) stretched its win streak to eight games.

It’s the longest win streak this season and the longest since equaling a franchise record with nine straight wins from July 27-Aug. 6 last season.

“The boys are playing really well,” Bowling Green manager Reinaldo Ruiz said. “The confidence is there. I think the chemistry is there. Some of the guys are swinging the bats really good.

“The pitchers are doing a really good job keeping it going, and the defense is doing a really good job.”

The Hot Rods jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning with an RBI double from Jesus Sanchez and a two-run homer from Garrett Whitley.

Whitley walked with the bases loaded in the second and Eleardo Cabrera added a sacrifice fly in the third to make the score 5-0. Great Lakes (44-43, 8-10) then got on the board with Carlos Rincon’s 15th homer in the season in the fourth – a two-run shot that cut the deficit to three.

The Loons got no closer as the Hot Rods capped the score with single runs in the fifth and sixth innings.

“We have a lot of talent on this team,” Whitley said. “I said at the beginning of the year that I thought we had a good chance at going far in the playoffs and maybe winning this thing. I still feel that way. Obviously the first half didn’t go the way we liked, but as you can see now – eight in a row – we are playing ball the way we can.”

Navas worked a career-best seven innings for a second straight start, allowing two runs and six hits with seven strikeouts. The right-hander improved to 6-8 and has allowed three earned runs in 14 innings over his last two starts.

“It’s great to see Navas pitching the way he has been pitching the last two outings,” Ruiz said. “He did a great job today and gave us seven innings. Hopefully, he can keep pitching the same way.”

Bowling Green finished with 10 hits – two each from Adrian Rondon, Robbie Tenerowicz and Mike Brosseau.

Yard work

Whitley’s home run continued a torrid July for the 2015 first-rounder, with four of his seven home runs coming this month – three in the last four games. He has 11 RBIs in July after recording 30 in the first three months of the season.

“I made some adjustments at the plate,” Whitley said. “My hitting coach, Joe Szekely, is really, really good. We’ve been putting in a lot of extra work in the cages every day. I’ve found a place right now where I am comfortable and obviously the results are coming on the field.”

Back to the future

Hot Rods shortstop Lucius Fox went 0-for-2 with an RBI for the World team in Sunday’s Sirius/XM Futures Game at Marlins Park in Miami.

Former Hot Rods pitcher Brent Honeywell started for the United States team, allowing one hit with four strikeouts in two innings.

Honeywell was the winning pitcher and named the Futures Game MVP as the United States beat the World team 7-6.

Up next

The series with Great Lakes (Mich.), and homestand, continues at 12:05 p.m. Monday.

Right-hander Willy Ortiz (3-1, 4.36) is scheduled to start for the Hot Rods. Ortiz has wins in three of his last four starts, allowing seven earned runs in 22 innings of work. He tossed seven shutout innings in a win over Dayton (Ohio) to start the homestand on Tuesday.

Right-hander Dustin May (5-3, 3.24) is scheduled to start for the Loons. In his last six starts, May has allowed seven earned runs over 37 1/3 innings. He earned the win in his only start against the Hot Rods this season on June 3, allowing five hits over seven shutout innings.{&end}