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GREENSBORO — Slumps are part of the natural ebb and flow of a baseball season. But when they come at the wrong time, things become a bit more problematic.

The Hoppers are officially in a rut after dropping the series finale to Lake County on Tuesday afternoon, 4-2. They have now lost three consecutive series and sit at 3-9 in the second half.

Since it did not win the first half in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division, Greensboro must either win the second half or finish second in the overall division standings if first-half winner Lakewood claims the second-half title, too.

But with the poor start, the Hoppers are already in a hole. They were under .500 just once during the first half (at 4-5), and this current streak has also pushed their overall season record to 40-42.

"Our goal always is to win series," manager Darin Everson said. "It's tough enough when the league has four-game sets all the time, but essentially the opposite has happened. We've lost three in a row now series-wise. And it's frustrating."

Tuesday was a good example of the issues Greensboro has had lately.

Starter Brad Hand only had two problematic innings, but those mishaps cost him all four runs. He was a bit wild in the first while allowing two men to score, and then gave up two solo homers in the fifth despite striking out the other three men he faced.

But while Hand was decent in his six innings, the Hoppers rarely threatened at the plate.

Captains starter Danny Salazar entered the game with a 5.44 ERA and just 22 strikeouts in 48 innings. But he was nearly untouchable against Greensboro, punching out nine men in his six innings of work and surrendering just one run in the sixth on a couple wild pitches.

"He threw the ball well," Everson said. "You've gotta tip your hat to him."

The Hoppers offense has been a large key to the success the team has had this season. They lead the league in homers by a large margin and rank near the top in many offensive categories.

But Greensboro has scored three or fewer runs nine times during the 12 games played in the second half.

With a pitching staff that owns the league's fifth-worst ERA at 3.92, the team is a bit susceptible to tough stretches.

"Maybe," Everson said.

"Our offense has done a great job throughout the year. ... We've hit a little lull here with our offense, and as much as it was going before maybe it's one of those things where it's bound to even out.

"And hopefully we can get it back the other way as quickly as possible."

The manager also said the team has built high expectations with the early runs or the come-from-behind fireworks that have appeared throughout the season.

But whether it's improved pitching or a return to the first half's offensive form, Greensboro needs something to get it jumpstarted.

"I think dropping three series in a row like that they do go by quick and the first half we battled well and finished really strong at the end to finish where we finished," Everson said.

"I hope it would be a little bit of a wakeup call for us to go out and so maybe we can use it that way."

Contact Jesse Baumgartner at 373-7071 or jesse.baumgartner@news-record.com